New Caney senior quarterback Timmy Ware has the New Caney Eagles flying high with a 2-0 start for the first time in five years.
New Caney is 2-0 for the first time in five years.
The Eagles followed their season-opening win over Diboll with an eyeopening 63-13 thrashing of area-ranked Huffman Hargrave.
The Falcons, who have made the playoffs seven straight seasons, won 34-11 over New Caney last year.
“It’s a heck of a lot better than being 1-1 or 0-2,” coach Brady Pennington joked.
“(But) the other night was a big win for us. Huffman’s got a good football team and we just really played well,” Pennington said. “The coaches did a great job with the game plan and we played well in all phases of the game.”
The game began with a punt return for a touchdown by Andrew Segovia, and the Eagles never slowed down.
They rolled up 641 total yards while holding highpowered Huffman to 173.
The win has the players’ confidence and the community’s excitement soaring in Pennington’s fifth year, which he said needs to be a big one.
“We think we really have an opportunity,” he said.
“I felt like we were pretty competitive last year, and as a matter of fact we were right there and lost a couple of ballgames by a play or two. And then we had a great offseason and we got a bunch of our kids back, so going into this season we felt like we had a chance to be really competitive.”
New Caney beat Diboll 49-30 in its season opener, but Pennington left feeling they still had untapped potential on defense.
Diboll not only racked up 30 points but also outgained New Caney on offense, 505-499.
“We weren’t real happy walking off the field because we did give up some points, and defensively we thought we were going to be better than that,” Pennington said. “But I had two defensive starters out and they had two gimmes.”
The Eagles rotated Segovia and David Harvey, their standout receivers, at defensive back in the second half, especially on key third-downs, which helped. Diboll had only six points after the break.
“They’re rotating at a defensive back for us, and that pretty much did it against Diboll, and then we had those same two kids on Huffman’s No. 1 receiver and they played great,” Pennington said.
The return of defensive ends Jared Hull and Jacob Divel last weekend made a similar impact, exponentially improving their defense.
Huffman Quarterback Cody Gaitan completed only 19 of 34 passes for 154 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
“We wanted to get a pass rush on Huffman’s quarterback,” Pennington said.
“(Gaitan’s) a dandy. He’s a three-year starter. But they also do a great job with their screens, their little jailbreak screens that they get back inside when you’re bringing it.,” Pennington said. “So our kids really had to read keys and spill out whenever they saw something, and they did it very well.
“I don’t know that we gave up one screen. They played every one of them, and it was (Hull and Divel) doing it.”
They had help from Aldin Adamek.
The middle linebacker followed up his 20-tackle outing in the opener with 16 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery last week.
On offense, it’s the Timmy Ware show.
The senior QB has nine touchdowns and no interceptions through two games. He also rushed for 155 yards and one TD against the Falcons.
“His numbers weren’t bad last year at all,” Pennington said. “They were pretty dadgum good. But we didn’t pass-protect very well.
“That’s a lot different right now. We really did a great job last Friday against Huffman, and you give him some time with the receivers that we have, he’s going to put up some yards.”
Namely, Segovia, Harvey and Devin Holmes on the outside.
Segovia provided a pick-six in the opener and scored on a punt return, rush and reception last week.
Harvey went off for 175 yards and two TDs against Hargrave.
But Pennington knows none of that matters this week, with rival New Caney Porter and the district opener up next.
They collide in their first 21-5A game at 7 p.m. Friday at Texan Drive Stadium.
“It is truly a rivalry game,” Pennington said. “There are a lot of emotions that go into it. I’m amazed.
“I’ve been at New Caney for five years and I’ve been a part of the rivalry ever since it was created … and it is very, very emotional for our community. It’s a big deal. So you can throw all the records and stuff out.”