Dawson boys and girls squads continue to set the district pace

Tough tests still to come as race enters its final phases

The Dawson boys and girls basketball teams continue to set the pace in District 22-6A.

The girls team began the week alone at the top of the standings with an undefeated record. The Lady Eagles were one game ahead of second-place Manvel before Tuesday’s games tipped off thanks to their 38-28 victory over the Lady Mavericks on Jan. 2.

Dawson’s first-place standing will be tested over this week and next. The Lady Eagles were scheduled to play Alvin on Tuesday. Next week they face Pearland and Manvel.

Manvel put some distance between itself and Pearland in the standings with a 49-35 victory last week. The triumph also allowed the Lady Mavericks to keep alive their hopes of winning the district title. They remain one game back of Dawson.

Dawson’s boys team suffered a setback last week when it lost to South Houston at home. Luckily for the Eagles they had a game to play with so all the loss did was bring them into a first-place tie with South Houston.

The Eagles are led by a trio of 11-point scorers in Karl Nicholas, Paul Taulton and Jules Moor. They’ll have their sights set on the regular season finale against South Houston which could determine the outright district champion.

Mustangs second

Friendswood won three matches en route to the championship game of the Brazos Valley Cup last weekend before losing to The Woodlands to claim second place.

The Lady Mustangs defeated Cedar Creek, Lucas Lovejoy and Burleson by a combined score of 13-0. The Woodlands won the final, 4-0.

Logos steps up

Darwin Pennye has been a successful football coach over the last decade so it should be no surprise he is one of the people leading Logos Preparatory Academy into a brand new world on the gridiron.

Logos Prep, which is based in Sugar Land, will move up from playing 6-man football to 11-man for the 2016 season. It is the first time the small school will play 11-man.

Pennye became the school’s athletic director before the school year began. The former Bay Area Christian School coach agreed with all of the steps the school took before he got there to transition to the 11-man game in 2016.

Logos Prep has grown steadily every year since it opened in 2006. In the early years it was necessary to play 6-man. Now there are more boys in the school and more interest in general, Pennye said it is time to take the next step.

“We want to give everybody an opportunity to showcase their talent,” Pennye said. “With the number of kids we had playing 6-man there are a lot of kids whose opportunities are limited.”

Friendswood dominates

The Mustangs boys and girls swim teams swept through Clear Lake in their final competition of the regular season. The girls won 172-125. The boys won 219-88.

Diver Michael Claunch set a pool record with his score of 265.35 for six dives. The Mustangs host the District 24-6A championships Jan. 29-30.