Gators alone as top seed for first time
Postseason campaign starts next week for Dickinson
With only 15 victories in the last three seasons combined and a youthful roster intact, not many expected Dickinson to be a playoff contender in District 246A.
The Gators proved that wrong in the early going and eventually shocked the entire southeast side of Houston by winning the championship. Even last weeks’ victory over Clear Creek in which Dickinson clinched the title began poorly before the Gators rallied in the second half. Now the Gators turn their focus to the playoffs, which coach Jason Wilson can bring more victories because of players’ confidence.
“It started early in the season,” Wilson said. “Once you start piling up those wins and they believe in the system, the sky is the limit.”
Dickinson will lead six local teams into the playoffs nextweek. The Gators’ first game will be against the No. 4 seed out of District 23-6A. That could be Alief Taylor, Alief Elsik or Fort Bend Austin.
The Gators’ next playoff victory will be their first since 2004. They had not had a winning season since 2007 and with two more victories this season could surpass their total from the last three seasons combined.
“This is unbelievable,” Wilson said after his team beat Clear Creek. “We are getting Dickinson basketball back to where it should be.”
Clear Creek is likely to take the No. 2 seed into the postseason but needs to find an extra gear if it is going to advance once it gets there. The Wildcats have lost their last four games against playoff-bound teams.
Coach Wes Bryan said the biggest thing his team needs to improve is rebounding.
Clear Brook and Clear Springs have clinched the other two playoff spots in 24-6A. Both were in position to reach the No. 2 seed heading into Tuesday’s regular season finales. Getting the No. 2 seed is critical because it means avoiding a first-round game against Fort Bend Travis or Hightower. Those teams are ranked in the top 13 in the state.
South Houston will be the No. 2 seed in District 22-6A. The Trojans had a chance to win the district title with a win over Dawson last week but lost at home.
Texas City will be the No. 4 seed out of 23-5A and will face 24-5A champ Angleton in the first round.
Douglass heads to state
This could be the year for Clear Falls senior Elissa Douglass.
Douglass is headed back to the state wrestling tournament for the third consecutive year, this time with aperfect record. After winning the regional title last weekend, Douglass is 39-0. Last season she entered the state tournament with a 38-1 record and finished second.
The state championships are Friday and Saturday at Cypress Fairbanks ISD’s Berry Center. Douglass is one of 11 qualifiers from Clear Creek ISD.
Clear Creek ISD has had success at the state tournament, but this year will have almost all new athletes. Clear Springs’ Ebon i Johnson - second at the regional tournament at 185 pounds - is the only other qualifier who has been to state.
Three of the other qualifiers advanced after winning regional titles. Clear Springs’ Daniela Salazar finished first in the 95-pound division. Clear Springs’ Keegan Kretzer finished first at 220. Clear Lake’s Camden Fontenot won the championship at 132.
Clear Creek’s finished second in the region at 120 to qualify for state.
Other Clear Creek ISD state qualifiers are Tevin Sandoz (Clear Brook), Kyle Kretzer (Clear Springs) and Mary Ruppert (Clear Falls).
Friendswood has a pair of state qualifiers in Christian Rains and Brint Galey. Rains, who is making his third-straight trip to state, won the regional title at 195. He won two matches at the state tournament last year.
Girls playoffs
Clear Springs won a first-round game for the eighth year in a row with its 61-34 triumph over Kempner on Monday. Sierra Cheatham led the Chargers with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Dymond Gladney added 16 points and seven rebounds.
Clear Springs has been at least to the regional semifinals four of the last five seasons. The Chargers are ranked No. 10 in the state as the playoffs get underway. Only No. 2 North Shore and No. 6 Cypress Woods are ranked higher in Region III.
Manvel
Manvel’s yearly goal to win the last game of the season is still alive after Monday’s first-round playoff victory.
The Lady Mavericks romped to a 56-31 triumph over Beaumont West Brook to advance to round two this week. The win also served as the 400th of Bryan Harris’ coaching career.
The most significant thing to come from the game for Harris was Manvel’s defense. The Lady Mavericks held West Brook to 16 points in the first three quarters combined. Imani Wiley led Manvel with 12 points. Ally Caudill had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
“If we flip the switch then we can beat anybody,” Harris said. “But if we don’t flip the switch then we can lose to anybody.”
Manvel defeated Dawson in the last couple of weeks of the regular season to win the District 226A title outright. Now the Lady Mavericks have their sights set on winning more playoff games. If they are fortunate enough to win their second-round game against Alief Hastings or Clear Lake they’ll likely have to face No. 2-ranked North Shore early next week in the third round.
That’s the team that eliminated Manvel last season, but Harris said his team would not be afraid this time around against any opponent. They Lady Mavericks played North Shore once this season and had the lead in the final minute before losing.
“As long as we continue to play our ‘A’ game we can win,” Harris said. “In the past we could play our ‘B’ and ‘C’ games and win, but that’s not the case this year. We need our ‘A’ game.”
Always humble, Harris wanted to give credit to the talent he has had at Manvel for helping him get to 400 coaching victories.