Friday, Oct. 03, 2008

Jaguars Exceed Non-district Expectations

FMHS Football

By Kevin Lonnquist

Staff Writer

Coaches don’t publicly make predictions. Flower Mound coach Cody Vanderford is no different.

But when he looked at his non-district schedule, he thought his group could go 4-1 through the first five games. And if they got some breaks, they could be 5-0.

Of course, he made his feelings known following the conclusion of the non-district season.

The Jaguars hit the bye at 5-0 following their 48-27 victory at DeSoto. It’s the first 5-0 start in the program’s history.

"Our defense has played a big role in this," Vanderford said. "We want to dominate in special teams, and we did that. And we took advantage of turnovers. I just like the way we are handling ourselves."

The Jaguars have started each game this season quickly, scoring 133 of their 193 points in the second half. That’s a good and bad proposition.

The good is that Flower Mound has jumped all over its opponents to where the games aren’t competitive in the second half. The bad is that Vanderford had really not seen his team play a complete game, so he doesn’t know how the team will react in a tight game.

He got some of that Friday at DeSoto. Leading 28-19 at the half, his team kept up the pace in the second half, taking the score to 48-19 into the fourth quarter.

"We played extremely well, and that’s what was I looking for," Vanderford said. "Our kids were ready."

Not Vanderford’s Call

Every offensive play that Flower Mound’s offense has run this year has come not from Vanderford, but from offensive coordinator Bo Wasurick.

Some teams have offensive coordinators who only hold the title while the head coach has the offensive background. However, Vanderford turned the offense over to Wasurick in the spring following an impressive interview.

Wasurick was working with the special teams and tight ends last year, but wanted to show his ability to run an offense. Vanderford interviewed him and one other candidate. The test was to see how the candidates would devise a game plan using Vanderford’s spread.

"I was blown away with what he did," Vandeford said. "I’ve seen him for the last several years. And the commitment, time and preparation were great. But I watched how the kids reacted to him. He’s demanding, but they will play for him. He’s got complete freedom."

Vanderford now only works with quarterbacks.

The results speak for themselves. Quarterback Brandon Colquitt is second among all Class 5A quarterbacks with 1,301 yards and has the most touchdown passes with 18. Wide receiver Collin Ashley is second among all wide receivers with 633 yards and leads in touchdown receptions with 14.

Bye-Week Plans

The Jaguars are off this Friday before District 6-5A play begins Oct. 10 at Hebron. The Hawks struggled at 0-3 initially, but have won their last two games against Jesuit and Abilene Cooper.

Vanderford said the team will go through some light preparation for the Hawks this week.