When Elkhart and Grapeland renew their annual rivalry Friday night, each team’s defense will more likely than not, have one goal in mind — to stop the other team’s star.
The matchup features two of the area’s most prolific offensive weapons, with Elkhart featuring phenomenal junior running back Jeffrey Wilson and the Sandies countering with do-it-all junior Patrick Walker.
Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Grapeland’s Sandie Stadium (N. Olive St. at FM 1272, Grapeland, Texas 75844).
“We’ve got to do a great job of just containing him,” EHS coach Sam Wells said of Walker. “Everything runs through him, and he’s a tremendous player. We’ve got to do a good job staying in our lanes and not over running. We’ve got to break down and make good plays.”
Wells hopes to contain Walker with good reason. The junior quarterback had a hand in all three of Grapeland’s touchdowns in Friday’s 24-22 win over Lovelady, including two in the fourth quarter to fuel a Grapeland comeback.
On the year, Walker has thrown for 251 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-25 (52 percent) passing, while also rushing for 273 yards and four scores on 63 carries.
While the threat that Wilson brings for the Elks is a bit more one-dimensional, it isn’t any less dangerous.
The junior has run for an area-best 495 yards on 71 carries (almost seven yards per carry) this season, with four scores.
In last week’s loss to Centerville, Wilson eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark.
So, how big of a key is stopping Wilson?
“That’s the whole point,” GHS coach Jerry Richards said. “He carried the ball 30 times last week and you can see on film, when he was playing against Alto and Centerville, he’s still going hard. He’s a force.”
While the game’s focus will be on the two stars, each team possesses plenty of other weapons for the opposing defense to key on.
For Elkhart, that includes quarterback Kevin Kidd. The senior’s first three starts under center have been inconsistent, but Wells said he still believes in his quarterback.
But, he added, the passing has to pick up to take some of the pressure off of Wilson’s shoulders. The Elks also have to hold on to the football. Through three games, they’ve turned the ball over 16 times.
“We’ve got to be able to spread it out, spread the ball around,” Wells said. “That comes into play with our passing game. Overall though, I’m pretty pleased offensively, except for the turnovers.
“(Wilson) had lots of carries last week..and we don’t want him to, probably, have 30 carries a game. But, if we can throw the ball a little bit, that’ll help us.”
A lot of Grapeland’s balance comes from Walker himself, and his ability to beat teams both through the air and on the ground.
He’ll look for favorite target Jacolby Simpson (7 catches, 126 yards, TD) in the passing game, and Walker’s cousin, Demetri Walker, poses an extra threat in the rushing attack.
On the year, Demetri Walker has run for 129 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries.
“We’re getting a little healthier...we’ll try to get the ball in Demetri’s hands and spread the ball around to our receivers, like we’ve hoped to do all year,” Richards said. “We try to keep it balanced as much as we can, but there’s always the possibility that, when Patrick goes back to pass, that he’ll pull it down and run it.
“That makes him that much more explosive.”
The Elks have won the last two meetings in the rivalry, including a 45-26 win in Grapeland last season. But, Grapeland holds the overall series lead at 40-36-3.
While it’s his first foray into this particular rivalry, as an area-native Wells knows about it all too well, and is excited to be a part of it.
“It goes way back and Elkhart and Grapeland have been playing football against each other for a long time,” he said. “It’s a good rivalry and that’s what makes it fun.”
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Sports editor Justin Rains can be reached via email at jrains@palestineherald.com
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H.S. Football: Grapeland's Walker, Elkhart's Wilson lead teams into rivalry matchup
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