Jackie Sherrill, UTSA’s Polo Gutierrez, Gridiron Heroes speak to SA Touchdown Club

Football legend Jackie Sherrill poses with Chris 
and Eddie Canales of Gridiron Heroes and 
they announce their Helmet Free Tackling 
Academy set to run nationally in 2013.
Photo Submitted  by Ron Oswalt

By Ron Oswalt and Shawn Michael Tripputi
Special for TexSport Publications

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (September 21, 2012) The weekly meeting of the San Antonio Touchdown Club were treated this week by speakers Jackie Sherrill, Gridiron Heroes and University of San Antonio Assistant Coach/Running Backs Coach Polo Gutierrez.

Gutierrez told the crowd, “We had a heck of a game this week at UTSA ; it was a good day for us. This season we have running backs by committee because we have three that do a good job for us.”

When asked from the crowd Gutierrez responded by saying, “The Alamodome is a great home for us and our recruits can play in a large metropolitan city. It is amazing the speed and strength we have this year over last season. Recruitment this year over last is night and day and joining Conference USA is a great tool for us. The kids know CUSA and their teams.”

Football legend Jackie Sherrill (Left) poses with Chris and Eddie Canales (Center, Right) of Gridiron Heroes, as they announced their Helmet Free Tackling Academy, which is set to run nationally in 2013.

Sherrill told the group, “Ask me any question, but my answers are my opinion only. He reflected on past days by saying Coach Bryant was a man’s man and Coach Broyals was the best business man in college football.”Sherrill spoke of his days being raised in Biloxi, Mississippi and playing for Paul “Bear” Bryant at the University of Alabama. He started the 12th Man and also won 5 of 7 games versus the Longhorns during his tenure in College Station.

Sherrill owned the room sharing past football experiences and said, ‘Players win games, coaches don’t.” Today with social media and so many other outlets and recruiting services it has changed the athletes of today. You only remember the people in your life that make you do things you don’t want to do. These are the people that help you accomplish great things. You must give players more than X and O’s. Noting that Nick Saban is the best college coach today because he gets the most from his players.

Sherrill told the group about how Texas A&M increased its marketing, branding and reputation by joining the SEC. He discussed the SEC footprint and how that will help the Aggies with advertising dollars.

When asked by the crowd about the Aggies expectations this season. Sherrill said, “I expect them to win 7 games but it will not be easy in the SEC.” He also talked about first year Aggies Head Coach Kevin Sumlin and how all the high school coaches like him and he should be successful.

The group also learned from Gridiron Heroes and their Helmet Free Tackling Academy. A camp that will be introduced nationally in 2013 under the direction of Coach Bobby Hosea and his tackling techniques.

Sherrill said, “I used to take helmets off my players when possible. We need to teach our players to stay on the field and on their feet. We must use proper technique and not to lower the head.

Gridiron Heroes Founder Eddie Canales added, “Football is at a crossroad. Science is telling us that we need to change the way we are teaching tackling. Our Helmet Free Tackling Academy is about prevention. It’s about making the game safer while preserving the game itself. I Hope and Pray no Coach, Trainer or Parent has to ever call me at Gridiron Heroes.”

The packed room showed support and overall has a great day of sharing the great game of football in San Antonio.

Houston falls to 0-2 on the season; loses to Louisiana Tech 56-49

 

Louisiana Tech's Kevin Saia (57) loses his helmet
while trying to open a hole against the Houston
Cougars defense. Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La
Vita Loca Photography, Copyright 2012,
All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2012 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 9, 2012) "I told our team no side of football, offense, defense or special teams, should leave here feeling good or satisfied about what just happened,"

That was the message Houston head coach Tony Levine told his team and later relayed to the media late Saturday night after the Cougars lost their second straight game of the season, 56-49 to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

The Cougars got better on the field since their opening season loss to Texas State but they are still miles away from where they need to be this season.

Quarterback David Piland's performance against the Bulldogs was much improved, comlpeting 53 of 77 passes for 580 yards and four touchdowns,

He even had four carries with a fourth quarter scamper of 33 yards, however many big gains were nullified by penalties.

Houston committed 15 penalties for 138 yards and that very fact was addressed by Levine in the post-game press conference.

"Penalty wise those mistakes are largely technique. On holding call, if our guy gets a hand outside the framework of a defender's body that error leads to a penalty. On some false starts, there were some things going on the field, some communication errors and other factors. We had a number of face-mask penalties where our guys would be playing hard, but again that is mostly a technique related issue. Twenty-six penalties combined on both sides is a sloppy football game, and that will not be tolerated by us."

　

Offensively, Charles Sims got the ball more than he did against Texas State.

That was one of the issues involved in the resignation of offensive coordinator Mike Nesbitt and was stressed to his replacement, Travis Bush.

Sims had 21 carries for 65 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught 11 passes for 53 yards.

It was evident on the field that Sims needed to get the ball more and when asked after the game about that very fact, he replied, "I felt pretty good and going earlier. We need to get rid of the little things."

　
Houston will now have one week to prepare before they head to Los Angeles for their first road game of the season against UCLA.

The Cougars will be facing a Bruins team which is 2-0 in 2012, including a 36-30 upset win over No. 17 Nebraska on Saturday night.

UCLA stunned the Cornhuskers with 653 yards of total offense.

Houston will have to take their game to the level against UCLA if they want to avoid going 0-3 for the first time since 2001.

Last second field goal gives Texas Southern 44-41 win over Prairie View A&M

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2012 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 2, 2012) With kicker Robert Hersh connecting on a 47-yard field goal with no time left on the clock, the Texas Southern Tigers broke the tie score and defeated Prairie View A&M Panthers 44-41 in front of 22,516 fan at Reliant Stadium on Saturday evening.

The game was an offensive juggernaut, with 1,044 yards of total offense between the two teams.

 

Prairie View jumped out to an early 20-7 lead in the first quarter and continued to hold the lead at halftime with the score of 27-17.

 

Texas Southern came back to take the lead in the third quarter, 38-34.

 

The Panthers then tied the score at 41-all with 1:16 left in the game.

 

Hersh then broke the tie with the field goal to give the Tigers possession of the Durley-Nicks Traveling Trophy.

 

The trophy is awarded to the winner of the annual Labor Day Classic game between the two schools and has been in Prairie View’s possession for the past five years.

 

TSU was able to snatch the trophy in 2006 when they came away with a 17-14 win at Reliant Stadium.

 

Riko Smalls led the Tigers in rushing with 11 carries for 101 yards while Fred Plummer caught five passes for 142 yards.

 

Edward Loving-Perkins contributed to the TSU offensive punch by rushing for 88 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns.

 

Hersh connected on three field goals of 25, 42 and 47-yards for nine points.

 

Defensively, William Parker accounted for eight tackles, seven of them solo, with Tyerrell Jones and Trey Walker contributing six solo tackles each.

 

Texas Southern will hit the road next week when they travel to Denton to face the North Texas Mean Green on Saturday, September 8.

 

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

Houston Cougars drop final season opener at Robertson Stadium to Texas State Bobcats 30-13

David Piland (8) completed 17-of-44 passes for 211 yards and 

one touchdown. Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca

Photography, Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved.

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2012 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 1, 2012) The Tony Levine era of Houston Cougars football officially began on Saturday night and the result was not what the fans and the alumni were looking for.

With the inability to stop the Texas State Bobcat offense, the Houston Cougars dropped their final opening game at Robertson Stadium 30-13 in front of 32,207 fans.

The Cougars could manage only one touchdown and two field goals offensively.

Houston accounted for 326 total yards on offense but their inability to maintain drivers and get the ball into the end zone was a major factor in the loss.

The Bobcats had control of the ball for 43 minutes of the game which severely limited the Cougars scoring potential.

David Piland, who had not seen action as quarterback since 2010, completed 17-of-44 passes for 211 yards and one touchdown.

He also threw one interception and was sacked twice.

Head coach Tony Levine addressed Piland’s performance in the post-game press conference:

“I will notice more once I see the video. Nobody plays exceptionally well offensively when you have the ball for 16 minutes and score 13 points. We have to distribute the ball into the hands of our play makers better. We have to get Charles Sims going better than we did. I’m not saying he didn’t play well, but I would hesitate to say anybody on offense played an outstanding game based on sheer number of points.”

Piland was also critical of the Cougars’ performance, stating

“We had chances and didn’t exploit them how we should’ve. We should’ve made more easy throws. We needed to move the ball down the field and over the middle.”

Defensively, Houston pretty much allowed the Bobcat offense to score at will.

The Cougars gave up 248 rushing and 196 passing yards to Texas State allowing them to score three touchdowns and three field goals with 17 unanswered points in the second quarter.

For Houston, Charles Sims rushed for 77 yards on 14 carries to lead the Cougars on the grown.

Larry McDuffey caught two passes for 73 yards and one touchdown while Daniel Spencer accounted for 49 yards on six receptions.

The Cougars next opponent will be against Louisiana Tech on Saturday, September 8 with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.