Mineola Will Have To Beat Brock’s Incredible Defense For Another Shot At State Championship

CLASS 3A DIVISION I SEMIFINAL

Brock Eagles (14-0)

vs.

Mineola Yellowjackets (14-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Gopher-Warrior Bowl, Grand Prairie

Coaches

• Brock: Chad Worrell
• Mineola: Joe Drennon

Last week

• Brock: def. Shallowater, 38-10
• Mineola: def. Sunnyvale, 45-28

Next week

• Winner faces winner between Cameron Yoe and Mathis, 3A Division I state championship game, 5 p.m. Thursday (Dec. 17) at Houston's NRG Stadium

Playmakers

Brock

• RB/LB Zane Young, Jr., 6-1, 229
• RB/DB Tyler Gray, Jr., 5-9, 170
• RB/LB Leddy French, Sr., 5-11, 180
• QB Seth Boleman, Sr., 5-10, 160

Mineola

• OL/DL Austin Anderson, Sr., 6-4, 280 (Committed to Texas A&M as an offensive lineman)
• OL/DL Riley Anderson, Sr., 6-5, 285 (Committed to Texas A&M as an offensive lineman)
• QB/DB Jeremiah Crawford, Jr., 5-10, 185
• RB/DB Chantz Perkins, Jr., 5-7, 155
• WR/DB Noah Sneed, Jr., 5-11, 185
• RB/LB/DE Kourtland Sinches, Jr., 5-10, 165
• DE Devon Goguen, Jr., 6-4, 185
• LB Mike Drennon, Soph.
• DB Cameron Sorenson, Soph., 6-1, 165

Just the facts

• Mineola is making its second straight and only second all-time state semifinals appearance.
• Brock, a two-year-old UIL program, is making its first appearance.
• Brock has a 26-2 UIL record.
• Yellowjackets quarterback Jeremiah Crawford needs 202 rushing yards Friday to become East Texas' leading rusher on the ETSN.fm Leader Board.
• Mineola running back Chantz Perkins needs 89 yards to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards this season.
• The Yellowjackets' 14-game winning streak is East Texas' third-best. They trail Waskom (29) and Gilmer (30), both of which also will be active in their respective classifications' state semifinal round games.
• Mineola's defense ranks second among the four remaining active teams within the region in total tackles for negative yardage. Waskom leads the category.
• Brock's defense averages 7.3 points per game, fueled by allowing seven total points through its first five games of the season.
• Brock has recorded five shutouts this season and only allowed seven points per game in three other contests.
• Brock has never allowed more than 19 points on defense this season.
• Mineola's defense averages about 13 points against per game while its offense averages 40 points per game.
• The Yellowjackets will travel 97 miles to Grand Prairie. Brock, which is just west of Weatherford, will drive 62 miles one-way.

Key matchup: Mineola's running attack versus Brock's defense.

Brock easily has the best defense among the four remaining Class 3A Division I teams, averaging just 7.3 points against per game. The team has five shutouts and held another three teams to just seven points in en route to its perfect record.

Friday's game should be an easy one for Brock to plan for defensively. Eighty-one percent of the Yellowjackets' 5,992 yards have come on the ground. All but 498 of Mineola's 4,876 rushing yards have been routed through either quarterback Jeremiah Crawford or running back Chantz Perkins.

Actually stopping Mineola is a different matter though. No team has been successful in that regard. The 14 straight wins speak for themselves.

Mineola's offensive line will present two challenges Brock has no way of preparing for -- twin offensive tackles Austin Anderson and Riley Anderson. They're both senior Texas A&M commitments. Behind them and three skilled interior linemen will be Crawford and Perkins, so this is the offense most likely to break Brock's cap of 19 points allowed in any game all season.

The Yellowjackets will be in good position to win if Crawford and Perkins move as freely as they have in other postseason games. Brock's odds increase if they create plays for negative Mineola yardage and ultimately force Crawford into making more than the occasional throw.

Don't be surprised if: Turnovers determine the outcome of the game. Mineola already has to deal with what is probably the best defense it has seen all season. The Yellowjackets can't make it easier for Brock. Meanwhile, Brock's own offense is pretty balanced. If Mineola's defense can create a takeaway or two, with strengths at each level, Crawford and Perkins always seem to be one missed tackle away from scoring going the other way.