Whitehouse Has Its Offense Rolling Into Friday Night’s Meeting With John Tyler

Whitehouse’s offense is poised for a big season. After scoring seven points in the first three quarters of an opening-season loss to Texas High, Whitehouse's offense woke up in the next two games.

The Wildcats scored a total of 117 points in wins over Chapel Hill and Sulphur Springs.

“The biggest difference from the first three quarters against Texas High and now was protecting the football. That was the main thing. We had a chance to go up 14-0 on Texas High early in that game before a turnover ended a drive,” said Whitehouse head coach Adam Cook. “We put an emphasis on protecting the football and the focus from the guys has been great.”

The Wildcats missed out on the playoffs in 2014 with a 5-5 record, but Cook thinks his team is turning it around with some talented newcomers coming into their own and the experienced players leading the way.

“We’ve got some new guys in key roles, so the experience of some of the guys out there becomes real important to the rest of the team. We’ve got some good playmakers and our quarterback is making good decisions for us,” Cook said. “We’ve put our offensive coordinator up in the booth instead of on the field and that has helped, too. It was an adjustment for us in terms of how we call the play and all that, but the kids have bought in and they’re going out to play as hard and as smart as possible.”

Another reason for the offensive turnaround is the play of quarterback Collin Bullard. He split time with junior Tanner Roach early in the season, but took over the majority of the reps in the past two games and will start this week against John Tyler in the 16-5A district opener for both teams.

“When we came out of the spring, Collin was the front-runner because Tanner missed some time with baseball and an injury. They split time through the summer and early in the fall and it was the best thing for both of them because they made each other better through competition,” Cook said. “We had a similar situation with Patrick Mahomes and Ryan Cheatham a few years ago and I see this as very similar.”

Whitehouse enjoyed an open week last week, but it is time to focus on a John Tyler team with a misleading record, says Cook.

“We got back to the basics and got our feet back underneath us for district play. It let the guys with some bumps and bruises get healthier. We also wanted to use the time for our kids to really focus on the classroom and make sure everything is in order there,” Cook said. “We know we have a big test in front of us this week. John Tyler is the bedt 0-3 team in the state. They’ve had some young guys need to step up like we have and that takes some time. Coach (Ricklan) Holmes does a great job and John Tyler is still John Tyler. They’ll be prepared to play us hard and well.”