PurpleNation

4 minutes ago, PackAttack said:

Okay, no practice anywhere outside today. Looks like they are inside with the doors up.  Headed back to house, maybe will get another glimpse of them Monday. 

I'm  not really too worried about next season. All the Green experts say it's between the Lobos, Lancaster and Forney.  I can hardly wait for the season to start. Go Pack!

Lancaster beat Forney 56-6 Last year. I honestly don't think Forney is as good as some people think. Lufkin should beat them next season.

As for how I would rate Lufkin's spring practice. I'm not sure but they seem to be doing what we did and we finished 14-1. The do inside hull, and pass hull, team, individual circuit. A good mixture between half and full pad. 

3 hours ago, PackAttack said:

I'm asking this question to anyone out there who KNOWS, however primarily directed toward Purple Nation.

Longview is known for tough physical and mental workouts, and play on the field. They are extremely physical against each other in their practice regiment. IMO that pays dividends to their success.

How do you rate Lufkin's football workouts in comparison?

I can't imagine Longview having a tougher off season workout or practice as to why they have been successful. I think it's important but they have just had more talent here recently. We can quantify that by looking at recruiting. Longview isn't going full pads blasting each other every day. That's just not smart. You don't have to do that and your gonna get kids hurt. King is a smart coach and they got good players. 

1 hour ago, PackAttack said:

Yea, I went by to check out, however the sky was dark and ominous. It started to rain, so I knew it was a no go today.

I believe they're gonna try again tomorrow 

No scrimmage today 

Former Lufkin Panther Robert Murphy has been elevated to Athletic Director/Head Football Coach at Humble HS. I'm so proud and excited my classmate. He is going to mold young men into successful adults. It's more then a game. 

Scrimmage today about the same time as last Wednesday. Weather permitting.

If you really look at the schedule last season. McKinney North should had been a win. I'll be disappointed if Lufkin doesn't blow them out this year at Abe. How many turnovers did we have in that Forney game? Somewhere around 4 or 5. That's a game Lufkin could had won last season. Lancaster beat Forney 56-6. Then we all witnessed Lufkin nearly upset Lancaster to close out the year in a game they should had won. I know those teams are improved but so is Lufkin. That's the beauty of HS football a lot can change in a season.

1 minute ago, Pack05 said:

I believe Taylor is one from last year . 

Yeah that's the one that made Lancaster look silly on that reverse or jet toss. Now my kid has said Lil Hoop has been the toughest WR for the defense to deal with this spring so that's another small shifty weapon Lufkin will be able to deploy from the slot. 

2 hours ago, Pack13 said:

If slots can take care of shallow safeties teams will have to make the hard call. I think Young can run against 11 in the box. So honestly I’d back the safeties off. 

We have some good slot WRs that should get the job done. 

1 hour ago, Pack05 said:

Against better competition , it will be hard to run the ball with 8 or 9 in the box . Some teams can’t stop a nose bleed regardless of what they do !

That's when we need to hit in our pass game but I agree Longview and Lancaster will stop the run and force Lufkin to throw the ball. 

7 hours ago, Pack05 said:

Can we make the play consistently though ?

Consistency is the key and I think we're going to find out. Me personally I don't think teams will be able to just play 8 in the box all game and just focus on Kedren. I think they will have to pick and choose when to load the box. Kedren faced stack boxes last year and still had success. Like you said they just need to find consistency.

7 hours ago, Pack05 said:

I think we do have some speed at WR . 

You don't have to be a blazer to be a good WR. Although I agree we have WRs with good speed. How fast and smooth can a kid get in and out of his brakes. More importantly can he catch the ball. Can he make contested catches. Does he understand when and where to sit in the zone. Can he block? I think Lufkin is more then equipped at the WR position this year to be successful. 

1 hour ago, Pack05 said:

I’m hearing good things about the pack defense! I hope they’re the real deal this year . 

They got a chance to be really good this season on defense. Especially when you have a SEC level NT. 

38 minutes ago, Pack13 said:

One on ones are great but line is going to have to hold. Honestly I’d load 8 in the box. Stop Young and you to the offense. I didn’t see enough outside speed to believe we can separate. TJ also has a tendency to prefer the deep ball versus dumping the ball to the flats. 

Yeah but when they do hit the play it's gonna go for 6

10 hours ago, Pack05 said:

The H - Back is nice , but idk if that answers all our issues offensively !  I think play calling has to get more creative , especially if we remain in the spread offense !  

I seen a double screen play during the Wednesday scrimmage that had the ball went to Gavin instead of the other back I think he probably scores. I also don't think Gavin was lined up at RB but was flexed out to the wing. Very creative play call. Need to see more of it like you said but I can honestly say it looks like they're trying to get creative. Teams that think they can put 8 in the box and stop Kedren are going to be rolling the dice with a lot of 1 on 1 mis matches. 

On 5/5/2023 at 9:41 PM, PackAttack said:

Here we are the first part of May and all we have to talk about now is football, maybe about hiring or promoting a Volleyball coach.  Panther Spring game is Monday, May 15th, starts with JV and Freshman at 4:30 or 5 PM with the Varsity to follow about 6 PM. 

So we can see what to look forward to in August and a very tough and highly talented 7-5A football district.  Lufkin has at least one more year of this district, then hope we go back south again. Anyway, teams like Lancaster and Forney are most likely moving up to 6A depending on the designated cutoff. Longview will be on the high end of the bubble, but they have a way of counting 1/2 students that may keep them 5ADI.  Lufkin will remain 5ADI for sure.  Not sure about West and North Mesquite. McKinney North won't go 6A but they will most likely be somewhere else than with 3 East Texas schools..

Until then Lufkin will need to grind it out with the current 7-5A DI group. it will certainly bring out the best in a team every week.  Couple of extremely tough road games this year for the Panthers.   I would like PantherNation to throw a little light on how things line up.  Where is Pack007, have not heard from him in a while, hope he is doing okay.

I'm going to briefly touch on coaching trust, because I think this is a reason some members do not talk here any longer. it has become like beating a dead horse.  Most of you know how I feel, but that's about the extent of me talking about it here these days. I do think it make a difference when we play better teams, and will leave it at that.  

This is going to be a great group of kids to watch play the next couple of years and I hope they are allowed to use their full potential to be successful.  Our Superintendent Lynn Torres is stepping down in June 2024, I strongly suspect the same will happen elsewhere too.  It will be interesting to see who takes over the baseball program and who heads up the Volleyball girls moving toward the end of the 2024 school year.

I think Longview is really the only team on the schedule we probably shouldn't beat but the rest of them I really like our chances. We get Forney and McKinney North at Abe. Lancaster on the road will be a little tricky but it's a match up I like for Lufkin. I really like what I have seen this spring. They're doing some things different on offense by using Gavin at H-Back. The secondary I think has a chance to be really good this year. I can't wait. 

14 minutes ago, Pack05 said:

Haven’t heard much mentioned about the D- line yet? I know Zion is supposed to be a force ! What other names can we look for there? 

McClendon is one to watch at DE. I can't think of the other kids name but he can play.

4 hours ago, Pack05 said:

Who are the other options at safety so far? 

Scott,Mosley,Hatton and Rodgers

2 hours ago, PackAttack said:

Has Menefee put on some weight in the off-season? If so, he could be a big fast ILB, if he wasn't so good at Safety.

He looks like he has added some good weight not to much. I think in college he will grow into a ILB with the way the game is played today.  

12 hours ago, Pack13 said:

Defense was really moving around. Line still worries me. They just don’t have fight in them. Also seeing them use 6 people to block 3 rushers was concerning. Didn’t see a lot of H back with Young not participating but I think it will help a lot in the season. Was disappointed Young didn’t play, I get it but always exciting to see a player like that. I thought the team speed wasn’t very impressive. Big hoop was a menace at linebacker. Dude looked the part 

Young doesn't need any carries this spring lol. I agree the defense was moving. Secondary was solid. My guy made some plays defensively. I thought he was clearly the best OLB on the day not including when they bumped Menefee to LB a few series. 

14 hours ago, Pack05 said:

What new wrinkles are y’all seeing on offense besides using the H -Back . 

That's really been it so far. They ran a double screen that had he threw it to Gavin he probably scores. You can just do so much more with that h back. I'm really looking forward to it.

12 hours ago, Pack13 said:

Defense was really moving around. Line still worries me. They just don’t have fight in them. Also seeing them use 6 people to block 3 rushers was concerning. Didn’t see a lot of H back with Young not participating but I think it will help a lot in the season. Was disappointed Young didn’t play, I get it but always exciting to see a player like that. I thought the team speed wasn’t very impressive. Big hoop was a menace at linebacker. Dude looked the part 

I thought the pass blocking was a pleasant surprise. I don't have a problem with them using 6 to block. That's 4 eligible WRs that are very capable of getting open. Gonna probably see some max protection against real aggressive teams.

2 hours ago, PackAttack said:

We will see, thumbs up until we see the accumulative results later in the fall. Can't help it, I suffer with a trust issues syndrome, from too many seasons of disappointments. However, I do trust your judgement, and remain positive always, hopeful in your predictions for 2024 and 2025.

I really liked what I saw from the scrimmage today. Might have some Thanksgiving football this year.

17 minutes ago, Pack05 said:

Did the kids scrimmage at field today? If so anything major that stands out ?

Yeah the defense got the better of the offense today but that was without Kedren. I'm not gonna lie Green is doing some things offensively that I think will work this year. Menefee looked really good today. Gavin made a few runs. The pass protection was pretty good. Although I think Hammond probably would had been sacked on one play. The Lufkin secondary played lights out.