Published: September 05, 2006 07:27 pm            

Fielder bigger, faster, stronger and ready to run

Weatherford High School Kangaroos senior running back Willie Fielder dominated defenses during the 2005 season as he gained 1,454 yards and scored 25 touchdowns on 239 attempts, leading the Roos to their first Class 5A playoff appearance.

Fielder was rewarded for his efforts with a first-team all-district selection, but the Roos were sent home after their first playoff game with a 49-14 loss to Abilene High in Brownwood.

“I worked hard,” Fielder said of 2005. “We came together as a team, practiced hard and it came out good for all of us. I ended up getting over 1,000 yards, first-team all-district and hopefully, we’ll get farther this year in the playoffs and take the team a little bit farther.”

Last season, senior quarterback Tyler Luttrell was the leader of the Weatherford offense, but this season, Fielder will shoulder the offensive load. Fielder said he is looking forward to the responsibility of being a leader, but added he will have help.

“It’s not that bad because we have Kyle Wilson coming back at quarterback,” Fielder said. “Last year, he was our second string. He’ll help us out.

“We’re just trying to get the whole offense involved, not just me, that way defenses won’t just key on me only. But we’re still going to be getting me the ball and letting me do what I always do.”

Fielder knew in the off-season that he would be called upon to lead his squad and took the necessary steps to prepare himself for his rigorous senior season.

“I gained 10 pounds trying to get a little more weight on me,” Fielder said. “I’m trying not to get injured, so I worked out a little bit to try to get quicker and stronger so I could come out and have a little better year this year.”

Weatherford head coach Mike Sneed took notice of Fielder’s improved physique and said he hopes to see his running back breaking away from defenses this season.

“He’s our go-to guy on the goal line,” Sneed said of Fielder. “I expect that because he is bigger and stronger that he will probably break some longer runs. Last year, he broke a couple, but I think this year, he’ll probably break even more runs.”

While Fielder’s body will be able to stand up to more punishment because of his work during the off-season, Sneed said he hopes to keep him healthy and fresh.

“My wish for him is to stay healthy,” Sneed said. “We don’t want to get him beat up early in the year. Back when he was a sophomore, he played in the first game we had that year and it took him about six weeks to recover. He carried the ball about 30 times and he just got the dog beat out of him, so we basically had to put him back on the shelf for about six weeks before he could start playing.

“He hurt his back and hurt his shoulder. He took a pretty physical beating and we hopefully, with Willie and the other backs, will get them rotated and keep him pretty fresh.”

Now that Fielder has improved physically, he is hoping to improve statistically as well. He said he thinks if he can have a better season in 2006, he can improve his team’s chances of playoff success, while improving his prospects for college.

“My goal is to get more yards than what I did last year and beat what I did last year,” Fielder said. “I want to get a little better so I can get looked at by scouts, but the main thing is to just get better than I was last year.

“I don’t know. Hopefully, I will have a lot of options and colleges just look at me. I would like to get into a D-I school, but we’ll see.”

Fielder said the key to success for the Weatherford offense is the Roos mentality and their ability to eliminate mental mistakes.

“I think mentally ... that’s all we need is mental,” Fielder said. “We have to get everything right and practice hard and go over everything so we don’t have to worry about anything else.”

Weatherford has a long season ahead with a tough road to the state playoff and a state championship, but there is one game on the schedule that has been the talk of Parker County in recent months because of the fact that many of the players on the respective teams know each other — Weatherford at Aledo on Sept. 15.

“I am looking forward to it,” Fielder said. “It’s not a playoff game or a district game or anything, but it’s close to a rival, so I am looking forward to it. We’ve still got to watch out because it’s getting away from our district and we have got to get to our district games.”

Fielder said Aledo will be a good test for himself and his team with two players already committed to University of Texas, but added that he’s not concerned with that, he just wants to have success and help his team get a win.

“Yeah, they say they’re good and they’ve got some kids over there in Aledo that are going to Texas and stuff, but I’m not really worried about that,” Fielder said. “I am trying to get looked at myself, so I’m trying to get what I can get.”

Soon, everyone will be looking at Fielder and the rest of the Weatherford football team when the Roos enter their first game in Abilene against Abilene Cooper on Sept. 2.

        

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