Published: October 17, 2008 04:11 pm         

Home, sweet homecoming?

WEATHERFORD — Whether the reason is the opponents they have played or the extra incentive provided by the homecoming crowd, or both, the Kangaroos have been winning of late, on Homecoming Night. Weatherford head coach Kenny Wheaton may take some solace in this recent pattern, as the Roos come off of a tough road trip to Abilene.

“We did some good things [in the Abilene game],” Wheaton said. “We just kind of let it get away from us with all the turnovers and missing some tackles in the open field.

“Other than that, I think our kids made a statement and earned some respect. The score was not indicative of how the game went.”

Though the final score was 63-12, with Weatherford on the short end, the first quarter ended 14-12, and saw the Roos moving the ball with good consistency, something Abilene had not experienced so early in its games, with starters still on the field. Had the turnover bug not been a factor, there’s little doubt the margin would have been closer.

Returning to friendly surroundings can work wonders. The Roos won the last time they were at home, against Paschal, and this home stand figures to be even a bit more special.

“For some reason, we’ve always won on homecoming,” Wheaton said. “We won last year against Burleson. We still have to focus and continue to get better. It’s nice to be back home and I’m hopeful we will have a big crowd.”

The Roos line up against a Haltom team that beat Paschal in close, yet high-scoring contest last Friday, 46-41, collecting its first district win. The Buffalos had fallen just short in their two previous district contests, losing to North Crowley by three and to Burleson by a single point.

Wheaton and his staff have studied films preparing for state-ranked teams, like Coppell and Abilene, and other district opponents like Paschal, and now Haltom. The Weatherford coach comes back to the same conclusion, regardless of the color of the uniform or the logo on the helmet.

“We tell the kids every day,” Wheaton said, “it’s not who we play. It’s how we play, And we’ve got to quit stopping ourselves, but we’re certainly not going to overlook anyone.”

The Roos have some injuries, which can be expected this time of year, in any season, which means that others on the team will be needed to step in and step up amidst the meat of the district schedule. And it just might help kick start the process in the right direction with yet another win on Homecoming Night.

     

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