Published: October 29, 2009 08:52 am      

Leopards look to end Leeper era with win

By DARIN ALLRED

Register Sports Editor



With all the hoopla regarding the final varsity football game to ever be played at historic Leeper Stadium, we seem to be forgetting one thing ... there is a varsity football game to be played.

The Gainesville Leopards will host the Argyle Eagles, the sixth-ranked team in the state in Class 3A, Friday at 7:30 p.m.

It will be the last varsity game to be played at the stadium. The Leopards will play on campus at Gainesville High School next season in a new stadium.

Gainesville (5-3 overall, 1-2 district) needs to pull off an upset of Argyle (8-0 overall, 3-0 district) to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

But is all the talk about Leeper Stadium and the special plans like an after-game fireworks show a distraction for the team and coaches?

“No not at all,” Gainesville head coach Ricky Lock says. “It will be a positive thing. They’ve talked about how it would be nice to go out with a win in the last varsity game ever at Leeper Stadium. We’ve talked about that. It sure would be nice.”

To get the win, the Leopards will have to find an offense that has been lost the past three weeks, especially since running back Deshawn Franklin was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

After rushing for an average of 230 yards a game in their first five games, the Leopards have rushed for 81, 82 and 82 yards the past three weeks. They haven’t done much better through the air, averaging just 68 yards a game in district play. That has all translated into slim pickings on the scoreboard. Gainesville has scored a total of 23 points in their three district games.

So finding some offense is a priority for Lock and his team as they get ready to face Argyle this week and defending state champion Prosper next week.

“It would be nice. Going up against these defenses that have shut people down all year and haven’t given up many points and they are undefeated is tough,” Lock said. “Life without Franklin has been kind of rough, but we’ve got to find something and keep on plugging. That just shows you how good of a player he was.”

Argyle will pose a big test for an inexperienced Leopard team, especially along the offensive and defensive lines.

“We are going to see one of the best offensive lines we’ve seen all year and probably the best defensive player we have seen all year in (David) Johnson that has already committed to TCU,” Lock added. “That’s a challenge anytime you go up against somebody like that. We look forward to the challenge.”

The Leopards are coming off a 39-0 loss to Celina last week, a game Gainesville only trailed 18-0 at halftime, holding the Bobcats to just two first downs in the first half. But turnovers made life miserable. The Leopards fumbled seven times, losing three. They also threw an interception.

But Lock says as good as Celina was, Argyle and Prosper are even better.

“I think Celina is the third best team in the district,” he said. “Argyle has already beat Prosper and plays Celina the last game of the year. They are ranked higher than the other two. They are all right there. There is not much difference between any of them. They are all pretty good. They are big up front and they have some good football players.”

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., Friday at Leeper Stadium.