Crawford is still Crawford, making this a golden opportunity for De Leon

FLASH FOOTBALL GAME OF THE WEEK

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No. 10 De Leon hopes to slip past No. 9 Crawford Friday and announce itself as a legitimate district, regional and state title contender. || TheFlashToday.com file photo by RUSSELL HUFFMAN

By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com

(September 26, 2017) — Crawford is just as Crawford as Crawford has ever been.

That’s what concerns De Leon head coach David Yeager. It’s also what makes this such a logical next step and well-timed opportunity for his football team.

No. 9 Crawford welcomes No. 10 De Leon to Pirate Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, but rarely over the past three decades have visitors enjoyed their stay.

De Leon lost to Crawford twice last season without having to deal with the Pirates in a true road game. They lost at home, 45-7, when the Bearcats didn’t have Kevin Yeager, their star quarterback and free safety and son of the head coach. Even when Kevin played in the 2A Division I quarterfinals, Crawford was in control from the onset in a 41-14 win.

“They have such great tradition. They haven’t changed hardly a thing over the last 30 years, and why would they?,” asked Yeager, rhetorically. “The do what they do, they do it well and they don’t deviate from it. They don’t beat themselves with mistakes and they trust in their system.”

As they should. Head coach Delbert Kelm, now 60, took over the program 11 seasons ago from his brother-in-law, Robert Murphy. Kelm became Murphy’s offensive coordinator in Crawford 28 seasons ago.

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Crawford blew out Aberntathy 42-7 in a semifinal contest after eliminating De Leon last year, then narrowly missed out on upsetting Refugio to win a second state championship, losing 23-20. It’s all part of a 109-22 record under Kelm, including 54-7 since 2013.

“We understand all roads go through Crawford in order to win a district championship, but the same is true of 15 other district champions in our division, and hundreds of them across the sate,” said Yeager, who won’t yet discuss the possibility of these teams meeting again in the playoffs, perhaps even in another quarterfinal. “There’s so much football between now and then, who knows what will happen.”

While it’s easy to see this could be a statement game for De Leon, Yeager understands that if such rhetoric exists it means the Bearcats have already made a big statement.

Led by an impressive junior class that includes his son Kevin, Chris Cox, Calvin Martin and move-in Anthony Rangel, De Leon has outscored opponents 182-19, pitching three shutouts and building a 42-7 lead over Cross Plains before a couple late TDs while De Leon had the bulk of its starters on the sideline.

Yeager is 69-107 passing for 870 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one interception, and Rangel, who moved to De Leon this summer from Sanford-Fitch, has rushed 50 times for 689 yards and 12 scores. Neither has had to work a full four quarters.

“What’s great about Anthony is he’s such a great teammate. He’s a quiet kid, unassuming, just shows up every day and works hard,” said David Yeager. “Having Anthony allowed us to move Chris Cox from running back to receiver, and Chris is a dynamic athlete at this level who gives us another great weapon on the perimeter.”

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But its the still those three shutouts in four games that makes Coach Yeager smile the widest.

“The thing I’m most proud of is our guys don’t just care about scoring points or getting lots of stats. They take pride in their defense, and that’s really what we hang our hat on. I was impressed with the offense being played by Cross Plains and Santo heading into those games, but our guys studied the game plan, learned it and went out and executed it each time.”

There is no doubt, though, that Baird, Winters, Cross Plains and Santo, who De Leon combined to outscore 182-19 over the first four weeks of the season, are not in the same conversation as Crawford.

“We are fully aware of what we’re up against. We know we’ve got somebody this week that will push back at us. And they’re going to keep pushing and doing it in a hostile environment. You don’t go to Crawford and win easily, that just doesn’t happen.”

Even with an early loss to nearby 3A rival Clifton, Crawford is still the same tough customer.

“They’re good everywhere you look, no doubt. Everyone thinks Crawford just runs the ball, but they’ve got a quarterback who throws a pretty ball and a receiver who can beat you deep and go get it, so you have to be careful,” Yeager said. “They can lull you in with that running game and then hit a big one on you.”

So what does it take, once you have a team both athletic and successful enough to be in the conversation, to actually get it done, to go on the road and defeat a perennial state powerhouse that doesn’t make mistakes and won’t beat itself?

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“We have to play just as clean a game as they do. They aren’t going to help us so we have to avoid helping them,” said Yeager. “We can’t have turnovers and we can’t commit a lot of penalties.

“I think both teams know the other has big play capability and will be trying to limit that, and with our defenses there aren’t a lot of opportunities to drive down the field, so when we do get inside the 20, we have to score points. We have to be opportunistic with the chances we get.”

The Bearcats have the chance to announce themselves as district favorites and regional front runners, perhaps even state title contenders.

But only, Yeager says, if they keep perspective.

“We can’t get too high or too low because that’s when things will snowball on you. We just have to focus on the next play. Whether something goes right or wrong, put it behind you and move on to the next play, because that’s all you can control.”

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