Beyond marquee players, Rams trying to manufacture depth
Wednesday May 14, 2008
Written by Dave Purpura
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fifth in a series of 12 spring football previews. The Athlete’s Connection will run our “Spring Blitz” series every weekday through May 23.
Behind the much-heralded quarterback and running back, beyond the lofty expectations placed on the Cypress Ridge football program for next season, the Rams have a few issues.
The smallest senior class in the program’s seven-year history has coach Gary Thiebaud and his staff trying not necessarily to answer more questions than ever, but new questions.
“We graduated 49 seniors and this (2009) senior class (of 27) is the smallest ever,” Thiebaud said. “Normally we have anywhere from around 40 to just over 50. We expect every year to win a district championship. Coming off a pretty good year (11-2), we expect to do pretty well. But we’re thin depth-wise and we’re trying to figure out solutions.”
Not exactly the talk expected from a Rams team that, powered by the state’s top-rated quarterback in LSU commit Russell Shepard and Minnesota-bound running back Hasan Lipscomb, weaved around and over District 17-5A to win an undefeated championship. They both return, but Thiebaud’s mission is finding out who the supporting cast will be in the Rams’ quest to win the 15-5A title.
Cy Ridge defeated Elsik and Eisenhower to open the playoffs before losing to Fort Bend Hightower on a 50-yard field goal as time expired.
The Rams are holding a scrimmage at 3:45 p.m. Friday, though their final spring practices will be next week.
Both lines were depleted by graduation, as was safety.
Highly-recruited junior tackle Keenan Flax (6-feet-4, 265 pounds), junior guard Jon Edmondson and sophomore tackle Michael Salinas will anchor the offensive line in front of Shepard, who rushed for 1,525 yards and 18 touchdowns and passed for another 800 yards and eight scores in 2007.
Lipscomb, who verbally committed to Minnesota two weeks ago, ran for 1,625 yards and 26 touchdowns last year. Of his five kickoff returns, two were for touchdowns.
“He is every bit the player Russell Shepard is,” Thiebaud said. “Hasan does so much for win, not just at running back but on special teams, that helps us win. His commitment to Minnesota did surprise me. I asked him if he’d be all right in that cold weather up there and he assured me ‘They’ll find me some warm pads to wear.’ ”
Lipscomb, who moved to Houston from New Orleans in 2006 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, also had considered Baylor, Iowa State and Texas A&M among other schools.
Thiebaud said Shepard, who verbally committed to LSU in early March, focused on becoming a better passer in the offseason.
“He’s gotten the receivers here and worked with them and he’s gone to competitions across the state … and across the country for that matter,” Thiebaud said. “He understands our offense even better this year. He’s communicating more with our offensive coordinator, Rob Griffing, about what feels comfortable. Russell has a much better grasp on his abilities.”
The wide receivers corps is expected to include current junior Amdi Egbounu, who stands 6-5; and current sophomores Jay L. Scott, Kevin Johnson and Eric Jones. Adrian Bonham, who played cornerback last year, has seen some time on offense this spring.
Standouts on the defensive line include juniors John Gandy and Harold Jackson, and sophomores Robert Scarpati and Kenny Coleman. Scarpati made the game-saving stop in the final seconds of the Eisenhower game, making a tackle with time expiring to stop the Eagles from scoring the game-winning touchdown.
Linebacker candidates include Princeton Jackson and Fred Roberson.
“We had as good an offseason as we’ve ever had,” Thiebaud said. “We broke a lot of records in the weight room and according to our running tests, this is the fastest team we’ve ever had. Top to bottom, this is as good a group as we’ve ever had. We were district champions in track so we know we’ll be able to run. But our biggest concern now is our depth issues.”
CYPRESS RIDGE 2008 SCHEDULE
Aug. 29: Humble, 7:30 p.m. (at Berry Center)
Sept. 5: at Klein, 7:30 p.m. (at Klein Memorial Stadium)
Sept. 11: at Cinco Ranch, 7 p.m. (at Rhodes Stadium)
*+Sept. 26: Cypress Woods, 7:30 p.m. (at Pridgeon Stadium, as home team)
+Oct. 4: Cypress Creek, 6 p.m. (at Berry Center, as home team)
+Oct. 11: Cy-Fair, 6 p.m. (at Berry Center, as visiting team)
+Oct. 18: Cypress Falls, 6 p.m. (at Berry Center, as home team)
+Oct. 25: Jersey Village, 6 p.m. (at Pridgeon Stadium, as visiting team)
+Oct. 31: Cypress Springs, 7:30 p.m. (at Berry Center, as home team)
+Nov. 7: Langham Creek, 7:30 p.m. (at Pridgeon Stadium, as visiting team)
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