While not always a telltale sign of things to come, it’s happened enough to warrant an inquisitive response from someone who learns of the football facts between these two rivals.
Those facts are that more often than not when South Houston defeats Dobie, the Trojans go to the state playoffs.
Over the last 25 years, it has happened in 1995, 1996, 2007, 2016 and 2017. In 2008, South Houston did defeat Dobie and didn’t qualify for the postseason, while on the flip side, Dobie did beat South Houston in 2011 and the Trojans still managed to earn a playoff berth.
But there’s no denying we have a pattern here, a pattern we’ll see if it happens again when South Houston and Dobie collide for the 52nd annual showdown at Veterans Memorial Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff Thursday night.
As many are aware, the game has suddenly been thrust upon the two respective coaching staffs after Channelview reported covid-19 cases in its program, prompting the district to do a flip-flop of Week 10 and Week 5. So while the Falcons self-quarantine, the district is using their Week 10 bye date to make it an easy fix for this weekend.
“We were supposed to play Dobie Week 10, now we’re playing them Week 5. Dobie’s a really good team, a really good program. Coach Kevin Berneathy does a very good job over there. We had a short week to get ready, playing on Thursday. We were supposed to play Deer Park on Friday. That’s the beauty of sports, you’ve got to deal with adversity, you’ve got to be ready to change on the fly. The kids have had a good week, so we’ll be ready tomorrow night,” South Houston head coach Patrick Longstreet said.
Dobie’s method of operation on offense won’t be any different from years past. They’re going to call for a ton of running assignments. In 2018 and 2019, Dobie led the district, averaging 363 yards per game in 2018 and 278 last year. Needless to say, Dobie’s passing attack has ranked near the bottom of the district those two years, averaging under 100 yards.
Cameron Gray will be Dobie’s probable starting quarterback. He was the team’s second-leading rusher last year with 421 yards and nine touchdowns. But the ground attack did lose their top rusher in Dontavion Crosby, a First Team All-District selection.
“They’re playing really good football right now. It’ll be a challenge for us but it’ll be a chance to measure ourselves where we stand as a program. If we want to be one of the four teams fighting for the playoffs, what a great opportunity this will be,” Longstreet said.
The Trojans will counter with their freshman quarterback in Kam’ron Webb, who is coming off his first stellar contest during a 34-0 win over Pasadena. Kendrick Banks will also be behind center.
The one thing South Houston can’t do is draw penalty after penalty like they were doing for the opening half and the first two plays of the second half against the Eagles.
Then as if a light came on, South Houston was only penalized three times for 20 yards after Webb went on a 54-yard scamper in the opening seconds of the third quarter.
GAME NOTES: South Houston will be going after a rare accomplishment Thursday night. After blanking Pasadena to start district last week, the Trojans will be vying for back-to-back shutouts for just the ninth time since their inaugural season of 1958. Those eight previous times took place in 1959, 1962, 1963, 1969, 1974, 1975, 1988, 1989. Pearland and Sam Rayburn were the shutout victims in both the 1988 and 1989 seasons. But the odds of it happening are slim. South Houston last shut out Dobie in 1969, Year 1 of the series. …This will be Longstreet’s 25th game at the South Houston helm and Berneathy’s 26th.