In Morgan’s first season, the Rangers beat in-town rival Bryan for the first time ever. Last season, Rudder won three district games, the most its ever won.
That leaves pretty big shoes to fill for new head football coach and campus coordinator Eric Ezar. Not only is he tasked with building upon that, but he’s doing it with a program that’s never taken the next step.
Ezar is Rudder’s fourth head coach, and the Rangers have compiled a 25-81-1 record in 10 seasons, including a 6-14 mark under Morgan. Rudder’s best season was a 7-3 finish in 2010, but the Rangers posted records of 1-8-1, 3-7 and 0-10 the next three years. This past season was Rudder’s best finish since that 2010 season, and though the Rangers return a pair of athletic juniors in quarterback Brant Roberts and wide receiver/defensive back Keithron Lee, they’ll have to replace star running back Byron Moore as well as much of their offensive and defensive lines.
Building upon last year’s finish will be enough of a challenge for a first-year coach who has to fill those holes, especially considering a recurring problem for Morgan’s Rudder squads.
Low participation numbers plagued Rudder, forcing several players to play both ways. In Class 5A, that’s a big problem. One has to wonder if the Rangers had enough manpower and fatigue hadn’t been an issue whether some games, such as the 35-28 loss to Lamar Consolidated, could have ended differently.
That’s where Ezar’s strengths come in. As head football coach at his alma mater, Dallas White, he had a 14-26 record from 2009-12, but participation in subvarsity football tripled, according to Bryan athletic director Lance Angel. That’s huge for a program such as Rudder that desperately needs depth.
“You have to start in the junior highs and elementary schools, getting kids excited from a young age about wanting to be a Rudder Ranger,” Ezar said. “There’s a lot of getting in the halls and talking to kids.”
That’s not just for football, either. As the athletic director at Willis, several Wildkat teams saw success, including softball’s run to the Class 5A state title game in 2017. Rudder has been successful in other sports, including basketball, baseball and volleyball, and Ezar could help those Ranger squads take the next step.
Ezar wants to build relationships and get kids invested in a still-young program. Like Morgan, Ezar wants those who come through his program to grow into better people, not just better athletes. It won’t be easy this year, but with time, effort and a little more depth, Ezar and the Rudder football team could be planning for an 11th game for the first time ever.
Iola baseball, which got off to a hot start, saw its 15-game winning streak end in a 5-4 loss at Burton in District 26-2A on Friday. It was the first loss of the season for the Bulldogs, who have several lopsided wins on the year. The rematch is set for April 23 at Iola.
Kaleb Camp drove in two runs and scored on a passed ball to help Iola to a 4-0 lead in the third, but Burton (10-2-1, 5-0) tied it in the fifth before taking the lead on an RBI groundout in the sixth.
The Bulldogs (15-1, 4-1) loaded the bases in the seventh, but the Panthers got a strikeout to end the game.
Kaiden Halley allowed four runs and recorded nine strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings and went 2 for 4 at the plate.
It’s a big win for Burton, which is coming off a regional quarterfinal appearance in which the Panthers, who were undefeated in district play last year, lost to eventual state champion Dallardsville Big Sandy. Much of the Burton roster from last year is intact, including 2018 All-Brazos Valley picks Cash Callahan, Jackson Kalkhake and Aaron Kohring.
Iola is stacked in its own right with players such as Halley, Camp, Randy Johnson and Chad Guidry making noise at the plate the past few games.
District 19-5A update
Magnolia swept College Station last week, throwing the District 19-5A baseball race into flux. The Cougars and Bulldogs are locked in a three-way tie with A&M Consolidated almost halfway through district action with 4-2 records. If the playoffs started today, Magnolia would be the No. 2 seed with wins over Consol and College Station, Consol would be third thanks to its split with Magnolia, and College Station would be the fourth-place team.
However, the Tigers and Cougars have yet to face off in what ultimately will be a huge series. That will be next week, with Consol hosting College Station on April 9 and traveling to Cougar Field on April 12.
At 6-0, Magnolia West sits atop the district, and Rudder and Waller both are 3-3 while Brenham and Katy Paetow are 0-6.
The softball picture is much clearer. College Station continues to dominate the district with an 8-0 record, while Consol and Magnolia are battling it out for playoff positioning at 6-2. The Lady Cougars and Lady Bulldogs will have an interesting rematch at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Lady Cougar Field. College Station handed then-No. 1 Magnolia its first loss of ... Click here to read full article
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