The Prairie View 2009 SWAC Football Champion’s spring football game was played this past Friday at Blackshear Field. At the end of the evening no points were scored, but the SWAC champs are looking to be on the right track going forward.
Head coach Henry Frazier III used the word dominance when he spoke about the defenses. Fans attending the game were confused about the format of the game, thinking that there was no score being taken, but in fact both defenses didn’t allow any points.
“First of all score was being kept, both defenses simply dominated. This is normally the case with our spring games,” said Frazier.
The Prairie View squad was divided into two teams, the black team and the gold team. Frazier was in control of both teams, while the black team was under the coaching staff of Prince Pearson, Heishma Northern, John Pearce, Dwayne Foster, Roy Jones, Harry Williams, and Anthony Weeden. The gold team under was the coaching staff of Michael Bryant, Miles Brandon, Lamar Manigo, Rafael Revuelta, Val Ford and Tim Smith.
Linebacker coach John Pearce commented on the defense and his linebacking core, “I was real impressed with both units because we didn’t give up any points and we forced several turnovers. Turnovers are something we work on every day in practice and it’s great to see it paying off. Raheem Cardwell, Chris Townsend and Marcus White are three linebackers we red-shirted last fall and all three had a great spring; showing they are starting to understanding our defensive concepts.”
The game gave players a physical insight on what they need to work on before the first official game. Playing against their teammates, the Panthers seemed to feel as if there was more of a challenge for someone to win.
Freshman cornerback Jared Williams saw the game as showing potential for the upcoming season, he stated “Defense could’ve made less mental mistakes, but overall we played a good game. Our spring game ended well for both teams and I think we will have a very successful season.”
When asked about the expectations of the season after the game, Frazier said, ” I expect to pick up where we left off last season and the momentum of an eight-game winning streak and conference champions.”
The Panthers will open the season against Texas Southern University Sept. 4 in the Labor Day Classic at Reliant Stadium.