Post by CC_Varmints on Dec 15, 2011 14:01:09 GMT -6
Q&A with Cibolo Steele coach Michael Jinks
www.foxsportssouthwest.com/12/14/11/QA-with-Cibolo-Steele-coach-Michael-Jink/landing_uil.html?blockID=626622&feedID=3601
December 14, 2011
Seeing Cibolo Steele HS play and subsequently win a Class 5A state title at this time one year ago at Cowboys Stadium really wasn't that big of a surprise. After all, the Knights had the consensus top running back in the Lone Star State in Malcolm Brown, who now plays at the University of Texas and they also had one of the better defenses in the entire state.
But with Steele losing Brown and several other key contributors to graduation, most who follow 5A football thought their run at the top would be a short one. Well, as all of their first 15 opponents have learned all too well, the cupboard is far from bare for the Knights (15-0) and they will put their 28-game winning streak on the line this weekend in the 5A Division II title game against Spring Dekaney (13-2) at Cowboys Stadium.
Will lightning strike twice for Steele? It could very well and if it does, they will repeat as titleholders because of strong quarterback play from Tommy Armstrong, who became the focal point of the offense this year, as well as yet another strong performance from a stifling defense.
How does it feel to be returning to the state championship again this year?
Jinks: It's an unbelievable feeling. Last year was great and I don't want to say unexpected but it was uncharted waters. We were living day-by-day. After going there and playing in it and actually winning it is a pretty neat feeling and it's one that once you taste, you really want back again. So we've been pretty driven to get back here.
What do you expect from Spring Dekaney in your final game of the season?
Jinks: A physical, hard-nosed football game [is what we expect]. Defensively, they're big up front and they've got great speed. They'll hit you. Coach Amendola does a great job on the back end of that secondary. Offensively, everybody says everything revolves around Trey Williams. Yeah, there's some truth to that but there are a lot of other players on there that can beat you at any time. We're going to have to be disciplined and we're going to have to be sound. And we have to do a great job of running the football.
Discuss what an asset Tommy Armstrong has been to your offense not just this year but in all four years he's played.
Jinks: Well, Tommy's done a great job for us. I'm sure I'm not going to be the first one to tell you that we won a state championship with a great football team last year. Malcolm [Brown] was a great player. He was an impact player but he was surrounded by some other pretty good football players. It's the same thing with Tommy this year. Defensively, we call it our no-name defense and they have been absolutely phenomenal. Tommy, the offense runs through him this year. We haven't changed our scheme. We run the same plays but I guess the biggest difference is instead of running a 4-6 power, it's 16 power. We're running the plays, I think last year we were probably 80/20 under center. Eighty percent of it was under center and 20 percent shotgun. This year it's probably 70/30 with 70 being in the shotgun and 30 being under center. Every play that falls in his hands, he's done a great job in making decisions and getting other people involved.
How does this year's defense compared to the unit that helped you win a state title in 2010?
Jinks: I said from the beginning this defense had a chance to be the best defense we've ever had and they've proved me right. We're going to face the backfield we've faced in my 10 years at Steele High School. We're going to have to be great to get a state championship.
Why do you think your team currently sits at 15-0 and on the cusp of possibly a second straight state title?
Jinks: Well, great decision making by the guy pulling the trigger [has been huge]. Those 28 games have all been with Tommy [Armstrong] and when he's not putting the ball on the ground. When he's not turning the ball over and he's making good decisions, we're going to be successful offensively and then you add with that the ability to play stingy defense. Our numbers might not be the best in the world but our points per game is pretty dang good. So, that's kind of been the formula.
With last year's team, expectations were incredibly high due to the high talent level. You guys weren't expected to even have a shot at repeating this year but here you are, in position to win yet another title. Discuss that.
Jinks: The thing about last year's team is that expectations were unbelievably high with the star power that we had and we started the year 1-2. At that point, things really died down. We really had to do some soul searching. We were very young up front and had to take steps toward getting better. We hit our stride about week nine or 10 and started playing good football. We were able to catapult on to a state championship. This year, there were no expectations of us but after going through spring football and coming into two-a-days, as a coaching staff, we felt like we picked up where we left off. Malcolm [Brown] might not have been there but all of those linemen that had those growing pains were back. That quarterback that had to learn some things was back. The receivers were back. We still have some backs that while they're not Malcolm Brown, they're pretty darn good. When we came back defensively, we still had our secondary intact. We had two linebackers back and had enough core guys back that we felt like we started the season about where we thought we were in '09 or '10 just schematically, what we had in and what we could do and how much the kids could learn the offensive and defensive schemes. We hit the ground running. We got down 28-14 in our first ballgame after we turned the ball over four times in the first half. Since that point, we've played pretty dominating football.
Finally, what would hoisting that championship hardware for a second straight year mean for you, your kids and your program?
Jinks: Well, it would validate just an unbelievable season. I don't know that I believe in perfection. There was only one perfect person ever to walk this earth but it's a process of believing in one another and having a group of kids giving you everything they have for a purpose, for a goal. It'd be huge. There's no way around it.
www.foxsportssouthwest.com/12/14/11/QA-with-Cibolo-Steele-coach-Michael-Jink/landing_uil.html?blockID=626622&feedID=3601
December 14, 2011
Seeing Cibolo Steele HS play and subsequently win a Class 5A state title at this time one year ago at Cowboys Stadium really wasn't that big of a surprise. After all, the Knights had the consensus top running back in the Lone Star State in Malcolm Brown, who now plays at the University of Texas and they also had one of the better defenses in the entire state.
But with Steele losing Brown and several other key contributors to graduation, most who follow 5A football thought their run at the top would be a short one. Well, as all of their first 15 opponents have learned all too well, the cupboard is far from bare for the Knights (15-0) and they will put their 28-game winning streak on the line this weekend in the 5A Division II title game against Spring Dekaney (13-2) at Cowboys Stadium.
Will lightning strike twice for Steele? It could very well and if it does, they will repeat as titleholders because of strong quarterback play from Tommy Armstrong, who became the focal point of the offense this year, as well as yet another strong performance from a stifling defense.
How does it feel to be returning to the state championship again this year?
Jinks: It's an unbelievable feeling. Last year was great and I don't want to say unexpected but it was uncharted waters. We were living day-by-day. After going there and playing in it and actually winning it is a pretty neat feeling and it's one that once you taste, you really want back again. So we've been pretty driven to get back here.
What do you expect from Spring Dekaney in your final game of the season?
Jinks: A physical, hard-nosed football game [is what we expect]. Defensively, they're big up front and they've got great speed. They'll hit you. Coach Amendola does a great job on the back end of that secondary. Offensively, everybody says everything revolves around Trey Williams. Yeah, there's some truth to that but there are a lot of other players on there that can beat you at any time. We're going to have to be disciplined and we're going to have to be sound. And we have to do a great job of running the football.
Discuss what an asset Tommy Armstrong has been to your offense not just this year but in all four years he's played.
Jinks: Well, Tommy's done a great job for us. I'm sure I'm not going to be the first one to tell you that we won a state championship with a great football team last year. Malcolm [Brown] was a great player. He was an impact player but he was surrounded by some other pretty good football players. It's the same thing with Tommy this year. Defensively, we call it our no-name defense and they have been absolutely phenomenal. Tommy, the offense runs through him this year. We haven't changed our scheme. We run the same plays but I guess the biggest difference is instead of running a 4-6 power, it's 16 power. We're running the plays, I think last year we were probably 80/20 under center. Eighty percent of it was under center and 20 percent shotgun. This year it's probably 70/30 with 70 being in the shotgun and 30 being under center. Every play that falls in his hands, he's done a great job in making decisions and getting other people involved.
How does this year's defense compared to the unit that helped you win a state title in 2010?
Jinks: I said from the beginning this defense had a chance to be the best defense we've ever had and they've proved me right. We're going to face the backfield we've faced in my 10 years at Steele High School. We're going to have to be great to get a state championship.
Why do you think your team currently sits at 15-0 and on the cusp of possibly a second straight state title?
Jinks: Well, great decision making by the guy pulling the trigger [has been huge]. Those 28 games have all been with Tommy [Armstrong] and when he's not putting the ball on the ground. When he's not turning the ball over and he's making good decisions, we're going to be successful offensively and then you add with that the ability to play stingy defense. Our numbers might not be the best in the world but our points per game is pretty dang good. So, that's kind of been the formula.
With last year's team, expectations were incredibly high due to the high talent level. You guys weren't expected to even have a shot at repeating this year but here you are, in position to win yet another title. Discuss that.
Jinks: The thing about last year's team is that expectations were unbelievably high with the star power that we had and we started the year 1-2. At that point, things really died down. We really had to do some soul searching. We were very young up front and had to take steps toward getting better. We hit our stride about week nine or 10 and started playing good football. We were able to catapult on to a state championship. This year, there were no expectations of us but after going through spring football and coming into two-a-days, as a coaching staff, we felt like we picked up where we left off. Malcolm [Brown] might not have been there but all of those linemen that had those growing pains were back. That quarterback that had to learn some things was back. The receivers were back. We still have some backs that while they're not Malcolm Brown, they're pretty darn good. When we came back defensively, we still had our secondary intact. We had two linebackers back and had enough core guys back that we felt like we started the season about where we thought we were in '09 or '10 just schematically, what we had in and what we could do and how much the kids could learn the offensive and defensive schemes. We hit the ground running. We got down 28-14 in our first ballgame after we turned the ball over four times in the first half. Since that point, we've played pretty dominating football.
Finally, what would hoisting that championship hardware for a second straight year mean for you, your kids and your program?
Jinks: Well, it would validate just an unbelievable season. I don't know that I believe in perfection. There was only one perfect person ever to walk this earth but it's a process of believing in one another and having a group of kids giving you everything they have for a purpose, for a goal. It'd be huge. There's no way around it.