2008 Team Insider: Irving Nimitz Vikings

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Irving Nimitz had a disappointing season last year - going 0-10 in a pretty tough district. The district doesn't necessarily get easier for Steven Hohenberger. Over 50% of the teams in the district will make the playoffs, so Coach Hohenberger hopes to get on the winning side of things. With a 6-4 freshman team, Nimitz might have a chance to surprise some teams in the next couple of seasons. 11 starters return from last season's abysmal performance.

Jarius Gaines turned heads as a freshman on the freshman team. As a sophomore, he has the speed to succeed, but does he have the arm strength and accuracy to run the spread? Eddrick Loften is being moved from defense to offense - and he was the defensive sophomore of the year last season. He has great speed and good size. The fastest receiver on the team is John Morin - returning after a season ending injury. He is the fastest player on the team. The line could be a little undersized with Danny Manyvorn, but Jeff Minyard and Richard Combs make up for that.

Ryan Nicholson has an NFL pedigree with his uncle playing in the NFL. Reggie Moran returns to the team after a one year absence. Darrell Dozier was with Gaines on the freshman team - and he will make an impact as cornerback immediately. Damon Williams has started since he was a freshman, and in his third year, he can dominate when he is in the right frame of mind. Jarius Gaines will take over the punting duties, which should keep the special teams honest from advancing too far up on the punts.

If the Irving City Champion can beat Grand Prairie, the Irving City Champion will make the playoffs. With Irving High being a bit down - and MacArthur having not much success the last two years, it is very possible to see Nimitz rise up to be Irving City Champion in the next three years, but I do not think they are ready yet. I do not forsee another 0-10 season - especially with Paschal and North Garland on the schedule - and home games against Irving and MacArthur could be advantages. The two key district games that will highlight where Nimitz is at in their development will be Week 5 against Irving and Week 8 against Grand Prairie. Both of these games will be very winnable for Nimitz.

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2008 Irving Nimitz High School Dope Sheet Information

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