By Butch McReynolds
PEARLAND---The new kid on the Pearland block, Dawson High School, now becomes
the new kid on the district 24-4A block along with Alvin's Manvel High School.
The Eagles fly in to their first year of varsity competition with the youngest
team in the loop, no doubt. With a roster sprinkled with nothing but
underclassmen, including a talented load of sophomores, the Eagles of Coach
Eric Wells will be trying to make some noise in one of the tougher 4A
districts around, having to arm wrestle with the likes of La Marque,
Friendswood, Angleton and Texas City.
Wells knows what it takes to win. The veteran coach was an
assistant at La Marque for five years as the Cougars pinned up a pair of state
titles, and then went on to be the offensive coordinator at Pearland under friend
and head mentor Tony Heath.
While lack of experience may be a hindrance, the Eagles will not go to war
with an empty gun. Everyone is back from a team that finished out 9-1
last year in junior varsity play. The only loss came at the hands of
another newcomer, Class 5A Clear Springs. The Dawson bunch actually
split its games with the Springs, winning the first time around by a
32-29 and then dropping a late season bout.
The Eagles were paced last year by a pair of gem dandy freshman running
backs,
Xavier Brown (6-0, 180, 4.5) and bullish fullback Akeem Blackshire.
Brown's name is already being kicked around by the college crowd.
Quarterback Darian Lazard (6-0, 175, 4.6) returns to lead the speedy Eagle
offense while speedy receivers Marcus Vaughan and Piaget Gauthier both
have good size along with 4.6 speed.
Linebacker Jordon Rose may be the prize on defense as the 5-9, 190-pounder is
a team leader and one of the top tacklers.Cornerback Michael Asouye is also a
fine linebacker while tight end Max Brown is another gem to pay attention
to.
Dawson will get its first taste of varsity competition when they open
with Goose Creek at the Rig on Sept. 5. The youthful bunch then is
slated to play host to Pasadena Dobie the second week before making its first
road trip to Baytown Sterling. The squad opens district 24-4A the
following week when it travels over to Alvin to play first year varsity
fighter Manvel.