Set for kickoff: area football schedules announced

PHOTO: LYNN LITTLEJOHN Coach Ted Patton and his Rusk Eagles look to celebrate victories and a playoff berth in the 2009 football season. Schedules for Rusk, Jacksonville and Alto were announced recently. All three teams open on August 28 with Rusk traveling to Palestine, Jacksonville visiting Marshall and Alto hosting San Augustine. Hank Williams Jr. would receive an emphatic "yes" if he asked Cherokee County residents, "Are you ready for some football?"

Varsity football schedules for the upcoming season were recently announced and teams across the state look to begin their treks to a state championship.

The same is true in Cherokee County, with the Rusk Eagles, Alto Yellowjackets and Jacksonville Indians set to kick off the 2009 season.

Rusk Eagles

The Eagles start their season with two consecutive games on the road, taking on Palestine and Van. The Wildcats defeated Rusk in a shootout in last year's season opener, 58-35.

The Vandals, ranked 16th in the state this year by Texas Football, got all they could handle from the Eagles last season before pulling away with 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, winning 31-10.

Rusk plays their first home game on Sept. 11 when they take on the Gladewater Bears. Last season, Gladewater won a 26-6 victory, made more memorable by the fact that it was played the day before Hurricane Ike.

The Eagles stay at home for a homecoming date with Fairfield on Sept. 18. The Eagles of Cherokee County defeated the Eagles of Freestone County 21-12 at Fairfield's homecoming last season.

Rusk hits the road for their final game before their open date and the district schedule when they travel up U.S. Highway 69 to take on Bullard on Sept. 25.

The Eagles defeated the Panthers, 54-48, in a doubleovertime thriller last season in Rusk's homecoming game.

After a bye week, the Eagles take the field to take on Huntington, whom they defeated last season at the Red Devils' homecoming, 48-0.

Their next game, on Oct. 16, provides a stiff test as the Eagles take on defending 3A Division II state champion and defending district champion Carthage. The road game will be a challenge for the Eagles, who fell to the Bulldogs, 50-7, last season.

Rusk returns home for the next two games, Oct. 23 against Center and Oct. 30 against Jasper. The Eagles went 1-1 against those two foes, defeating the Roughriders 14-7 but falling to Jasper, 35-0.

Rusk ends the season Nov. 6 in Diboll in a game that may have a lot to say about playoff positioning, much as it did last year. The Eagles had an opportunity for a playoff berth going into the final game of last season but were defeated by the Lumberjacks, 66-19.

Alto Yellowjackets

Alto opens the season in Jacket Stadium against the team that broke their 28-game winning streak last season, hosting the San Augustine Wolves. Last year, the Wolves defeated Alto, 26-7.

The Jackets then hit the road for the next four games, starting Sept. 4 at Garrison.

The Mean Sting then play a rare Thursday night game at Arp. The Tigers are ranked second in the state in 2A.

The two teams were supposed to meet last year, but the game was cancelled due to Hurricane Ike.

Game three of Alto's road trip comes Sept. 18 when the Jackets travel to Frankston.

The next week, Alto travels to Grapeland to open district play. Frankston defeated Alto last season, 34-14, but the Jackets bounced back to defeat the Sandies, 39-26.

Alto finally returns home Oct. 2 to take on the Carlisle Indians. Last season, the Jackets stormed out to a 28-0 halftime lead, but had to hold on late for a 28-20 victory.

The Mean Sting travels to Overton Oct. 9. Last season, Alto defeated the Mustangs at home for homecoming.

On Oct. 16, Alto takes on Cross Roads. The Bobcats will be looking for revenge after last year's 60-0 Alto victory.

The next week, the Jackets will play at Cushing before the final game of the regular season against preseason 1A number one Cayuga and allstate caliber running back Traylon Shead.

The University of Texas commit ran for 3,502 yards and 52 touchdowns last season. Shead ran for 347 yards and five touchdowns in the Wildcats' 35-24 victory last year.

The Jackets end the regular season with an open date.

Jacksonville Indians

The Tribe will be looking to build on last year's playoff berth starting August 28 at Marshall. Last year, the Mavericks beat the Indians, 19-3, an improvement from the year before when Marshall won, 55-14.

The home slate for the Indians begins Sept. 4 when they take on Corsicana, who defeated Jacksonville, 28-21, last season.

The Indians hit the road for a matchup at Hallsville before returning home for two games. They take on Palestine Sept. 18 and Carthage Sept. 25.

Jacksonville defeated the Wildcats last season in a shootout, 49-35, but lost to the Bulldogs, 42-21.

After an open date, the Indians start the district portion of their schedule at district favorite Whitehouse. Jacksonville held the lead for much of last year's game before losing, 25-21.

Jacksonville then returns home Oct. 16 to take on Nacogdoches, whom the Tribe defeated last season, 21-7.

Two road games follow on Oct. 23 and Oct. 30 against Henderson and Kilgore.

Last season, the Lions defeated the Indians for the first time in 10 years while the Ragin' Red won over Jacksonville, 35-7.

Jacksonville returns to the Tomato Bowl for the final regular season game Nov. 6 against Lindale.

The Tribe defeated the Eagles last season to earn a playoff berth and deny Lindale an outright district title.

All games begin at 7:30 p.m.