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| LONGVIEW & KATY - Longview News-Journal Sports Editor Bob Ward visited with Longview head coach Robert Bero, and star writer Jack Stallard traveled to Katy on Wednesday to visit with Katy head coach Mike Johnston for a question and answer session with Yemen in charge of the two teams set to battle for the Class 5A, Division I Texas Bowl title Saturday in Houston's Astrodome.
Question: What was the turning point in the season for the Longview Lobos/Katy Tigers? Robert Bero; There are two of them, I think. One of them was the second half against Lufkin, which got us off to a good start in district. And then I think in the back of my mind, we knew we had to beat John Tyler to win the thing. After we beat John Tyler, we probably felt at that point, we had a chance to beat anybody in the state of Texas. Mike Johnston: Probably the Katy Mayde Creek game in week six of the season. We knew coming in this year we had a good senior class, and we knew we had some talent coming back. But, up to that point int eh season we had played so-so football. Maybe Creek is one of our big rival schools, and there is no doubt our kids respected them coming in. We had won three district championships in a row, and the kids knew it was time to step forward and they did. We beat Mayde Creek, 31-7, and I think for the first time the kids really found out what they were capable of doing. Question: Have you seen an opponent this season that reminds you of Katy/Longview? Robert Bero: Probably the Ruston offensive line for us, and even running back wise. They've got two outstanding running backs and both of them have been over 1,000 yards. They're very similar, they like to run the pitch sweep, they like to run the counter game at you, traps inside, which Ruston did a good job of running against us. And they do a better than adequate job of throwing the football. Mike Johnston: Aldine Einsehower comes to mind first. Basically you are talking about teams that are very disciplined on both offense and defense, and both are very well-coached. Question: Longview last played for a state championship in 1937, defeating Wichita Falls 19-12. How do you prepare for the hype of playing in a game of this magnitude? Robert Bero: We've tried to keep everything this week just like it's been ever since the playoffs started. The same workout format. This football team has been in big games this year - they understand how to play in big football games. I know this is going to be big, but I don't know how much bigger John Tyler or Lufkin, those kind of games could have been. Those were games we had to win to get to this point. We've just tried to keep everything as even keeled as we could. Question: Katy played for a state title in 1994. Has that helped you prepare for the type of the state championship game this year? Mike Johnston: Hopefully we learned something from 1994. Our Community is very family-oriented, and they are very supportive of their kids. In 1994 our kids handled the week fo the state championship game very well, but unfortunately we probably had a little bit too much celebratory atmosphere prior to the championship game. That certainly isn't taking anything away from Plano. They wore us out that day. But we did learn something from the experience. Katy is still Katy, and there is no doubt about the excitement in the community. They love their school and their kids, but we're not having a parade prior tot eh game this year in hopes of having a better performance on the field. It has just been a little more low key this year. Question: You have paid credit all season to the senior players on your team, especially in relation to the nine third-year lettermen. How important is that leadership? Robert Bero: I think without a doubt, most successful football teams are going to have strong senior leadership. You see a lot of football teams that have good junior athletes, but anytime they get in the playoffs they didn't advance very far. I think you need to have great senior leaders, guys who have bee there, and these seniors have been there. When you start factoring experience, and when you start getting three year starters, you start factoring in a lot of games. Question: when do you know about the Longview football team? Mike Johnston: Number one, Longview has had a great football program for a number of years. I coached at Nacogdoches int he early 1970s, and I remember well how Longview used to beat our brains in. It looks like they are still playing the same type of defense that won't let you get a breath. They have opened the offense up a lot, and they are using their personnel well. I know they have 13 starters back, and nine of them are three-year lettermen. That says they are very experienced, not just with their starters but with their reserves as well. Question: With he prospect of facing another big offensive line and a pair of 1,000 yard running backs, and having demonstrated success, do you see Katy making any kind of changes in its game plan? Robert Bero: I feel like they're going to do what they do best and that's run the football. I don't think there's a lot of different things you can do. I'm sure Katy's got a few things we haven't seen on film. We don't know them real well and they don't know us real well. Question: Longview head coach Robert Bero has spoken often of senior leadership as being one fo the big keys to his team's success. Katy returned several players from a 10-2 team, including several seniors. Could the same be said for your team? Mike Johnston: We did have 26 lettermen back. We're not as deep as Longview. We have a lot of kids, but don't have the quality depth Longview has. We have gotten great leadership from within. We've been blessed to have some great captains over the years, but these guys are special. This group of seniors is one of the most committed I have coached in 20 years. There is no doubt winning a state championship has been their ultimate goal the last four years, and it is very gratifying that they are on the threshold of accomplishing that goal. Question: The Lobos played only four home games during the regular season and have traveled tot he Metroplex for all four playoff contests. Is playing Katy at the Astrodome in Houston just like another road game? Robert Bero: I think we've been not eh road so much this year it doesn't matter where we play. Whether it's in Houston or anywhere. We knew going in that we were going to have to win big games not he road if we wee going to be champions. We just tell our football team they're seven points down on the road and we've got to start battling back with the kickoff. We've played well on the road. We're playing in Katy's backyard, and this is where they wanted to play us and they got us down there. But I don't think our football team is thinking a lot about it.We'll just go in and play as best we can. Question: Katy features a huge offensive line and a pair of 1,000-yard rushers, which Longview has faced almost weekly this season - especially in the playoffs. Without giving away your game plan, how do you approach Saturday's game? Do you try to show Longview something it hasn't been seeing the last four weeks, or do you stay with what has been successful for Katy? Mike Johnston: I'm from the old school, and I believe in the old saying that you should dance with the one that brought you. We're not changing anything when we get to the championship game. I think that would be a real flaw on the coach's part. Naturally we'll make adjustments in our game plan like we have each week, but as far as changing our attack on offense or our scheme of thing son defense, we're not going to do it. We feel confident in what we are doing, or we wouldn't be doing it. Question: How does a state championship fit the tradition of your overall program? Robert Bero: You can't measure how much that means. For years to come this is going to be something that's going to be talked about. This is going to mean something now that our younger players can work for, and they know if they work hard that they can get there. You can't replace this. |