Posted 1:03 am Friday, November 20, 2009
Lee Tight End Position Evolving
By CHRIS PARRY
Staff Writer
See if you can guess who leads Robert E. Lee's offense in receiving yards.
Staff Writer
See if you can guess who leads Robert E. Lee's offense in receiving yards.
It's not a wideout, so the obvious first answer is incorrect. Is it one of the speedy running backs the Red Raiders have at their disposal?
Not exactly.
Senior back Chris Dinkins leads the team in receptions and touchdowns, but not yards.
Senior back Chris Dinkins leads the team in receptions and touchdowns, but not yards.
That distinction goes to tight end Henry McCuin.
He began the season at fullback, and in fact is still listed on the roster at that position, but McCuin has made a bigger impact recently in the passing game.
McCuin enters Saturday's area playoff game with a team-leading 178 yards on six receptions, all of which he's accrued in REL's last five games. Last week against A&M Consolidated, McCuin had two catches for 44 yards, highlighted by his first touchdown on a 12-yard strike.
"I never did think I'd get that many passes, I thought I was just going to be blocking because I like blocking to tell you the truth," McCuin said. "That's what I am here to do really."
McCuin is the most recent tight end to get his name on the scoresheet. Zach Hightower registered the first touchdown reception of the season.
It occurred in a Sept. 5 loss against Longview. The Red Raiders were trailing 31-0 late in the fourth quarter and backup quarterback T.J. Scholler drove the team down the field and found Hightower for a 15-yard scoring strike.
"It was kind of unexpected," said Hightower, who has two catches for 27 yards. "Nothing gets much better than that. I kind of didn't believe when I got into the end zone. I was kind of in a daze."
In Lee's win over Mesquite Horn Oct. 23, McCuin nearly got in the end zone on a 73-yard play, only to be tackled at the 2. He had to wait three more games to score his first touchdown.
Senior Jacob Lane has yet to catch a pass, but like McCuin and Hightower, is concerned mainly with the final result over personal glory. After the Red Raiders struggled on offense in non-district play, averaging 14 points per game, Lee averaged 33.2 during its five district games and is coming off a 38-20 bi-district playoff win last Saturday against A&M Consolidated.
"It's been a slow process, but our hard work has been paying off for us and we're kind of hitting our stride right now," Lane said of Lee's improvement. "We've always had a lot of potential and we are just grooving right now; just clicking as a unit."
Lee tight ends coach Elgin Johnson said the initial plan was to use one tight end in more of a spread look, but as the season has progressed, REL is now two-tight and sometimes uses all three with McCuin lining up at J-back.
"I just think these three guys epitomize this team as a whole," Johnson said. "They are selfless, they work hard, they are willing to sacrifice and do whatever for the good of the team.
"When Henry makes these plays its all about Coach (Dow) Wynn's ability as a passing coordinator to get them open, and the success in the running game is about Coach (Gary) Fleet's ability to scheme and do the type of things to make us successful."
McCuin, Hightower and Lane are the newest members of a college-bound position at Lee. It starts with Brandon Pettigrew, who went on to star at Oklahoma State and is now starting in the NFL for the Detroit Lions. Other recent Red Raider tight ends who went on to play collegiately include Matt Johnston (Air Force), T.J. Jones (Stephen F. Austin), Doug Franklin (Angelo State), Jacob Amie (Cisco JC) and Tyler Fleet (Abilene Christian).
McCuin said he is not worried about college yet as the Red Raiders still have postseason aspirations, starting with Garland.
"To me we should've won (last year), but this year we have a better offense and we are going to play better this game," McCuin said. "It would be better to start off (strong).
Lane agrees with starting strong being the key.
"We take pride as a team to coming off strong from the get-go and hitting somebody early," Lane said. "Putting it on them early and shocking them. That is what we take pride in as an offense every game."
"We take pride as a team to coming off strong from the get-go and hitting somebody early," Lane said. "Putting it on them early and shocking them. That is what we take pride in as an offense every game."
RAIDER RAP
Tickets for Saturday's Class 5A Region II area playoff between Robert E. Lee (5-5) and Garland (9-1) are on sale now. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. at Corsicana's Tiger Stadium. The cost is $4 for students and $7 for adults and can be purchased today from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the T.I.S.D. athletic office at the Plyler Complex. You can also purchase tickets at Tyler Athletics during normal business hours. All tickets at the gate will cost $8.
