.500 record on Consol's mind
Playoff-bound Tigers almost out of hole
After a long, hard climb, the A&M Consolidated football team reached a peak last week when it clinched a playoff berth. The Tigers can make it to another crest this week when they finish the regular season against Harker Heights.
Consolidated (4-5 overall, 4-1 District 13-5A) will have a chance to even its record for the first time this season when it plays host to Harker Heights (1-7, 1-4) at Tigerland Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Tigers have been battling to even their season mark after losing their first four games against a brutal non-district schedule. Consol has won three consecutive games since a one-point loss to Temple in the second game of District 13-5A play.
"To the coaching staff, and I feel like to the kids, for us to finish [the regular season] 5-5 after starting 0-4 is big to us," Consol coach Jim Slaughter said. "I'm proud to be second in the district race and of the fact that the kids have come on and started playing like they are."
Consol has clinched the district's top seed in the Class 5A Division I playoffs. The Tigers will play in the big-school bracket against the second seed from 14-5A, which could be Georgetown, Cedar Park or Round Rock, depending on the outcome of this week's games.
Officials with all three potential playoff foes have agreed to play the bi-district game against Consol at Temple's Wildcat Stadium next week. Whether that game will be played on Friday or Saturday will be determined after Temple officials set the date for their playoff game, with the Consol game on a different day than Temple's game.
The Tigers were assured a playoff berth last week when Harker Heights lost to Bryan on Thursday night. Consol dismissed any talk of backing into the playoffs by beating Belton 45-24 on the road last Friday.
Belton put a brief scare into Consol, tying the game late in the third quarter before the Tigers pulled away with three touchdowns in the final period.
"I thought Belton played pretty well, and overall I was pretty pleased with the way we played," Slaughter said. "I don't think there's that much of a difference between our ballclub and a lot of the clubs in this district. It depends on which team shows up, and there's a bunch of us in that boat."
Harker Heights' ship isn't bound for the postseason, but there have been games when the Knights looked like a capable crew. Heights pushed district champion Temple before losing 45-42. The Knights, with coach Todd McVey in his first season since replacing the retired Ross Rogers, have lost their last two games (to Killeen Ellison 49-7 and to Bryan 14-7).
"They've been up and down," Slaughter said. "Any time you've got a new coach, it depends on what team is going to show up. In the Temple game, the team that showed up was extremely good. Against Ellison, they didn't play very well."
The Consol defense has been improving after a rocky first month of the season, and the Tigers should have a chance to continue that trend against Heights. The Knights rank last in the district in total offense with a 255-yard average.
Heights is in the middle of the pack defensively but has been vulnerable against the run. The Tigers could test the Knights with fullback Marshall Cashion (1,063 yards, 12 touchdowns) and the running back tandem of Curtis Jackson and Jarvon Searcy.
• Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.