After beating Harleton, WR takes aim at Gorman

Nobody with the West Rusk High School football program is overconfident after shutting out Harleton last week, or overlooking T.K. Gorman, coach John Frazier said Tuesday.

Frazier's Raiders (1-0) opened the season last Thursday with a 20- 0 blanking of Dennis Alexander's Harleton team, got an extra day off and visits Gorman in Tyler on Friday night, a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Gorman, a TAPPS team, went 1- 9 last year and won't be a pushover for the Raiders, Frazier said.

"They run the ball pretty well," he said. "They've got some good runners in the backfield. They run strong. The line is real quick. Defensively, their kids pursue the ball very well."

The Raiders will have to really step up their game if they're going to have a better showing than they did against Harleton. Tailback Daniel Thompson scored early, a 36-yard first-quarter touchdown run, and finished with 110 yards and the score on 20 carries.

SMU verbal commitment Braylon Williams, a senior defensive end and tight end for West Rusk, blindsided Harleton quarterback Logan Jones, causing a fumble. Josh Patin recovered the fumble and ran 72 yards for the touchdown. Sam Arvizu's kick gave the Raiders a 14-0 halftime lead.

Patin recovered another fumble in the third quarter, and that also led to a WR touchdown. Quarterback Dominique Smith scored from 22 yards out, as the Raiders put together a six-minute drive.

West Rusk defenders forced four turnovers, and allowed Harleton just 15 passing yards.

Also having a good game for West Rusk was Jorge Barrios, who had 95 yards on 18 carries.

In spite of the impressive win, Frazier said he's looking for more.

"We've got some things we've got to fix," he said. "We're looking to do that Friday."

• Morton walks on at Iowa State: A former Raider just made the roster of a Big 12 program.

Matt Morton, who played at West Rusk the last two seasons at quarterback and safety, has successfully walked on at Iowa State, Frazier said Tuesday.

"They only chose five out of 53 kids," the coach said. "I would think he'll be an outside linebacker type. He's around 200 pounds. He was tickled to death, and we're tickled for him."