Published: November 05, 2009 11:58 pm      

Lions prepare for season finale

GREENVILLE — One team’s playing for a 6-4 final record and the other’s going for a 5-5 mark.

That’s the story of the Greenville Lions’ 2009 football season finale against the Rockwall Yellowjackets at 7:30 tonight at T.A. “Cotton” Ford Stadium.

Since both teams are out of the playoff picture in District 10-4A this game is about final records. Greenville, at 5-4, has a shot at finishing with its first winning record since 2003, when the Lions went 7-4. Rockwall can break even at 5-5 with a victory.

Fifth place in District 10-4A will also be riding on the outcome since the two teams are tied for that spot with 2-4 records. Highland Park, Newman Smith, Rockwall-Heath and Richardson Pearce have all locked up the district’s four playoff berths.

Pearce rallied from a 22-0 deficit to overtake the Lions, 43-22 last week. That loss ended Greenville’s playoff hopes.

Rockwall’s playoff hopes also ended with a 63-42 loss last week to Highland Park.

Greenville will go into tonight’s game with several changes in the starting lineup after some players missed practice.

Jeffro Davis, a 6-0, 160-pound sophomore, will make his first start of the season for the Lions at quarterback. Davis has appeared in six of the Lions’ games this season in a relief role. He’s 8-of-13 passing for 208 yards and two touchdowns. He hooked up with Jarvis Bruner on a 95-yard touchdown pass against R.L. Turner for the Lions’ longest play from scrimmage this season.

N.J. Mason and L’jorian Harris will be starting at the running backs. Mason’s rushed for 319 yards and three touchdowns on 52 carries and Harris has run for 269 and one score on 48 carries.

Gordon Coleman will be making his first start of the season at wide receiver and free safety.

Linebacker Tristian Farley, who missed last week’s loss to Pearce with an injury, is back in the starting lineup. Farley and company will be trying to slow down Rockwall’s running back Josh Broach, the district’s top rusher with 1,248 yards and 19 touchdowns on 180 carries. Broach rushed for 358 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries against Highland Park. Broach scored on bursts of 90, 43, 26 and 60 yards.

Rockwall managed 512 yards of total offense in that game, including 453 yards rushing but gave up 593 yards, including 430 yards passing to Highland Park quarterback Luke Woodley, who was 24-of-28. Woodley earned the Ford Built Tough player of the week honors for Class 4A.