ACHS hosts Seven Points in Playoffs

By TIM THORSEN / Staff Writer

Coming into the 1996 football season, the Abilene Christian High School Panthers had one goal &emdash; a state championship.

Tonight, the top-ranked Panthers begin that quest in earnest when they play host to Seven Points Christian Life Fellowship in the first round of the TAPPS Six-Man state playoffs.

"The team has been very focused and serious all week," said ACHS coach Steve Woods. "They know what is at stake tonight."

The Warriors enter the game after winning what amounted to a playoff game in their final outing of the year. Seven Points scored the final 19 points of their showdown with Landmark Christian Saturday to secure their playoff berth.

"Seven Points is a very aggressive, strong team," said Woods. "They are especially good in the fourth quarter of games - they have rallied to win several times this season."

The Warriors will look to win the game in the trenches. Their offensive attack is led by bruising 185-pound fullback Jason Douglass, who likes to run behind behemouth Eugene Schoenle (6-4, 285 pounds). Douglass amassed just over 1,200 yards this season on 157 carries. He also scored 31 touchdowns.

"Douglass is our horse," said Seven Points coach Tyson Tims. "But if they try to key only on him, we won't hesitate to throw the ball."

While the Warriors will look to win the game with a relatively conservative offense, the Panthers will attack from the other side of the offensive spectrum.

"We want to keep their defense guessing," said Woods. "We will throw a lot of formations and plays at them the entire game. Hopefully we will be able to keep them off balance and guessing."

While the Panthers have shown a stronger commitment to the run in the past weeks, the arm of quarterback John Estes IV will still be ACHS' best weapon.

The senior quarterback riddled the Fort Worth Christian Temple defense for nine touchdowns this past Friday, running his total for the season to 60.

"Teams have overplayed the pass the last few weeks, which has given us a chance to establish our running game," Woods said.

Seven Points (6-3) at ACHS (9-1)

-- When: 7:30 p.m.

--Where: Elmer Gray Stadium

--What: TAPPS first-round playoff game

-- Last week's scores: Abilene Christian 64, FW Christian Temple 14; Seven Points Christian Life Fellowship 49, Landmark Christian 38.