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Wednesday, September 17, 1997

Speedy Brooks leading Abilene High revival

By JAIME ARON / AP Sports Writer

DALLAS (AP) -- The first time Ahmad Brooks took a snap at quarterback for Abilene, he raced 70 yards for a touchdown against Stephenville last season.

This past weekend, Stephenville still had trouble stopping him.

Brooks ran for 205 yards and four touchdowns and threw for another 55 yards, leading Abilene to a 44-20 victory that knocked Stephenville out of the Class 4A rankings.

While the performance was far from the most eye-popping of the weekend, it was noteworthy in other ways, enough of them to make Brooks the top name on this week's Associated Press honor roll.

"There's a lot of things going on for us that haven't happened here in a long time," said Steve Warren, the second-year coach trying to make Abilene the power it was back in the 1920s and '50s. "We feel good about ourselves and that's really a big deal. There's a lot of things that go into that and Ahmad is a big part of it."

Brooks moved from all-district cornerback to starting quarterback late last season. The Eagles, who play in the ultra-tough District 4-5A, ended up going 5-4 for their first winning season in the '90s.

In the offseason, Warren tweaked the offense to go from a one-back formation to a two-back set. The move wasn't tailor-made for Brooks, but his ability did play a big part in the decision.

Brooks' biggest asset are his fleet feet. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound senior runs the 40 in 4.4 seconds and has great reactions thanks to many years playing soccer.

"Coach (Art) Briles of Stephenville said he's like trying to catch a feather in the wind," Warren said. "That's a good way of describing him.

"His feet are so quick that he can change directions and make you miss. He's there one minute and not the next. I'm glad he's on our team."

Against Stephenville, Brooks ran for touchdowns of 6, 78, 9 and 1 yards as Abilene scored more than 35 points for the second straight week. Abilene had 45 points in a season-opening victory over Lubbock Monterey that featured a 22-yard touchdown run by Brooks and another score on an 82-yard punt return.

The last time Abilene scored that many points in consecutive games was in 1971.

"Stephenville really did a good job of doing what they needed to stop him," Warren said. "They had him bottled up and contained several times and he'll just reverse his field or spin around and gain some."

Brooks' talents aren't limited to athletics. He's ranked among the top 100 of his 600-student class and he's been president of his class all four years, a first in the school history.

"He's quiet, poised and he's got a lot of confidence," Warren said. "He'll raise his voice if needs to and he'll drive anybody hard. He just does whatever is necessary. He's a great competitor."

Other notable Week 2 performances included: ON THE GROUND

-- Victor Ike ran for 344 yards and seven touchdowns on 20 carries and scored another touchdown on a punt return in Austin Bowie's 56-35 victory over Round Rock Westwood.

-- Ben Gay, who ran for more than 300 yards in the season opener, gained 213 yards on 35 carries and caught a 27-yard touchdown pass in Spring's 41-22 victory over Klein Forest.

-- Anthony Harrell had his second straight 200-yard, five-touchdown game, this time gaining 281 yards in Corrigan-Camden's 48-13 victory over Splendora.

-- Art Ramirez ran for 257 of Agua Dulce's 360 rushing yards with two touchdowns in Agua Dulce's 42-6 victory over Pettus.

-- Shane Glasgow ran 17 times for 233 yards with touchdown runs of 45, 64 and 34 yards as Anson beat Coahoma 34-14.

-- Antonio Perez ran for 227 yards and three touchdowns in Alvarado's 41-26 victory over Crandall.

-- Gary Jefferson ran for 224 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries in Elgin's 36-10 victory over Lake Travis.

-- Zack Hunter turned 11 carries into 211 yards and touchdowns of 73 and 35 yards in Aspermont's 28-11 victory over Throckmorton.

-- Kelton Jordan had 208 yards and four touchdowns as Kerens pounded Hubbard 83-8.

-- Jammel Ward's 164 yards were nice, but the impressive part was his five touchdown runs in Alto's 55-0 victory over Burkeville. THROUGH THE AIR

-- Chavis McCollister was 14-of-39 for 385 yards and six touchdowns in Tenaha's 61-58 loss to Logansport, La., that ended with McCollister being denied a seventh TD pass when his receiver was ruled out of the end zone on the game's final play. McCollister also ran for 88 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown, and returned the game's opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown.

-- Spencer Stack was 18-of-31 for 403 yards and five touchdowns, leading Flower Mound Marcus to a 49-13 victory over Richardson. All of his completions went for first downs or touchdowns. John Jeffries caught eight passes for 194 yards and touchdowns of 19 and 11 yards and he scored on runs of 36, 1 and 35 yards.

-- Brandon Johnson threw for 293 yards, including touchdowns of 94, 60 and 60 yards, and ran two yards for another score as Waco Midway beat Copperas Cove 28-21. Kevin Brown caught six passes for 171 yards, including the 94-yard touchdown one of the 60-yarders. In defeat, sophomore Vontez Duff ran for 233 yards and touchdowns of 13, 63 and 23 yards and caught four passes for 79 yards.

-- Six-man transfer Justin Hill threw three touchdown passes as Colorado City upset 2A's then-No. 4 Stamford, 24-22. Randy Byington, Hill's teammate at Westbrook last year, also starred as he kicked a game-winning 47-yard field goal with 21 seconds left.

-- Lupe Gonzalez caught just four passes, but they included touchdown grabs of 23, 25 and 22 yards in Harlingen's 48-14 victory over Harlingen South. He also scored on a 74-yard end around.

-- Brad Bell threw for 180 yards with touchdowns of 11 and 29 yards and ran for 137 yards with a 70-yard touchdown in Gregory-Portland's 28-20 victory over Corpus Christi Carroll.

-- Balde Villarreal caught seven passes for 154 yards, including touchdowns of 51, four and 61 yards in 2A Premont's 27-12 victory over 3A Falfurrias. DEFENSIVE

-- Sammy Davis scored on interception returns of 98 and 38 yards in Humble's 49-14 victory over Klein.

-- Quan Crosby had four sacks and an interception as 2A's top-ranked Mart defeated Rogers 29-21. DO IT ALL

-- Josh Stephenson had three solo tackles, all behind the line of scrimmage, assisted on nine others, had two quarterback sacks and caused two fumbles as Comanche beat Bangs 10-7. For the losers, Chris Robertson was in on 17 tackles, two for losses, and caused a fumble.

-- In less than two minutes, L.J. Vallejo returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown, made a special teams tackle and returned a punt 75 yards for another score as Hereford turned a 21-0 fourth quarter deficit into a 27-21 overtime victory over Amarillo Palo Duro.

-- Kendon Gruben caught three touchdown passes on offense and on defense had two interceptions and caused two fumbles in Hamlin's 25-7 victory over Clyde.

-- Kevin Thomas ran 17 times for 213 yards and four touchdowns and made 12 tackles in Wellington's 33-7 victory over Shattuck, Okla.

-- Ricky Captain ran for two short touchdowns, forced three fumbles and recovered two, and made 14 tackles in Amarillo Tascosa's 21-17 victory over Borger.