Xpress lose

The Xpress had their first pre season game for the 2010 season vs the Collin County Rattlers on Jan.23rd to help and raise money for the Buckners Children Home and a can food drive to raise food for the North Texas Food Bank. The weather played a major roll in the attendance, with a lot of rain which caused for low attendance, but the game was a success. The Xpress dressed 50 players and all had the opportunity to show case their talents in an effort to show the the coaching staff why they should be a part of the 2010 team. Certain players stood out on both sides of the Ball.On the defensive line Mckenzie Tilmon displayed his talent and his run stuffing ability by constantly clogging up the middle. At LineBacker several players stepped up Jody Linville lead all players in tackles, he showed his ability to play defensive end but seems to be making the adjustment to outside LineBacker, Sam Crawford showed why he is the head of the defense at Middle LineBacker making several stops and stopping a key 4Th and 1 play, Terrance Henson played great at strong side Backer he displayed his toughness to come up and take on the lead blocker and still make the tackle on the ball carrier. Quentin Sarpy, and Cornelious Pryor made big strides in either securing a starting spot or pushing for a starting job. In the Secondary Wisner Derosier showed good pass coverage and great run support, Chris Hicks showed he could possibly be a good front side corner in just his 2ND year at the position, Isiah Johnson displayed why he should be either a starting corner or free safety, Demarcus Nixon continued to display that he has become a big hitter and Anthony Stevenson seems to be trying to settle in as the secondary captain. On Offense their were a few bright spots. Raashad Manning showed his speed and consistently got behind the defense and made big plays, Michael Cotton showed why he was a good addition to the team making several big catches. Kendrick Matlock showed why he can stay on the field on every play displaying his ability to run block and pass protect. The running backs displayed their talent also FB/H-Back Eric Brown showed his ability to step up and pick up the blitz, Rocky Frank showed no affects of his injury from the 2009 season, Ron Manning showed his strength speed and power before he left the game with bruised ribs, Guy Smith displayed his quickness and balance, and FB Mack Harris displayed his power as a runner and a lead blocker. All in all even tho the Xpress lost the game 12-0 the offense showed it's ability to move up and down the field the whole game getting in the red zone on 5 different occasions. The next game will be 1/30/10 against the Texas Knights at 3pm. This game will be a lot different, because the Xpress staff has let the players know that the potential starters will play about 2-1/2 quarters because this is the last pre season game before the season kicks-off on 2/20/10.