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The newest media company to cover Austin FC and soccer at all levels statewide has revealed its name, launch date and site as of Wednesday after journalists of the publication have been teasing the project for months.
The publication, named The Striker Texas, launched its site, TheStrikerTexas.com, which is taking emails for updates on the publication. Its site and app will have the latest soccer news in Texas starting next month, ahead of the Austin FC season opener.
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Father and son face off as nationally-ranked Westlake shoots for Texas state championship Saturday
12 January
(Westlake Nation/Instagram)
Westlake High School football does it again, ranking No. 4 in MaxPreps' Top 25 rankings as the team prepares to face off against Southlake Carroll High School this weekend in the Texas 6A Division 1 title game.
<p>Westlake is the highest-ranked out of four other Texas high schools on the list, followed by No. 7 North Shore High School in Houston, No. 9 Ryan High School in Denton and No. 10 Southlake Carroll High School in Southlake. </p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1eee49c6031c3ec662a49adada045683" id="2f833"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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</div></blockquote></div><p>And in MaxPreps Texas rankings, Westlake is at the top after a five-point jump, followed by Carthage High School in second place after a one-point jump and Carroll in third, after an eight-point jump.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e1e3c6a4b3b99b32ffce126a6812fb12" id="0c04b"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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</div></blockquote></div><p>The announcement comes just days before Saturday's game, which is slated to be a more-than-interesting battle between Westlake and Southlake Carroll High School, but not for the obvious reason.<br/></p><p>The game will be a showdown between Westlake Head Coach Todd Dodge and his son Riley Dodge, head football coach at Carroll, his alma mater. The game has been dubbed the "Dodge Bowl" in anticipation.<br/></p><p>The two had already planned to face off against each other at the AT&T Stadium this season but the game was canceled due to COVID-19. It would have been the first time the two have ever competed against each other.</p><p>Now, the very same teams will meet for the 6A Division I state championship game after making it there fair and square. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m Saturday, Jan. 16. Either way, the Dodge family will get a win.<br/></p>
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(Texas Athletics)
After a rollercoaster of a season, Texas football ends the season at No. 19 in the AP Polls released Tuesday. The ranking marks the third time in four years that former Head Coach Tom Herman was able to have a Top 25 finish. As Herman's chapter closes, fans are excited about what Coach Steve Sarkisian will bring to the program.
<p>The college football season ended with an absolute offensive explosion by the Alabama Crimson Tide with coach Sarkisian at the helm. Sarkisian was hired at the University of Texas on Jan. 2, the same day that former Head Coach Tom Herman was fired after only four seasons. The Alabama offensive coordinator agreed to the Texas job but finished coaching the title game Monday. Now, Sarkisian is all in at Texas.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="82afa027ff3aaa6efb8d1829f6ea482b" id="3fc5c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1348816484613509122"><div style="margin:1em 0">ALL THESE PLAYS SARK!!! I WANT THEM ALL! https://t.co/3mIsw7XIvJ</div> — Emmanuel Acho (@Emmanuel Acho)<a href="https://twitter.com/EmmanuelAcho/statuses/1348816484613509122">1610417884.0</a></blockquote></div><p><a href="https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaa/fei/overalloff/2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Alabama had the No. 1 ranked offense</a>, according to Football Outsiders, a site that tracks advanced stats for college and professional football. The Crimson Tide offense—by almost every metric—was the best offense in college football this season. While part of that was thanks to their Heisman winner wide receiver, it cannot be understated how impressive the National Championship win was for the Tide. Monday was the second time in the Nick Saban Era at Alabama the Tide won the National Championship by 28 or more points (the first was in 2013 against Notre Dame).</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f7c47018c1b4921b512c7843fe8e98ef" id="e2dcb"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1348854498526195713"><div style="margin:1em 0">All Gas No Brakes 🤘 @CoachSark</div> — Texas Football (@Texas Football)<a href="https://twitter.com/TexasFootball/statuses/1348854498526195713">1610426947.0</a></blockquote></div><p>After a decisive 55-23 bowl win over Colorado, a Top 25 spot was inevitable. At No. 19 the Longhorns trail fellow Big 12 teams No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 9 Iowa State. Texas A&M finished at No. 4 in the AP Polls as well. This is only the second time since 2010 that the Longhorns finish their season in the Top 20.<br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ceef7a4a83c5ec4c662435ac194580ad" id="12819"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1348850274274660352"><div style="margin:1em 0">Live photo of Coach Steve Sarkisian on the Alabama sideline ready to #Hookem for the Texas Longhorns. https://t.co/sKgAa38MHp</div> — a.g. (@a.g.)<a href="https://twitter.com/aghease/statuses/1348850274274660352">1610425940.0</a></blockquote></div><p>As the 2020 season comes to a close with the departure of Herman and Ehlinger, fans can hope that this time next year the Texas Longhorns and Head Coach Steve Sarkisian can be back where the coach was tonight: underneath the confetti and bringing Texas back to where it should be.<br/></p>
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(University of Texas Athletics)
For the first time in almost a decade, the Texas Longhorns basketball team started its season 9-1 and 3-0 in conference play with a 84-59 blowout win over No. 3 Iowa State Tuesday. Some fans are wondering, with this early success, what has been the difference between this season and previous ones under Head Coach Shaka Smart?
<p>In a season undermined by a pandemic, a lack of fans and game cancellations, you might think that Texas would struggle out of the gate. Other programs have. But the Longhorns have found success by playing with an edge. </p><p>Texas might have had the best college basketball win so far this season when they traveled to Allen Fieldhouse to take on Kansas last Saturday. The 25-point win propelled Texas to <a href="https://austonia.com/longhorns-basketball-ranked-4" target="_self">No. 4 in the country</a> and has the entire college basketball world looking to Austin and sixth-year coach Smart for clues about the turnaround.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c66012910e8525ce8bd65263658cd804" id="9bc0d"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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</div></blockquote></div><p>"Results on the court are first and foremost going to be a function of the improvement that players have made," Smart said at this week's press conference. "The ability of the players to be connected around winning and around what goes into winning. I think anytime that you're able to win a significant game that's an indication of that."<br/></p><p>Smart attributes the early season success on the court to confidence, defense and chemistry.</p><p><strong>Confidence</strong></p><p>The cliche that "confidence is the key to success" applies to Texas this season. </p><p>Texas has found a system on offense that relies on trusting their guards to make the right decisions when running the offense and having their big men rebound and set screens.</p><p>"Everything is opening up now," 6-foot-10 forward Jericho Sims said. "I think if I get to the rim and make a lot of people collapse on me, then that really opens up the floor for everybody else."</p><p>When you watch the Longhorns play, there is a sense of purpose that may have been missing during stretches last season. Sims and freshmen Greg Brown are both in the top 10 for rebounds in the Big 12 and in the top 50 nationally.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d2a793325e9f468b84394981d775c97e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="ca7f1" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2OTAyNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2Mzg5MjUzNn0._kYBs_c3-IWnE71XH81S43iIVPXW5Vhia-slqr-B5HM/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">Senior guards Matt Coleman and Andrew Jones and junior Country Ramey on the court. (University of Texas Athletics)</small></p><p>The Longhorns have also found confidence in the formidable trio of senior guards Matt Coleman and Andrew Jones and junior Country Ramey. Together, the three upperclassmen have figured out different ways in every game this season to put the Longhorns in situations to win. Only Texas and Saturday's opponent West Virginia have three players averaging more than 13 points this season in the Big 12.<br/></p><p>"I think our guys definitely have more confidence and expect to win," Smart said. "Definitely felt that on Saturday (against Kansas), but it's a fine line. What we like to tell the players as coaches: 'Expect to win, but expect to do what goes into winning.'"</p><p><strong>Defense</strong></p><p>"When you have a lead, if you keep the other team from scoring," Smart said, "then you're not going to lose the lead."</p><p>Every Shaka Smart team has one thing in common, a defensive philosophy that pressures shooters and doesn't allow driving lanes into the paint. The three most recent players that Texas has sent to the NBA—Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba and Jaxon Hayes—have been shot blockers and defensive standouts who had to work on their offensive games once they got to the pros.</p><p>The Longhorns have kept their opponents shooting under 40% early in the season. The Big 12 can be one of the best conferences week in and week out, with different types of lineups and different defensive looks. Texas has to try to match the energy and intensity of each opponent they face.</p><p>"On the defensive end our guys have done a really good job playing with energy," Smart said. "But we also know that that's not a given. It's something that we've got to make sure that we bring. As I tell the guys all the time, it starts with our edge. We have to have an edge about us."</p><p><strong>Chemistry</strong></p><p>With 10 upperclassmen on the team, it's easy to see how teamwork and experience have created successful chemistry. </p><p>"We're a group of guys that really worked on our games over the offseason and really looked to improve and be better as a team," Jones said. "We trust each other, we trust our work and we don't really get down about shot selections that guys take. We just trust each player is going to make the right play."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f87f246d81ec8265718a9a8e0cc84fa9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="f48ad" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2OTA0NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNTg2NTg2Nn0.HjG5wZFRG292YYqIjiPmwariad1bFymE6gd152OGcuk/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The team celebrates on the court. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(University of Texas Athletics)</small></p><p>The group is connected to each other, a foundation laid when Coach Smart came to Texas.<br/></p><p>"You got a group of guys who have really bought into the culture and who we are and want to be," Jones said. "I wouldn't necessarily say it's a culture shift, it's more of our culture finally being noticed and brought to light with our connectivity."</p><p>And like so many things, the "confidence, defense and connectivity" that binds this team together can be traced back to another CDC—Chris Del Conte, University of Texas at Austin Athletic Director. Many ADs might have cut bait with Smart, who came from success at mid-major VCU, when he missed the tournament in 2017, or when the Longhorns lost by four to Nevada in the first round. Instead, Del Conte stuck with Smart and fans are starting to see the culture that the Longhorns head coach has been trying to build—and some wished to see the football team reflect this growth. Smart has now outlasted two football coaches and is proving to be worth it.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="62f0a60bedf57ab39fcb0c7d02383722" id="dc259"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1345442054420086784"><div style="margin:1em 0">Who knew that Tom Herman was the one holding back the basketball team too? #HookEm</div> — /r/LonghornNation (@/r/LonghornNation)<a href="https://twitter.com/rLonghornNation/statuses/1345442054420086784">1609613357.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The Longhorns have a tough test Saturday when they take their undefeated conference record to Morgantown to face off against No. 14 West Virginia Mountaineers. The game tips off at noon on ESPN.<br/></p>
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