Johnnie Goosby grew up busting broncos. It's just a coincidence that Goosby's Bryan Vikings are playing the Round Rock McNeil Mavericks this week.

"It's just something I fell in the mix doing," the Bryan Vikings' starting safety said. "We do it for fun. Everybody in our family is around the fence, and we just see who can stay on the longest. We tire the horse out. We might just lunge him [run him in circles] all day long. A horse that hasn't had a saddle on his back might just go crazy, but we lunge him until he is dog tired, until his tongue hangs out. Then we put a saddle on him, and he's calm like a little puppy then."

The Bryan senior says that's not a bad way to play football.

"It's just like a football game," Goosby said. "You put pressure on a running back, keep hitting him, keep hitting him, and after awhile, he won't want to run no more."

Goosby is the kind of guy you want around a ranch. He's comfortable riding horses and has hauled lots of hay.

"Everybody makes fun of me," Goosby said. "They say 'Man, that's why you're so strong. You're riding horses and toting hay and all of that kind of stuff.' It's something I like to do."

Goosby knows his business, too. He's quick to point out that you'd better budget more for hay right now.

"The fields are dry, and the price of hay is high," Goosby said. "You have to go out of town, and they are running about $65 or $70 a bale for round bales. If you go to co-op and buy it, you'd be running probably $8.50 for a square bale. That's a lot. Back in the day, it would be like $3 to $5."

"He's kind of a throwback to some old-timey stuff," Bryan defensive coordinator Dwight Pattrick said. "He's taken over at safety. He makes calls and does a great job of getting where we need to be. He's taken about every snap back there for us."

Goosby is enough of a throwback that he's likely to be talking on his CB instead of a cell phone.

"He'll get here early, and you'll see him talking on the CB or listening to somebody," Pattrick said.

Old school has worked for the Vikings on the football field. In the 25-21 loss to Leander last week, Goosby led the way with 16 tackles (eight solos). He was also the team leader in the opening week against Cy-Falls, when he had 12 tackles.

Goosby has moved form safety to defensive end a year ago and now back again.

"When I went to end, I wasn't used to being that close to the ball but the kind of person that wants to go get the tackle," Goosby said. "It was kind of hectic, but then I thought, hey, I've got a closer opportunity to get the ball."

The moved was made to get Goosby more playing time. The latest move was back to the position that suits him best, and having played up front, he now has a better overall picture of the defense.

"I can play either one, but at safety, you've got to know what you're doing," Goosby said. "You've got to command your troops."

And Goosby is.

"Johnnie Goosby is really starting to take control at safety," Vikings' head coach Bob Bellard said. "He's starting to be the senior leader that we need back there. Last week, Brian Cune was out and Bryson Edwards came in and filled in great, but Johnnie kept everybody's head screwed on right and was able to make all of the adjustments in the secondary."

Goosby led a vastly improved defensive effort in the second game.

"That first week, a lot of guys were new and I was trying to help put them in their comfort zone," Goosby said. "I was used to it and knew what the atmosphere would be like. Last week, we just put our helmets on, put our ears back and went."

JOHNNIE GOOSBY UP CLOSE

* Favorite TV show: Good Times

* In my .mp3 player: Lil Keke

* Favorite teammate: quarterback Kesnick Taylor

* Person I most admire: Bryan defensive backs coach Matt Rice

* Dream job: firefighter