Saturday, November 27, 2010 the Humble Wildcats took on the Friendswood Mustangs at Thorne Stadium on Aldine-Bender in Houston. Kick off was at 2pm.
Although I should not have been there (I woke up with fever that morning and later learned I have strep throat), I took some ibuprofen and went to enjoy a Texas tradition.
I had been told that this would be the best test for Friendswood so far. And that Humble ran the exact same offense that Friendswood uses. To me, this means that both defenses would know how to contain their own offense. It would all depend on which offense is better at the scheme and which defense is better at containing that offense.
Before the game even started, something went wrong. The GSL sponsor for Friendswood forgot to assign a group of representatives for this game. Some cheerleaders blue crew members took care of it when Humble's representatives began to walk across the field. Oops.
The game "started" with a delay of game penalty. Then, before the ball was kicked, the whistles blew again. Never did find out why. Friendswood won the toss and was waiting to watch the kick. It was anticlimactic everyone standing up, clapping, cheering, screaming, and . . . waiting. Once the ball was finally kicked, Kennemer caught it and passed it off to Johnson, who made it to Friendswood's 38 yard line before he was run out of bounds. Watching Friendswood's offense, it seemed that they were a bit excited. There was one false start penalty in the first drive, but they just looked like they had too much red bull before the game (a little unusual for the Mustangs).
For the first quarter both defenses were effective. There were several punts before someone finally found the end zone. Thankfully, it was Maetzold's pass to Stevens that put the first points on the board. There were only 2 minutes and 40 seconds left in the first quarter before the score became 0-7.
By the end of the first quarter, the score was still 0-7. At some point during that 1st quarter, Johnson left the game and did not return. He was never tended to on the field, so not many people realized he was injured. I later learned that he had a possible concussion and his fate for next week won't be known until the middle of the week.
It took 7 minutes 29 seconds into the second quarter for anyone to score again. Once again it was Friendswood. Friendswood could probably have scored earlier, but on 2nd and 10 and again on 3rd and 10 we tried some sort of weird "trick" play that looked like everyone was lining up for an onsides kick. The offensive line lined up on the west side of the field, leaving the center, quarterback and a receiver on the east side of the field. The offensive line just stood up and relaxed when the ball was hiked. Two receivers (one on each side of the field) ran, trying to get free. Both times, the receivers were in a position to make a catch (not necessarily an easy catch), but Maetzold overthrew his intended receivers. He seemed to have that problem off and on throughout the game. So, on 4th and 10, Friendswood punted it away.
I think the Mustangs may have been watching too much you tube.
Humble wasn't able to do anything either. The ball went back and forth for the rest of the half. At the end of the half, Humble attempted a 39 yard field goal, bur the kick was wide left. That made the score at half time 0-14 Friendswood.
Now about half time. I completely understand why bands do what they do during regular season half time shows. I understand that they are working to create a show that the judges will like during their competitions. And, believe me, I know how hard they work. That said, the play off half time shows are so much more fun. They get the crowd involved and the band looks like they're having fun.
So, with half time over, it was time for the football team to re-take the field. The third quarter continued much as the first two had gone. Lots of punting (each team did throw one interception during the first half). Once again, when the score changed, the points were added to Friendswood's score. Again, it was Maetzold's pass to Stevens that changed the score board. So, with 5:07 left in the 3rd quarter, the score was Humble 0 - Friendswood 21.
Even 21 points down, Humble did not give up. They went for it on 4th and 14 from the Friendswood 23 and got the first down. A few plays later, they put some points of their own on the board and with less than a minute to play in the third quarter, the score was Humble 7 - Friendswood 21.
It took another 8 minutes for someone to find the end zone again. This time it was a pass from Maetzold to Battle. With 3:59 left in the game, the score was Humble 7 - Friendswood 28.
Then, it looked like Humble was just coming into their stride. I'm not sure if our defense was letting up, or if their offense was playing better. They were driving to the end zone again when Wood came up with an interception near their 25 yard line and ran it back to our 35. A few plays later, with 1:27 left on the clock, Friendswood pushed it's way into the end zone to make the score Humble 7 - Friendswood 35. And then . . .
Once again, it's a good thing Zach Hardy knows how to tackle. This time, someone else might have caught the ball carrier. But still.
I think our defense thought the game was over. They showed little resistance as Humble marched down the field and scored another touch down of their own. It took the Wildcats 1:13 of playing time to score that touch down. Humble decided to go for the 2 point conversion, but were unsuccessful. Fitzpatrick ended up with the ball in the end zone, play over. The score was 13-35 Friendswood.
There were only 14 seconds left on the clock. So, that was the end of the game.
Once again, the refs were unable to call a fair game. We received 15 yard penalties for infractions that earned Humble a warning. At one point, the penalty was called against us when an Humble player tried to start a fight. There were a few calls concerning whether or not a play was a reception or an incomplete pass that were debatable. Those types of calls. I don't know why officials find it necessary to make unfair calls against Friendswood, but it seems to be happening way too often. And if you read my tweets and facebook posts during the game, you'll see that I comment on every questionable call, not just the ones that go against Friendswood. And you'll notice that there are alot more that go against Friendswood than for Friendswood.
I'm glad that our coaches have taught our team to not worry about the officials biases and go out and play the game. It shows that we have student athletes of character. And that we deserve each and everyone win we get.
This game was one of the best games I've seen our defense play. They held Humble to only 242 offensive yards. I hope they continue to improve I suspect that from here on out, each offense they see will be better than the last. Our offense this week was better than the week before, but still inconsistent. They have to maintain that level of greatness to get past the tougher defenses they will face.
The next stop on the road to the state championship game will be at Rice Stadium on Saturday, December 4, 2010. The Friendswood Mustangs will again play from the home side as we take on the Montgomery Bears in the Regional Finals (state quarter finals). Kick off will be at 7pm and the gates open at 6pm. Be there and wear blue!
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