On September 2, 2011, The Friendswood Mustangs traveled 114 miles (one way) to take on the West Orange Stark (WOS) Mustangs. Kick off was moved from 7pm to 7:30pm to help the Friendswood fans have a little more travel time. Of course, this meant we got home later. But that's okay for probably everyone except those attending the Wranglerette dance clinic today. Last night's game took 2 overtimes to decide. It was 11:30pm when the game finally concluded. As you read through the running commentary, you may think that this was a boring game, and not worth the 4 hours we spent in the car to get there and back. I was thinking that myself a few times during the game. But, the last hour or so of the game proved worth the drive.
I am calling this "The Game of Almosts." During my running commentary, I used the word "almost" 8 times, though I could have used it many more.
Last year, we met this team in Deer Park. 3 Friendswood Mustangs left that game with injuries. 1 of those players, who was out for the rest of the season, was on the field last night. I wondered if he would be looking for revenge. He played well last night, which is probably the best revenge.
Many of the high school football prognosticators said this would be a close game and that WOS would be the fastest team we would probably face this season. They were right on one account, though not in a good way; and wrong on the other. WOS wasn't faster than Angleton. They had a few breakaways, but not the "leave them in the dust" speed that Angleton displayed. It was a close game, but other than the last hour, that's not a compliment to either team.
To start the game, Friendswood won the toss and elected to receive. WOS chose to start the game with the wind at their back. The wind was strong enough that this made a difference. The National Weather Service reports that at kick off the sustained wind speed was 18mph. The highest gust recorded was 24 mph. I would like to have seen a wind speed gauge reading from inside the stadium.
Our first two plays looked great. Matt Morris was in as quarterback. He handed off to Jonathan Johnson, who earned 2 first downs. But then we hit a wall. After 3 downs, Scott punted the ball away. WOS took over on their 25.
WOS's first possession began the long list of penalties, and it didn't help that those like me who were "taking notes" while sitting on the visitors side couldn't see the refs signals most of the time and the announcer didn't always announce what the call was. There were two flags on one play during this set of downs. One of those flags was blocking below the waist against WOS. Everyone walked off the yardage, but before play resumed, the ball was walked back to the original line of scrimmage. Offsetting penalties?
Most of the game was a series of 3 downs (often more than 3 plays thanks to penalties) and a punt. Morris played quarterback for Friendswood for about the first half of the first quarter. During his last set of downs, there was some sort of mistake during a hand off to Battle and the two collided during the hand off. Battle was down a few yards later, losing yardage on the play.
During WOS's next possession, the first of a hand full of chop blocking calls was called against WOS. I don't recall the last time I heard a chop blocking call in a high school football game.
Tonight, more new players for Friendswood made names for themselves. Which is a very good thing, considering how many "names" we lost to graduation last year. Two of those were Joshua Camarillo and Trey Simmons. They were able to chase down the WOS player who broke away, making a 47 yard run. A few plays later, thanks are due to our defense for the first interception of the night. I never did see who came up with the ball, but we gained possession at our 1 yard line. Thanks to a "half the distance to the goal" penalty, the ball was snapped from 1.5 feet outside the end zone. Here Wood made what would probably have been a great pass. It probably could have had the distance to remind Friendswood fans of some recent great quarterbacks. But the wind caught it and blew it our of bounds. WOS used their next possession to get on the board first. With 48 seconds left in the 1st quarter, the score was Friendswood 0 - WOS 7. Unlike last year, WOS has a place kicker who can kick. Although his style looks like he's holding back. Not sure why.
We got the ball back, and had to punt again. The wind was a factor in this punt as well. The punt was high and short. But this was our last offensive play having to play against the wind as well as against WOS. By the time we were back on that side of the field in the second half, the wind had died down to a point where it wasn't a factor, or the players made the necessary adjustments; because I never noticed the wind being a factor after that point.
WOS earned another penalty on their next possession - Substitution infraction. They punted again and earned another penalty. We started this drive from our 25. Battle made a great catch, earning 19 yards before being taken down - took 3 WOS defenders to take him down. And once again, Johnson ran hard, it was very exciting, but he didn't gain any yards. He just ran parallel to the goal line. Morris came back at QB during this drive. He threw a beautiful pass that was intended for Holle, but Holle looked like he was running with a bungee cord attached to his back. He just couldn't catch up to the ball. Scott punts again. With the wind at his back, the ball goes through the end zone, if I remember correctly, this punt was near 50 yards. I guess I need to start counting all these punts.
Another name that was new to me was Brunson. At this point, he earned one of those almosts - almost sacked the WOS quarterback. That was on 4th and 7 when WOS decided to go for it. The QB threw the ball away to avoid the sack and we took at their 48 yard line.
Next drive, Wood throws his first interception. But the ball was fumbled and recovered by Trevor Stevens. Scott gains 7 yards on the next pass. On the next play Johnson breaks away for the touchdown. But, it was called back for an illegal man down field. Scott ends up having to punt again (his 5th so far). Cameron Smith and Logan Varner both demonstrated that they've been paying attention during practice with great tackles.
During this drive, we got to play "What's that flag" and never did learn the answer. But the ball was moved 5 yards against WOS, so I guess the penalty was on them. WOS decided to punt on 4th and inches. Their 5th punt of the game (yes, 5 punts for each team and we're still in the first half).
Wood makes a great pass to Holle to start this drive. Next up, JJ makes a great run, but a penalty forces them back for 1st and 20. Never did learn what that penalty was. Things started looking up after Wood had to run with the ball and got tripped up. He managed to gain 6 yards on the play. Nice, direct pass to Holle's chest brought up 4th and inches. Hand off to Battle and away we go. 1st and 10 from the 10 yard line. Less than a minute left in the first half. Wood's passes to Holle who manages to get the toe of one shoe to touch the grass before he falls out of the end zone. With 42 seconds left on the clock - Touchdown Friendswood! Dement's kick is good. Friendswood 7 - WOS 7
Dement's kick is low, but tumbles WOS takes over on their 17. WOS fumbled on their first attempt at a first down. Friendswood picked up the fumble (didnt' see who) and ran into the end zone. For the 2nd time in 5 seconds, Friendswood put numbers on the board. 37 seconds left in the half and the score was Friendswood 14 - WOS 7.
WOS earned their 6th penalty of the game, this one for chop blocking, bringing up 2nd and 20. When they were 4th and 13, they faked a punt. It didn't work our for them and the half ended with a score of 14-7.
WOS had first possession during the second half. With 2nd and 10, Camarillo comes up with an interception. We were able to start a drive on their 39 yard line. But if you think we managed to do anything with it, you're wrong. TJ Scott made is 6th punt of the game.
WOS attempted a pass up the middle after earning a couple of first downs. Not one, but two Friendswood Mustangs got their hands on the ball, but it fell incomplete.
During our next possession, WOS earned their 8th penalty. Pass interference isn't a strong enough description. Try mobbing the intended receiver. Holle might have caught up with that pass, had he not been mobbed. After several back and forths and even more penalties, Tyler Dement kicked a 42 yard field goal. 1:59 left in the third quarter the score is Friendswood 17 - WOS 7. That kick was strong enough that he could have gone much farther. Attention college scouts - if you're not looking at Tyler Dement for a kicking position on your team, you should be. Guess what, he can tackle and play defense, too.
At this point, I'm sure most of the Friendswood fans are thinking the game is in the bag. Not at all.
WOS had to punt on their possession. Friendswood started on their 48 yard line. A pass to Stevens bounces out of his hands. On the next play, Wood demonstrated his baseball skills by sliding before he is tackled. He managed to gain a few yards.
Once the clock started over for the 4th quarter, Friendswood was forced to punt again. But, Scott dropped the ball and wasn't able to kick it. WOS picked up the ball, but tripped.
On 3rd and 10, WOS's receiver was wide open, something that started happening often. He gained 10 yards before he was brought down. Brunson got in a great sack, but WOS made it to the end zone on the next play,. 10:01 left in the game Friendswood 17 - WOS 14.
During the next set of downs, our offensive line was able to give Wood plenty of time to make a play. He probably had time to grab a snack before the defense would have touched him. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone open for him to pass to. He tried to get the ball to TJ Scott, but was nearly intercepted.
It took WOS a handful of plays to travel 80 yards and into the end zone. 7:02 left in the game, Fwd 17 - WOS 21. Again, the defense looked like they might need to work on their conditioning and endurance.
Up until this point, the game was fairly boring. Lots of back and forth with a few highlights. From this point on, I spend very little time sitting.
Thankfully, our offense was not suffering from the same problems. It took 2 plays for us to get from our 5 yard line, where Holle caught the kick off and passed it off to Scott, to the WOS 1 yard line. JJ ran approx. 50 yards before he was caught. Friendswood got back into the end zone on a quarterback keeper. 6:35 left in the game, Fwd 24 - WOS 21. Montalvo came in for the point after attempt and the kick off.
The announcer had to double check what he was seeing a few minutes later. The ball went back and forth, WOS made a pass to the end zone that was almost intercepted by Jordan Wood. Yes, the same Jordan Wood who'd played quarterback for most of the game. Last year, he was one of Maetzol'd favorite receivers and made a host of interceptions. WOS settled for a 33 yard field goal. The score was tied at 24 with 2:47 left in the game.
After WOS kicked the ball to us, Scott caught the ball nearly the goal line and made it to the WOS 30 yard line before he was tackled and the ball stripped. WOS recovered the fumble.
More good hits by Camarillo, but the fumble gave WOS the momentum. That is, until their QB throws under pressure and is intercepted by us (sorry, don't know who).
We start at our 40, complete a 35 yard pass and then throw an interception. 21 seconds left in the game and the score is tied. A great tackle by Brunson ends the game.
Time for our first overtime. This is the first time I've seen overtime in a high school football game since we played Manvel a few years ago. That game took 4 overtimes to decide.
After alot of discussion between the officials and the head coaches, then more discussion between the coaches, the officials and the players, the team captains met in the middle of the field for a coin toss. Friendswood won the toss and elected to have the wind at their backs. Friendswood will go first and start from the 25 yard line.
A great pass was made to Scott, who almost came up with the ball under double coverage. Wood was brought down in the backfield bringing up 4th and 11. Montalvo came in for a field goal, and the ball bounced off the bottom of the goal posts. WOS's turn to start on the 25 yard line.
After they gained a 1st down, they found themselves with 3rd & 5 from the 10 yard line. They took a time out to discuss things. They went for a field goal, but missed wide.
Time for overtime #2. Everyone moved to the other end of the field and WOS took first shot. More almost interceptions. Then Brown went down with what appeared to be an injury. Everyone was watching, remembering that Brown was one of the players who suffered a season ending injury last year against WOS. I kept an eye on him for the rest of the game and it looks like it was a muscle cramp. I will try to find out more before next week's game.
WOS managed to find the end zone and the pat was good. Now it was Friendswood's turn. Score Friendswood 24 - West Orange Stark 31.
Wood's pass was tipped, but his next pass bounces out of Scott's hands and is caught, in the end zone, by Holle. After much discussion, Friendswood elects to go for 2. I guess WOS wasn't expecting that, because they called a time out to talk things over. Once the ball is snapped, WOS was ready for whatever we were going to try. Our offensive line did a good job holding them back and giving Wood plenty of time to look and the receivers plenty of time to get open. Once he finally let it go, the pass was caught in the back corner of the end zone by Trevor Stevens. Game over, we win!! Final score Friendswood 32 - West Orange Stark 31.
So, now that I've finished telling what happened in the game, I can tell you what I saw. According to my unofficial count, both teams punted the ball away 9 times each. Friendswood racked up 7 penalties and WOS earned 10. Most of the time, after seeing the flag fly that many times, I would think that the officials were biased against one team or the other. However, I think most if not all of those penalties were deserved. Lots of chop blocking by WOS and lots of holding by Friendswood.
Friendswood seems to still be searching for their identities and some players are struggling to regain what they showed last season. The tackling is continuing to improve. But the receivers need alot of practice. Every receiver had a ball bounce off his hands, or missed a pass he should have caught. They also need to continue to work on their stamina. They started to show fatigue during the 4th quarter, but found the energy, or adrenaline to get through 2 overtimes.
The offensive line continued to improve throughout the game and played better at the end of the game than the beginning.
There were more players who are playing on varsity for the first time who showed that they belong on the varsity squad. Our team needs to continue to improve all the way to Cowboys Stadium in December. However, what they have displayed on the field over the last 3 weeks is not good enough to get into the post season in this district. There's a reason that 24-4A is labeled the toughest district in the state.
I'm sure that TJ Scott never anticipated that he would be kicking as much as he did. And he really shouldn't have had to. Both Morris and Wood need to spend more time working with the receivers. And if I were their coach, those receivers would spend the week carrying a football with them everywhere they go. In fact, I know a few coaches who would not only have them become best friends with the ball, but would ducktape the ball to their hands. I've seen some of those receivers play before. I know they can play better then what I have seen over the last 3 weeks. So, . . . .
In each of our games, there have been way too many almosts for Friendswood Mustangs fans. We are used to seeing our receivers make impossible catches by leaping yards into the air and snagging balls under quadruple coverage and land in the end zone (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit). We are not used to almosts. We are not used to seeing players almost catch a pass, almost tackle a ball carrier or almost intercept a pass. If we can turn those almosts into wows, we can show everyone how high school football is played. Next week we play Houston Stratford in Friendswood at Henry Winston Stadium Kick off is 7pm after the pregame dinner sponsored/hosted by the Wranglerettes. Tickets can be bought in advance or at the gate, the stadium parking lot is reserved and shuttle buses will be running from Windsong and Westwood-Bales.
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am watching the game and "taking notes" by twittering and during the games. I am at each game with at least one of my kids, if not both. Sometimes, my husband is able to attend with us and sometimes I have other family with me as well. My football education is from attending high school football games for 30+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I was 3 when my parents bought my first season ticket. I missed 2 home games from the time I was 3 years old through junior high, and started traveling (not missing a single game) during high school. I started taking my kids to games before they could walk and have been taking them ever since.
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