Thursday, October 13, the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to Alvin Memorial Stadium to take on the Manvel Mavericks. This game was also televised on The Kube. I'm glad this game was televised. We had to miss most of the first half, but I set my DVR so I could watch it later.
Now, I guess I've put this off long enough. It's time to write my blog entry for that game.
But first (yes, I'm stalling) the box scores.
Total
Friendswood 7 0 15 6 28
Manvel. 21 17 15 7 60
This week showed some definite improvements for the Mustangs and a few old bad habits. I watched most of the game on the TV (my DVR cut off after 3 hours instead of recording the entire game). For the most part, I found the announcers to be annoying, and tuned them out. But I found their commentary during the 3rd quarter to be very interesting. The 3rd quarter commentary highlighted things that I and other Mustang fans have been saying for a long time. "The difference between Manvel and Friendswood - Manvel tackles very well. Friendswood does alot of arm tackling." Another comment was that once you've run the same play several times, the defense knows how to stop it. All of this was plainly evident Thursday night.
So, for the bad - first, where was Caleb Taube? He came out of the Dawson game and didn't play against LaMarque. I didn't even see him on the sidelines Thursday. The reason I ask about Taube now is that, during the Stratford game, he did very well on the skill I'm about to complain about. Why, oh why does our defense leave enough room between themselves and the receivers to park a few 1963 Chryslers? They didn't do this all the time, just 95+% of the time. When they were close enough to reach out and touch Manvel's receivers, the pass was incomplete.
Next, it was great to see Battle on the field with a week of practice. And when they faked handoffs between Johnson & Battle, they worked for a while. But, when you run a starburst, or fake handoffs, and the same person ends up with the ball (almost) every time, the fake becomes ineffective and results in a loss of yardage. It also helps when everyone is a good faker. Johnson needs to practice faking. It's always obvious if he has the ball or not. And while he has gotten better at gaining yards while he worked his way outside, he fell into some old habits Thursday night.
Did Montalvo forget his lucky socks or shoes? He missed more kicks than usual (1 PAT, at least 1 field goal - 37 yard). Madera came in to kick after the missed PAT and on the next touchdown the Mustangs went for 2. Normally, I would be inclined to wonder if Montalvo was injured, but he continued to play well on defense. He played well on defense all night.
Okay, more bad, informational stuff before we get to the good stuff. I want to end on a positive note. While I was not counting snaps, I can tell you that Wood & Johnson were on the field for every offensive snap (minus 1 for Wood and maybe a few in the 4th quarter) and most defensive snaps. And they both proved that they know how to tackle & Johnson knows how to intercept. I noticed toward the end of the game that Wood was more herding the ball carrier out of bounds that tackling - work smarter, not harder - good job.
Battle & Scott also played their fair share of defense and they played well.
Injury report - Camarillo came out of the game in the 2nd quarter holding his knee. He did not re-enter the game, but he was seen on the sidelines during the second half, sporting a pair of crutches. Longbotham left the game in the 4th quarter and spent the rest of the game on the sideline with an ice bag tapped to his ankle. I haven't heard anything about either of them. I hope they are both feeling better and ready to play Friday night.
Now, for the good news. Holle didn't drop the ball or miss a catch all night! Good job Holle! Wood is continuing to improve at quarterback. His throws are gaining distance and accuracy. He still needs to practice reading the field, but the only thing for that is practice. Battle & Scott both looked great & displayed some skills that Friendswood fans have come to expect (impossible catches under excellent coverage). Chidester iss looking great & learning to be everywhere all at once. Longbotham is also getting better, though he looked better against LaMarque than against Manvel. There was a JV jersey that should have been wearing a varsity jersey. Someone please get that boy, #82, a varsity jersey with his name on the back. He made some great tackles, read the Manvel offense well & made some smart decisions. I hope to see him on the field this week against Santa Fe. Something else I hope to see, Longbotham get in some time at running back. He's already demonstrated that he can do well in that spot, but we haven't seen him run the ball since the game against Galveston Ball. And while I'm asking, let's have more points on the Friendswood side of the score board than the Santa Fe side.
The Mustangs will take on Santa Fe Friday, October 21, 2011. Kick off will be at 7pm and this will be the FISD's annual Patriotic Half-time. If you haven't seen this show before, you need to. It's a great salute to our servicemen & women, veterans & our nation.
My advice for the Mustangs, do not think you have the week off. Who was the only team to beat Friendswood before we went to College Station last year? Santa Fe.
To the coaches, when you watch the films of earlier games, look to see what you did differently that worked. What experimnets worked, and which ones didn't. Don't be afraid to try something. AND, look at things the other teams did that you didn't that were effective. You might get some good ideas.
In order for the Mustangs to make they play offs, they have to beat Santa Fe & Texas City. Is it possible? Absolutely. Will they? That remains to be seen.
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am watching the game and "taking notes" by twittering 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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