Tonight the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to Dickinson to take on the Dickinson Gators. For those of us sitting on the visitors' side of the field, it was a long and frustrating game. The second half more so than the first.
First, let me say, that if you are looking for stats or an official report on tonight's game, you are in the wrong place. This is my observations of the game. My high school football education began approximately 35 years ago when my parents bought my first season tickets. I spent years sitting between my dad and grandpa learning about the game and about the teams in Galveston County. I have attended almost every Friendswood football game since we move here; for - at least - the last 5 seasons.
So, what did I see tonight. Well, I saw a lot. I did not attend any practices this week, so I do not know what the attitude of the Friendswood players was like. But I would bet my next paycheck that the Dickinson practices were intense. After the beat down they received at the hands of Texas City last week, they were looking to make a statement and to make sure that everyone knew that they were a team that could not be overlooked. I think Friendswood heard them loud and clear, especially in the second half. From here on out, Friendswood needs to make sure that all practices have the focus and intensity of a rank bull trying to buck off a cowboy. Emotion is good. But don't let the emotion get in the way of focus and logic. A practice that is very emotional, but not focused burns time and energy, but accomplishes nothing. This week coming up, Friendswood will travel to Rosenberg to take on Terry. I haven't seen them yet this year, but if last year is any indication, they are huge, fast and technically sound. Anything less that the Mustangs best will not be good enough.
But what is the Mustangs' best? I sure hope we haven't seen it yet.
I spent a good portion of the drive home trying to think of a positive spin to put on tonight's game. Well, no one was injured - although the refs didn't do much to make sure that happened. The Mustangs didn't use last week's one and only kick off return play, (and this week, they actually gained some yardage while using other plays.) When the defense tackled, they used better technique. And our receivers caught most of the passes that were on target, (at least when they were open to receive the pass.)
Friendswood should not have lost this game. The Mustangs are a better team than the Gators, even if we haven't seen it yet. But, the Gators appeared to have wanted it more tonight. And that made a huge difference.
Friendswood's special teams did a better job this week. But unless there was a less than obvious strategy, the place kicker should be kicking the ball much farther. We all know you have a great leg, but the direction of the kick should be distance, not height. Better than last week, and I'm hoping that next week will be even better.
Defense - like a said, when they tackle the technique is better. I haven't seen nearly as much arm tackling as I have in the past. That is a very good thing. However, great dives only look spectacular when you catch the opponent. And if you dive and miss, or even if you don't dive, don't lay on the ground and pound your fist into the turf like a toddler. Get up and do something. And guys, how many times are you going to allow your opponent to run the ball up the middle? Granted, that play didn't always gain a lot of yards, but it worked way too often and served to pump up their players to make bigger plays. A few years ago, our defense was young, small, and notorious for being unable to stop and offensive line that wanted to run the ball. Go back, watch the films and don't repeat their mistakes. If you continue to allow the other teams offense to push you out of the way, your season will be a short one. And, does Friendswood have any sprinters on the team? If so, they need to be covering receivers. The Mustangs need someone who can chase down opponents.
Offense - there were not nearly as many dropped passes this week (although that one of the end of the game, . . .). The quarterback's throws were either on target or overthrown. Not really off to the right or left, or underthrown. That is better than last week. However, I do feel like he made some poor choices on who to throw to. He either underestimated the Dickinson defenders or overestimated his receivers ability to catch the ball under coverage. Blumrick threw two interceptions tonight. The last one was caught at the one yard line with less than a minute left in the game. Our offense also, once again, tried to run the same play several times and each time it was unsuccessful. Hey guys, we've talked about this before - remember the definition of insanity?? Oh and bobbling snaps - really guys? And yes, that was supposed to be plural - snaps. Like I said previously, I don't keep stats during the game (the newspapers do a good job of that), but I think our offense is relying too heavily on a few people. Spread the ball around more, allow more people to touch the ball. The best offenses are diverse. Relying on one or two people can get you to November and December, but not nearly as effectively and easily and spreading the love can. Of course, that's assuming all the players are capable of doing what needs to be done. If they aren't, perhaps they need to spend more time practicing. There should be at least two or three viable receivers lined up on every play. Give the quarterback real options. It's amazing what happens when the defense doesn't know what to expect.
Officials - honestly Friendswood, you got robbed. I don't normally say that. And while I often dis the officials, I actually do respect them. I don't know if I would be able to watch everything all at once. I often wonder what happened when I see a flag on the field in someplace where the ball did not travel. However, even I know the difference between a fumble, a touchdown, and a player being down. I also know that referees are supposed to stop a play when there is a lack of forward progress in order to prevent injuries to the players. I am very thankful that no one was hurt during all the times that the officials allowed that to happen. Tonight's officiating crew needs to go home and study. I'll give you a few pointers - if/when the ball is in the possession of a offensive player and breaks the plane of the goal line, the play is over and it is a touchdown. Anything that happens concerning possession of the football after the ball crosses the goal line is moot. A player can not fumble of have the ball stripped and have possession change to the other team because it is a dead ball. This mistake by the officials cost Friendswood some points tonight and those points could have changed which teamed ended up with this game in the W column. I was actually surprised that the Friendswood fans didn't protest this more. I think we were too confused by what was happening. And the players probably would have stopped the Gator who had the ball sooner if they had realized the officials mistake. During halftime, fans were watching the replay on the camcorders that were in the stands. On the video, there was no question about it. There was blue paint between our player's feet and the goal line. Another one for the officials - when a player who has possession of the ball is hit and goes down (both knees on the ground), he is down. The play is dead at this point. A player can not pick up the ball and run with a dead ball. Doing so is nothing more than a delay of the game and exercise for the player.
I forgot my program and don't have this year's jersey numbers memorized yet. So, there are players who deserve attaboys who won't get them tonight because I don't know their names and I couldn't read the names on their jerseys from where I was sitting. For this, I apologize. But for those players I do know - this week's attaboys go to Longbotham, Vandersypen, Williams, Faulk, Holle, Page and Blumrick. Yes, Blumrick threw two interceptions, but he continued to play without appearing flustered and he did make some good passes. We also saw tonight that while he is not a "track star", he does know how to run.
Hey Mustangs - let this week be a learning experience for you. I realize, it may take a few hours to calm down enough to really analyze what you did tonight, as a team and as an individual. But take the time to do that. Otherwise, this loss is meaningless. Tonight showed that the better team doesn't always come out on top. Yes, you can rightfully blame the officials for their (huge) mistakes. However, you really should have run away with this game. Those mistakes by the officials should not have made the difference between winning and losing. Pick yourselves up, dust your selves off and work your tails off this week. Otherwise, Terry HS is going to show you how it feels to be 1-2. And no one likes that feeling.
The final score for this week's game was Friendswood 30 - Dickinson 33
The Mustang's next game is on Saturday, September 14, 2013. The Mustangs will travel to Rosenberg to Traylor Stadium to take on the Terry HS Rangers. This will be the last pre-district game. If you want to know what's going on during the game, be sure to follow me on twitter, www.twitter.com/momrod2000
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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