On September 5, 2014, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the George Ranch Longhorns. This was the first meeting for these two teams. This was also Channel 13's game of the week. George Ranch entered this contest ranked 5th in the state for 5A. Friendswood was not ranked in 6A.
Friendswood came into this game a little cocky, and it showed. Don't get me wrong. Friendswood is very good. But being overconfident can be a problem; as the Mustangs saw tonight. Once the Mustangs realized that there was a very real chance that they could lose, they started playing much harder.
Before the game even began, and increasingly throughout the game, I wondered if the mosquito truck had been by. Even with deep woods off and cutter, we were still all being eaten alive. Some more than others.
And now, for the game. This game was decided within the last minute. Both defenses played huge roles in the game. Even though defense doesn't typically score points, and therefore can't win the game; tonight, each teams defense was stout and controlled more of the games than the offense did. Both teams were able to see what areas need work and what areas they should not mess with.
On what areas should Friendswood spend more time? Kick returns are in a definite need of work. This is our 8th season to live in Friendswood and this is an area that has plagued Friendswood for most of those years. Friendswood seems to struggle on both sides of the ball when it comes to returning a kick off or a punt. Guys, if you want to know how it should be done, watch this film and watch what George Ranch did. The Longhorns were very good at blocking for their ball carriers and creating holes for them to run through. The middle of Friendswood's defensive line also needs to learn how to stand their ground. The Longhorns were able to create way too many holes tonight and their ball carriers took advantage of those holes. Thankfully, Friendswood's secondary knew what to do to prevent most of those from being breakaway plays. It's not always about who is bigger. Sometimes, it's about who can use his size better. I wish I could give you a good example of who to watch for this type of thing. I know there are some really good teams and really good players who don't get pushed around and know how to stand their ground. But right now, I'm not able to come up with any. When I remember a good example, I'll edit this entry.
Something else to work on is that Friendswood's offense needs to diversify. The play callers seemed to be falling victim to "Van Meter Disease" tonight. Especially toward the end of the game. If you are new to reading my blog, Van Meter Disease" occurs when a play caller calls the same play over and over and over and over. It gets to a point, when the disease is chronic, that the only time the play goes well is when things don't happen as expected. It's similar to Einsten's definition of insanity. Granted, in the last 2 minutes of the game, there were some new plays. And they usually worked because George Ranch hadn't already figured out what was about to happen. No team should be so repetitive that the opposing defense knows what's coming and how to stop it without having to even look at the offense.
Friendswood needs to learn to play tighter on the receivers. Don't get me wrong. Freindswood's defense is one of the best I've ever seen. But waiting to make a play until after the pass is caught means that the opponents still get the first down. Last week and this week I saw some hard hits delivered to receivers by the Mustang defense. But those hits all came just after the receiver caught the ball and earned the first down. Why not try to breakup the pass? Why, instead, do you give receivers a few yards cushion, then make a diving drive into him to prevent him from gaining more yards? Friendswood has had some players who were really good at this. Watch old film with an analytical mind and you'll see it.
After reading all this, I'm sure you're wondering how in the world Friendswood won if they played so bad. They didn't play bad, at all. I just like to get the "needs improvement" section of my blog done first before I start praising players. It helps people to appreciate the "pat on the back" a little more.
Friendswood has a great defense. I think I may have already said that, but if not, I'll say it again. Friendswood has a great defense. The defense wasn't able to read the George Ranch offense as well as they were in Texas City. But I don't know if I've ever seen a team fake as well as George Ranch did tonight. Guys, when I say that our players need to work on their acting skills, this is what I mean. How many times did Friendswood tackle the wrong guy? How many times were the fans fooled into thinking the wrong person had the ball. Yes, this sounds like something Friendswood needs to work on, but really it's just that George Ranch was that good at it.
Friendswood doesn't give up. Even when our guys were down by 13, they didn't let up. They just down shifted and kept going. When the offense blocked for our ball carriers, they blocked well. Friendswood has well rounded football players who can play multiple positions and play them well. I've heard it said that people struggle in sports when they move to Friendswood because we have so many talented players who work very hard to be the best at what they do and who are very versitle within their sport(s). Friendswood High School is blessed in that they have a great talent pool to pull from. They may, in part, be due to the year that so many players got hurt during preseason that by the time district rolled around, there were more JV players suited up on the sidelines on Friday nights than there were varsity players. Whatever the reason is behind it, Friendswood has a much more rounded athletic program. And it shows. I saw a few people playing positions that they don't normally play and running plays that someone else normally runs. And they did those jobs well.
There was also a great improvement to the passing game this week. Whatever y'all did in practice this week, keep doing it.
This week's attaboys go to: Robinson, Longbotham, Vandersypen, Page, Langston, King, White, Rollen, Crespo, and Chidester.
The final score for the game was George Ranch Longhorns 35 - Friendswood Mustangs 38. Next week, the Mustangs will play a rare Thursday game against Kingwood at Turner Stadium. This should be an interesting game. I know nothing about Kingwood, except that their colors are blue and white and they are the Mustangs. Guess I'll have to do some studying this week.
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 one of my kids. 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 35+ 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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