Tonight, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the Clear Creek Wildcats in a game of undefeated, district 24-6A teams. Tonight was a rather long night for the Mustangs.
It's kinda hard to analyze what I saw tonight because I'm not sure who that was wearing the black jerseys. But I do know that those were not the guys I'm used to seeing on the field on Friday night. The offense looked "off" for most of the game and the defense didn't appear to have near the passion that they usually display.
Of course, there were some good things that happened for the Mustangs tonight, as well as some things that were highlighted as areas that need work. Since I want to end on a positive note, I'm going to start with the stuff that needs work. Sometimes, I really hate being right. Tonight was one of those nights. The pass coverage tonight was worse than usual, and it's never great. Yes, the Mustang defense does a great job of stopping the receiver, but it's almost always after the catch has been made. Allowing the other team to catch the ball moves the chains and puts points on the board. Tonight, the defense did prevent more passes from being caught (percentage wise), but those that were caught weren't stopped as quickly, And Creek's last pass - what was that?? Was anyone other than the line even trying to stop that play? That receiver was wide open and I think he could have walked into the end zone and still made it. And why were they allowed to run up the middle so much? Is Creek's offensive line that much stronger than Friendswood's? Were the Mustangs just not in the right position to stop it? Again, where was the passion for the game that the defense usually has?
I know I don't mention special teams very often; after all, it's mostly the same guys who are on offense or defense - but tonight the special teams play reminded me of the Mustangs of old (5ish years go) and that's not a compliment. The opposing special teams did a much better job of blocking for their ball carriers than the Mustangs usually do, and they had no problem making sure that the Mustangs were not in a position to stop the ball carrier.
There were some interesting changes on offense this evening. They seemed effective, so I'm not sure why they didn't use those players in those positions more. The offense just seemed a little lack-luster tonight. They looked like they were working hard. I can't put my finger on what was wrong, but it was like watching a good imitation of the Friendswood offense instead of seeing the real deal.
Even though the team as a whole was not as dynamic as usual, there were some bright spots during the game. A few players were back from injuries and played well. A few players tried out some new positions and had success, though I wouldn't make the moves permanent - permanently occasional wouldn't be bad, thought. And one player earned his first varsity touchdown - though I don't understand why they don't throw it to him more often. I haven't seen the numbers, but I think it's a safe bet that Sargent had a larger percentage of his passes caught tonight than last week, not counting the interceptions, and I only saw one bad snap, the first snap. The offensive line also did a great job of protecting the quarterback.
Tonight's "attaboys" go to: Roher, Sargent, Longbotham, Vandersypen, Thurman, King, White, Rollen, Dehoyos, Gardner, #88 (sorry, I don't know who you are), Toney, and Langston.
Tonight's box score was
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Clear Creek Wildcats 7 20 7 14 48
Friendswood Mustangs 7 0 7 7 21
If this team doesn't find it's heart quick, fast and in a hurry, next Friday night will be even longer than tonight. Dickinson has been an easy week in the past, but that is not true any longer. They are a tough team and it will take everything the Mustangs have to pull out the W. I know that they can, but if they don't believe it, it won't happen.
The Mustangs have got to figure out a way to both solidify the new offense and contain the passing game. Those two things are musts! If they can do those without losing what they have already mastered, then Dickinson won't know what hit 'em when Friendswood rolls into town next week.
Students - next week, obviously, is an away game. Which means, . . . . No designated student section. Sit close to the band. Allow the drum cadences and music the band plays to pump you up. That energy will transfer to the field and help the team. The Mustangs will need all the help they can get against the Gators and you could be the deciding factor in the game. Make the short drive to Dickinson and show them that Friendswood is there to make a statement. If the team can pull off the upset, it will be a statement heard around the State.
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