Tonight, the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to Freeport to to take on the Brazoswood Buccaneers. This is the first time these teams have met since 2009, if memory serves. I remember being at that game, and I remember that parking was terrible, and that the Mustangs didn't put their best foot forward. But I don't remember much else.
I did some reading about the Buccaneers before tonight's game and was not really expecting what I saw.
Before I get into the good, the bad, and the ugly; I want to share an observation over the last couple of years. I've noticed that it has become more common that the band, cheerleaders, and drill team of the away team (not specifically speaking about one particular school), to often be late to the game. Late enough to miss the playing of their school song. Why is that? Are there transportation issues preventing the buses from picking up these support groups in order for them to be on time? Are schools not allowing the students to leave in a timely fashion? Do leaders/directors not consider being present for the school song before the game a priority? Why? I have to say that I don't like it. The purpose of those groups being at football games in to support the football team and to provide halftime entertainment. Watching the varsity team take the field, seeing the cheerleaders and drill team cheer the players on and hearing silence from the band isn't what should be happening at a Texas High School Football game. I would like to ask the leaders of these groups to please do everything in your power to get your students in place in time for them to be introduced before the game, play the school song, and cheer for the players as they take the field.
And now for what happened on the field tonight. Since it's always more motivating to get patted on the back before your mistakes are pointed out, I'll start with the good. Friendswood players always play with heart. It's one of the things I love about high school football. Tonight, even when the refs seemed to be doing a terrible job; and Coach Koopman seemed to be having to point out a mistake to them on every play, Friendswood didn't give up. Even when the down markers showed 3rd down and almost 40 yards to go, they didn't give up. They played just as hard as if it were first and goal. I love that about Friendswood. Tonight, I liked seeing the players take the opportunity to make decisions and change plays when the play wasn't unfolding the way they thought it would. That shows that our coaches have really taught the players to understand the game as well as how to think through what's happening and what's about to happen. I liked seeing that on running plays, the ball carriers have figured out that usually, going around the defense is more efficient than going through them. The newest version of Friendswood defense is "gelling" much faster than I thought they would, and that's a great sight. While I still disagree on some of the defensive tactics, to see them playing as a unit is a great thing. And I loved watching the defense give their JJ Watt impersonations. Sacking quarterbacks, batting down passes, intercepting passes (even if the ref was somehow unable to see it), was a great thing. Defense - you are already a group to be feared by your opponents, keep improving and more than just the Houston area will hear about you. Keep reading to see which players earned "attaboys" tonight.
So what didn't go right. Unfortunately a lot of things. I realize that referees who can't/won't take charge and call a fair game is something that they players can not change. But there were some other things that the team/coaches can change. First, even though the defense is showing greatly improved tackling technique, great timing and great reading of the opposing offense, I still feel like our defense plays too far off the receivers. If you've read my blog before, you know this is something I've been complaining about for years. Why do the defense coaches think this is a good idea? I realize that it allows you to spread your defense out more, and cover more area. But the problem with tackling the receiver right after he catches the ball is that all those completed passes move the chains and get the ball into the end zone. The Mustangs have a stellar defense, why not teach them to completely shut down the passing game as opposed to slowing it down. The defense has finally learned to consistently tackle correctly. They have finally learned to read an offense. Why not force your opponent to run the ball? Our run defense is already good, not perfect, but good. Take the passing game away and your opponent's after-game stats will be even less impressive. The main problem in the defense stopping the run game is allowing the opponent to run up the middle. That has definitely gotten better, but it still continues to be a problem. I realize that the running back for Brazoswood is the size of a tank, which is why I'm not going to spend too much time on this, but the defense needs to learn to do a better job of closing those gaps.
On the opposite side of the ball, the offense gave the fans quite a scare tonight. The first snap of the game was too low, and recovered by Brazoswood. There was only one other bad snap that I saw tonight. Not perfect, but a good improvement from previous games. There were a few other incomplete passes, but it was good to see the offense "spreading the love". I still think that can be done more, but it was an improvement. The biggest problem the offense had tonight was penalties. Not all of them were deserved, but some were. And that leads me into the ugly portion of tonight's game.
Does anyone know what the record is for most penalties in a game. I wasn't able to find that information on bing, but I did find the most penalties in a college game - 36. By my count, there were 33 flags thrown tonight. I don't know that I've ever seen anything like it For a while, there was a flag on every play. And some of the plays that didn't get flagged should have. Many people know that unfair reffing, and refs who don't enforce the rules that are designed to keep players safe is one of my soapbox issues. How do people sleep at night knowing that they either put players at risk of being hurt or by being so biased that you are blatantly helping one team over the other. Whether you are a paid referee or a volunteer. Whether you are officiating in a football game, basketball game, or any other sport. How can you look at yourself in the mirror each day and be confident in the person you are if you are cheating or putting kids at risk of a serious injury. Now, I realize that referees are human and therefore imperfect. I'm not talking about making a mistake. I'm talking about obvious, blatant dishonesty.
Tonight's refs need to be looked at by their governing body. They allowed play to continue after a helmet had gone flying from the player being hit so hard. They ruled interceptions incomplete passes. Ruled fumbles as down by contact (yeah, contact with invisible players). They waited way too long to blow the whistle at the end of the play and then threw flags when fights broke out. They made mistakes that benefited both teams, but they seemed to be trying to help out Brazoswood as much as possible. The two words that come to mind for this crew are sad an pathetic.
I am about to fall asleep as I type this, so I will give credit where credit is due, call it a night, and reread and finish this entry tomorrow. This week's "attaboys" go to; Page, Crespo, Longbotham, White, King, Langston, Robinson, Lowe, Beaty, Roenne, Thurman, Chidester, and the entire O-Line.
The final score of tonight's game was Friendswood 35 - Brazoswood 20. The next game for Friendswood will be homecoming against Clear Springs. Be there!
Updated 10/4/2014
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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