Tonight, the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to Dickinson to take on the undefeated Gators. Friendswood came into Dickinson after a heartbreaking loss to Clear Creek last week. The Mustangs were hungry and wanted the win, but there were more injuries this week which made this an even more difficult game for Friendswood.
First, let me get my soapbox issue out of the way so we can focus on what happened during tonight's game. If this is your first time reading my blog, my soapbox issue is referees. More and more I am having an issue with referees; not just at high school football games, but in almost every sport I watch. It seems that many referees are either obviously biased, turn a blind eye to too many things, are on a power trip, or don't know the rules of the game well enough to enforce them. None of these things help either team playing. Players continue to make illegal plays and sometimes players get injured. For example, tonight was the second time I've seen a helmet come off a player during a play. In neither instance did the refs even seem to notice. Tonight, players from both teams noticed as well as some of the coaches, but no one actually addressed the issue.
Many people get angry when coaches are "arguing" with the officials, but I applaud them; assuming they are doing so respectfully. If our coaches don't stand up for their players, who will? Coaches should continue (or start) teaching their players to follow the rules regardless of the officials lack and be sure to let the officials know that they are watching. Always watching. (What movie is that line from?)
I could go on and on about referees, but that is not the purpose of my blog. Even though, on paper, this game should have been a solid victory for the Mustangs, with the injuries that have been sustained - both players who are sidelined and players who are back but haven't had the play time they would like - Friendswood knew that anything less than their best would not be good enough. And even then, it might not be enough. Friendswood's defense played an outstanding game tonight. They are still susceptible to the occasional, very occasional, break away play. But who isn't. There were a few missed tackles. A few mistakes. But overall they did an amazing job. We got to see another one of Robinson's JJ Watt impressions. And we got to see Dehoyos intercept a pass. I think the most damaging mistake they made tonight was using poor tackling technique when they found themselves to be in the wrong position. But even that was rare tonight.
The pass coverage tonight was also good. It helps that Dickinson prefers to throw long, which is what the Mustangs are better at defending against.
On offense, there is improvement, but that improvement wasn't enough to find the endzone. All of Friendswood's points tonight came on field goals. Sargent's accuracy on the long passes is improving. And for the most part, the offensive line gave him a long time to do something with the ball. But Dickinson did a good job of covering the receivers. Sargent was intercepted at least once and threw into good coverage several times. The receivers showed great improvement, catching passes that didn't look like they would be caught. Unfortunately, with the improvement in the long passes came more mistakes with the short passes. Practice, practice, practice. You can't spend so much time working on one thing that other things that you have mastered start to decline. And that's true of anything you do.
One thing that Friendswood is often guilty of, and it happened again tonight, is that the play callers sometimes seem "unimaginative." They seem to like certain plays, regardless of how many times it was called and how many times it was successful. I think a good way to describe it would be "playing with blinders on." For those of you who don't know, blinders are what you put on a horse so that he can't use his peripheral vision. He can only see what's directly in front of him. As a play caller, you can't get stuck on one play or one receiver. If you do, the defense will always know what's coming and how to stop it.
Tonight's "attaboys" go to: Vandersypen, White, King, Thurman, Chidester, Robinson, Lowe, Crespo, Deyohos, Langston, Toney, the rest of the o-line, and everyone who was on the field with the defense. Swaney also made a couple of smart plays. And a huge "attaboy" to the fans tonight. The fans were more into the game than any other game this season. It seemed like everyone was on their feet making noise for every play. I especially liked the drumline coming over to play in front of the parents section. Made me feel like I was back in high school. Loved it!
The box score for tonight's game is
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Final
Friendwood Mustangs 0 3 6 0 9
Dickinson Gators 3 7 0 7 17
This game is always odd for me. I grew up cheering for the Dickinson Gators. But now, I love to see them beat; especially by my favorite team, the Mustangs! Tonight wasn't the Mustangs' night. Actually I think this wasn't their week. But next week, they get to play again. And hopefully more of the injured players will be returning. I haven't heard an official word, but what I have heard leads me to believe that more of them will be returning before the season is over.
In order to prepare for the next game, I would advise that the decision makers take the blinders off. Really look at all the options available and decide what is in the best interest of the team as a whole. Are there players who could be better utilized in other positions? Are there players who are not the "go to" people who have improved enough to become a "go to" person? Are there other plays that might be more effective?
Next week, the Mustangs will host the final home game of the season against the Clear Lake Falcons. The game will take place on Halloween night. The pregame dinner will be hosted by the choir and trick-or-treating will be set up in part of the school for the younger kids. It is also senior night and the annual Bob & Sue dance where the Wranglerettes dance with their dads during halftime. Kick off is at 7pm BE THERE!
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