On Saturday, September 10, 2016, the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to Turner Stadium to take on the Kingwood Mustangs in a 6pm matchup. Kingwood came into the game 1-1 after a loss to Fort Bend Ridge Point and a win over Fort Bend Austin. Friendswood came in with a record of 1-0 after a win over Texas City and lightning delay in the first quarter of the game against Summer Creek caused the game to be cancelled.
To start this game of Mustangs vs. Mustangs, Friendswood won the toss and elected to receive the opening kick off. It took Friendswood a total of 19 seconds to make their first trip into the end zone with a beautiful pass from Page to Roher. Friendswood's defense held well after the kick off and thanks to a strip from Whitaker and blocking for Page, Page made his first trip into the end zone 1:39 seconds later. It took Friendswood a little longer to make their next trip to the end zone, thanks to a penalty and an incomplete pass (under good coverage).This time, it was a pass to Bell with 4:54 left in the first quarter. After that touch down, the Friendswood O-Line began to display it's first signs to concern and Friendswood was forced to punt from near the goal line.
As the evening progressed, Kingwood continued to struggle and Friendswood continued it's dominance, although the O-Line became less and less consistent the farther the game went. By the end of the night, Page had been sacked multiple times. Page continues to demonstrate his improved throwing abilities making him a true dual threat quarterback. In addition to sharing the love among the receivers, Page also handed the ball off to Follis and Blackburn; Barnes being sidelined due to injury. Follis and Blackburn both showed that though their styles are different, they are still effective in the running back position. One other area where I definitely noticed improvement is the fake. While Kingwood was able to read it well more than once, it was much improved over last year (and the year before, and the year before, and the year before, . . .).
Friendswood's defense is also demonstrating that hard work over the summer pays off in the fall. They owned the line of scrimmage for most of the night and players who did break through didn't get far. Not only did the backs take care of anyone who made it through the D-Line, they also were constant shadows of Kingwood's receivers; even proving that they know how to catch a pass - good job Owens & Peterson! Oh and that "trick play" that worked for Kingwood, Friendswood used to run that all the time. Friendswood's defense should have read that better. Other than that, the defense that I saw Friendwood display against Kingwood was probably the best defense I've seen Friendswood put on the field in years. I hope they can maintain that level while they continue to improve before their district opener.
During the 4th quarter, Friendswood showed that their backups are also capable of getting the job done. Karam either learned some running skills from Page or someone taught him how to scramble and Garza got into the end zone twice (first was called back due to a penalty).
The second half of the game was played under constant threat of lightning delay and rain. Thankfully, the weather held off and the game finished before the rain started falling. It was a nice change of pace. Friendswood's first game featured rain during the entire first half. Both bands, cheerleaders and drill teams stayed in the stands under ponchos and were able to perform at halftime since the rain ended shortly before. Friendwood's second game ended at the end of the first quarter due to lightning and strong thunderstorms. We were all hoping for a "normal" third game. Due to the threat of weather, both bands were wearing shirts and shorts for half time and Friendswood's drill team wore their pep rally uniforms. Both bands and the Wranglerettes left after half time. While play went on as usual, it still wasn't a normal varsity game with no bands playing fight songs or other stand music. Here's hoping the next game will be normal!
Saturday night's box score
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
Friendswood Mustangs 21 20 7 10 58
Kingwood Mustangs 0 13 0 7 20
There are plenty of "attaboys" this week. This week, the players who deserve a pat on the back include; Nickerson, Page, Roher, Whitaker, Peterson, Hermes, Follis, Swaney, Bell, Owens, Ford, Yurachek, Stanford, Willis, Halata, Blackburn, Dobard, Karam and Garza.
Friendswood will enjoy a bye week before opening district play in the new Sam Vitanza Stadium against the Dickinson Gators on Friday, September 23. Both teams are undefeated this season and will surely be confident going into that game. I may have grown up cheering for the Gators, but now I know the right thing to say is, GO MUSTANGS!!
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am watching the game and "taking notes" on my phone during the games. I am at each game with friends and family. Sometimes, my husband is able to attend with us. 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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