Friendswood Mustangs vs. Clear Springs Chargers - October 28, 2016

     On Friday, October 28, 2016, the Friendswood Mustangs made the short trip to the new Challenger Columbia Stadium to face off against the Clear Springs Chargers.  On the line for Clear Springs was the district title; for Friendswood it was a share in the title.
     This game had been hyped for weeks beforehand and many people thought it would be a shootout with each team scoring 50+ points.  It turned out to be a game of defense and more points were scored in the 4th quarter than in the first three quarter combined.  Before Friday night, I could probably count the number of times Friendswood has punted the ball on my fingers and I don't think the team had ever turned the ball over on downs.  Friday night, Friendswood punted the ball 4 times and turned it over on downs twice.  Friendswood players also were slipping on the turf and displayed minimal blocking on special teams.  Oh, and add in the unfortunate number of dropped passes and the fact that Clear Springs receivers are faster than Friendswood's D-backs and you have a recipe for disaster.  Thankfully, some players played very well resulting in the game being much closer that it would appear from my notes.
     Honestly, I think Tyler Page could play any position on the field at the varsity level and it showed how serious the coaches were taking this game when we saw him line up deep for the kick off.  Clear Springs realized he was back there and made a point of kicking away from where he was.  Unfortunately, for the guys catching the football on the kick offs, there was little to no blocking for them.  More than once, the Mustang who tried to move the ball forward was tackled almost immediately.
     On both sides of the ball there were some people who don't usually start who started Friday night. I'm not sure where the usual starters were, but the guys who started in their place on Friday played well.
     The first three quarters were a back and forth battle with a few mistakes by Friendswood that were capitalized on by Clear Springs, and the score board showed this.  To the best of my knowledge, this was the first game of this season where Friendswood had a zero on the score board at the end of the first quarter and at the end of the first half.  I'll show you the score board before I talk about that fourth quarter.

                                            1Q   2Q  3Q  4Q   FINAL
Friendswood Mustangs      0     0     7     21     28
Clear Springs Chargers       7     7    10    28     38

     Like I said, more points were scored in the fourth quarter than in the rest of the game combined.  While Friendswood never took the lead, the Mustangs did pull within 3 points twice.  Of course, the Mustangs fans felt like they saw two different obvious fouls that the refs didn't call.  One of them led to a touchdown for  Clear Springs (holding) and the other prevented a touchdown for Friendswood (pass interference).  I saw both and say that the fans have a reason to argue.  Without the benefit of instant replay, we have to rely on what the officials actually saw (were literally looking the other way on the hold and not at the right angle to see that the D-back's head never turned to look for the ball).  In this particular instance, I'm not saying that the officials were biased.  I am saying that they are human and made mistakes that could have changed the outcome of the game.  They were not the only ones who made mistakes.  According to my notes, Friendswood dropped or missed eight passes.  That is out of character for the Mustangs, especially for those receivers.
     Friendswood's defense looked strong against the Chargers, but the lack of track stars and missed tackles hurt them.  Unfortunately, all those strong plays and good stops can be wiped out by one mistake when you're playing a team who is faster.
     This week, there are more defensive players on the list of atta-boys.  Owens got his third interception on the year thanks to Horman's tipped pass.  The players who earned a pat on the back this week were:  Klump, Roenne, Stanford, Follis, Hermes, Owens, Nickerson, Page, Stevens and Yurachek.
     I am hopeful that the kinks will be worked out this week and the running back committee will continue to improve and show it's strength.  This week will be the last regular season game of the season and senior night.  The Mustangs (6-2, 4-2) will take on the Alvin Yellowjackets (4-4, 2-3).  The choir will host the pregame dinner in the cafeteria,  For $10/person, the adults will be served spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and dessert.  For $5/person, the kids will be served pizza and dessert.  Both meals come with a beverage.  The FHS choirs and FJH 7th & 8th grade choirs will perform.  On this senior night, the non-senior band kids will be leaving after halftime to go home and get cleaned up before they leave at midnight on charter buses to compete at Bands of America in San Antonio.  They will be home for a day and a half before leaving to go back to San Antonio for the UIL State Marching Contest.

GO MUSTANGS!

Clear Lake Falcons vs. Friendswood Mustangs - October 21, 2016 - Homecoming

     On Friday, October 21, 2016, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the Clear Lake Falcons for their 2016 Homecoming.  Due to the homecoming activities at half time, the Wranglerettes and the Mighty Mustang Band both performed before the game and both groups did a fabulous job.
     I love Homecoming.  I enjoy seeing all the alumni who return for the game and visiting with people I haven't seen in a while.  However, I am always nervous for the game itself.  When I was in junior high and high school, I always thought that our football coaches chose a team they knew they could beat for Homecoming because they wanted to look good in front of the larger crowd.  As an adult and parent of high school students, I think that whoever made that decision did so knowing that the students' focus would be divided during the week - and who wants to lose on Homecoming?  Seeing everything going on during the week, I can see how it would be difficult for the coaches and teachers to keep the students focused on anything during the week of Homecoming.  To those coaches and teacher who succeeded, congratulations.
     Congratulations are also in order to the 2016 Football Sweetheart candidates and Homecoming Queen candidates.  The 2016 Football Sweetheart is Natalie Crowder and the 2016 Homecoming Queen is Elaina Roher.
     The game itself started with Friendswood receiving the kickoff and the offense needing only 3 plays to find the end zone.  For the most part, during the first half, the Friendswood offense looked like they were not as effected by all the extra festivities of the game.  There were some mistakes, but for the most part, they were without lasting consequences.  During the first quarter, Page, Whitaker, and Roher found themselves with the ball in the end zone.  Williamson accounted for 7 points (field goal and 4 extra point kicks).  During that same time, the defense only gave up 7 points, but for the most part, they didn't look great.  Throughout the game, Clear Lake was able to slip tackles and bounce off defenders.  I am hopeful that that was just lack of focus and not the sign of things to come.
     Karam was able to get into the game for the entire second half and played well despite the fact that the O-line didn't protect him as well as they have in the past.  I admit, I missed most of the 3rd quarter due to Homecoming, but when I got back to my seat, I saw that the score hadn't changed much.  One thing I did notice during the second half is that Karam is more in sync with the non-starting receivers than with the starters.  Practice time?
The box score for the game was:

                                             1Q    2Q  3Q   4Q     TOTAL
Clear Lake Falcons             7       0     0     14          21
Friendswood Mustangs     17     14     3     7           41

     I'm sorry I don't have more to say about the game itself.  Now, I will say, if what I have heard about what goes on in practices in true, I sincerely hope that it doesn't come back to bite the team later.  Everyone should be participating in practices.  Every receiver should spend time catching passes from both quarterbacks and every O-line member should be spending time protecting the quarterbacks and opening holes for the run and everyone on the offense should be well versed in blocking.  Every D-line member should practice plugging holes and every D-back and safety should spend time defending against the pass.  No team member should ever be able to say that he didn't touch the ball or weren't running plays/shcemes during practice.
     This week's atta-boys go to: Swaney, Blackburn, Page, Broddie, Peterson, Hermes, Karam, Lynch, Dobard, Roher, Whitaker, Williamson, Ford, Horman, Nickerson, Halata, Nemecek, Lucarelli, Riggs & Hurst.
     Next week, the Mustangs (6-1, 4-1) will travel to the new CCISD Challenger Columbia Stadium to take on the Clear Springs Chargers (7-1, 5-0) in what will be the toughest game the Mustangs have faced in several weeks, maybe even the whole season to date.  Up for grabs Friday night is the district title for Springs or a share in the district title for Friendswood.  Clear Springs is the only undefeated team left in 24-6A.  Springs beat Dickinson and Dickinson beat Friendswood.  IF Springs wins, they will remain undefeated with only Clear Lake (3-5, 2-3) on their regular season schedule.  IF Friendswood wins, there will be a 3-way tie for the district title with only Alvin (4-4, 2-3) left on their schedule.  Dickinson, who will be the third team in this three-way tie scenario, is playing Clear Creek (3-5, 0-5) on Friday and will play Clear Falls (2-6, 0-5) next week.  This scenario is why the tie breaker rule is important. After all that, I just have one thing left to say -

GO MUSTANGS!!

Friendswood Mustangs vs. Clear Creek Wildcats - October 15, 2016

     In a rare Saturday afternoon game, the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to League City to take on the Clear Creek Wildcats on Saturday, October 15, 2016.  I think everyone in Southeast Texas would agree that Saturday afternoon football games would not be their first choice.  The feels like temperature in the stands was in the upper 90s and on the field it was around 100*F.  I am thankful that that was the only Saturday afternoon game on our regular schedule.  If we have any Saturday afternoon play-off games, I hope they are indoors or that the weather has cooled off by then.
     Not only do I not prefer Saturday afternoon games for the temperatures, but for the routine and the atmosphere.  Both teams were at the same disadvantage of being out of their normal routines, so you can't say that benefits one team over the other. But it definitely effects the atmosphere of the stadium.  Instead of playing under the artificial lights with the bands playing and the fans cheering, games when its this hot under the bright sun result in a quieter stadium with everyone talking about how bad they feel for the bands, drill teams, cheerleaders and mostly the players.  
     All that being said, there was a district football game being played with what could be reaching consequences.
     Friendswood received the ball first and spent less than 1:30 to get to the end zone - 4 snaps after the opening kick off the score was 7-0.  Yay Friendswood!! Business as usual, right?  Then the defense took the field and Clear Creek answered in 3 snaps.  Three.  One, two, three.  What happened you ask.  If you know, please tell me.  I've heard that some of the players were showboating for the Dave Campbell's Texas Football writer who was in the stands.  I've heard that some of the players made choices that didn't lead to a good night's sleep on Friday night.  Regardless of the reason, enough of the defense played at a level that was less than their best and the scoreboard showed it.  You won't see many defensive players receive atta-boys this week.  You cannot miss tackles, or give the opposing quarterback enough time to write a novel and earn a reward for a game well played.
     The problems that plagued the defense were not evident on the offense.  Sure, there were mistakes, but I don't think anyone on the offense looked like he was trying to run through knee deep mud.  The entire O-line looked great.  They gave Page plenty of time to make a decision to run or throw and in turn, gave the receivers time to get open.  Speaking of the receivers, a friend of mine made an observation Saturday - two are great receivers when they can turn their shoulders to the ball.  One is much better at the over-the-shoulder catch than the others.  Page looked great, as always.  I think the Friendswood fans have gotten so used to his "razzle dazzle" that we don't notice it anymore.  Reading what others wrote about Saturday, I was reminded that most people aren't used to seeing any player, let alone a quarterback, who can slip tackles, stay on his feet and change directions the way Page can.  He has an uncanny ability to see plays develop before they develop.  I hope he is able to teach the younger quarterbacks in Friendswood what it is he sees that allows him to do that.  And Yarbrough - how many other O-linemen can hold off 2 or more defenders at once?
     Yes, Friendwood won, but Friendswood also allowed more points than in any other game this season.  More points than in the game against Dickinson.  More points than in the game against Clear Brook.  Too many points that, had they looked like their usual selves, would not have been scored.
The box score from Saturday was

                                                  1Q   2Q    3Q  4Q  TOTAL
Friendswood Mustangs          17     21     7     7         52
Clear Creek Wildcats               7       6    14    7          34


     I am hopeful that the defense allowing that many points does not cause a problem later.  IF Friendswood beats Clear Springs later this month, they could find themselves in a 3-way tie for the district title.  I have been told that the current tie-breaker method of 24-6A is points allowed.  Before Saturday, Friendswood had allowed fewer points than any other team in 24-6A.  Now, Dickinson holds that title.  And who does Dickinson have left on their schedule?  Clear Creek, Clear Falls, and Clear Brook.  Who does Friendswood have left in the regular season?  Clear Lake, Clear Springs and Alvin.  If the information I was given is correct, Friendswood's defense is going to have to be a wall to get back to having the fewest points allowed.
     Despite the sub-par play by the defense, there were some good plays made.  Someone of those players definitely deserve a pat on the back this week.  This week's atta-boys go to: Blackburn, Page, Ford, Whitaker, Stanford, Bell, Roher, Willis, Hall, Horman, Virts, Yarbrough, Follis, and Nickerson (who got his second interception of the season).
     And one more thing - I take back my compliment to the coaches for variety in their play calling.  I think they ran two plays during the fourth quarter - Blackburn up the middle or Page up the left.  Yes, they got positive yards out of each play.  But really guys?  Were the pages in the play book stuck?  Was there not enough fresh air in the press box?  Why just the 2 options.  Mix it up a little.
      This week is Homecoming for Friendswood.  This is a fun week, but I always worry about the game - will the players be too distracted with all the activities during the week to focus on the game.  Good luck to the coaches on keeping the players focused during practice.
     The Homecoming parade will be on Thursday, October 20 at 6:30pm beginning at the Comerica Bank and ending at the community pep rally in the parking lot by Chase Bank.  Pregame activities begin with the dinner sponsored by the Junior Class on Friday, Oct 21 at 4:30pm.  The Junior Class will be serving BBQ brisket, potato salad, beans, bread, pickles, onions, and homemade deserts.  Plates are $10/each.  Activities in the stadium begin at 6:30pm with the band and Wranglerettes performing before the game,  Friendswood's portion of halftime will feature the crowning of this year's Football Sweetheart and Homecoming Queen.

GO MUSTANGS!

   

Friendswood Mustangs vs. Clear Brook Wolverines - October 7, 2016

     On Friday, October 7, 2016, the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to League City to take on the Clear Brook Wolverines.  Clear Brook came into the game off a win against the former powerhouse of Clear Creek while Friendswood defeated their last opponent by 76 points.  Several years ago, this was a cross town rivalry that many took seriously.  Clear Brook and Friendswood are both in the City of Friendswood, however they are in different counties and different school districts (I know, it's confusing).  After not playing each other for years before finding themselves in the same district, the rivalry has changed in tone to a more friendly rivalry.  Many of these students played sports on the same teams when they were younger and remain friends.  It's all business during the 48 minutes that the clock is running, then its handshakes, smiles and photo ops.
     To start the game, Friendswood won the toss and elected to receive the opening kick.  Clear Brooks' improvement over last year was immediately evident.  On their first set of downs, Friendwood found themselves in a 4th & 6 situation at the Clear Brook 35 yard line.  Friendswood went for it and was rewarded with a completed pass and a 1st down.  After driving to the 7 yard line, Friendswood had to settle for a field goal.  The kick was tipped, but still made it through the uprights.  For anyone who didn't realize that the kick was tipped and was questioning Williamson's leg, the kick off after the field goal was caught near the 3 yard line,  In fact, almost every kick off of the night by Williamson was caught inside the 5.  Now it's the defenses turn to go to work.
     During Clear Brook's first set of downs, Roenne had his first big play and he continued to be a factor on both sides of the ball.  Yurachek, Whitaker, and Stanford also had big plays before Clear Brook was forced to punt from their own 16 yard line.
     With this possession, Friendswood tried a couple of new things that should have worked well, but not everyone was on the same page.  I would like to have seen at least one of those plays again.  This time Page found the end zone with his feet and with 6:01 left in the first quarter, the score was Friendswood 10 - Clear Brook 0.  But that goose egg wouldn't last.
     Clear Brook proved that they have some kids who can run.  Thankfully for Friendswood, Nickerson is fast, too.  Clear Brook had multiple opportunities to put points on the board here, and even made it into the end zone, but their own mistakes hurt them.  Holding and a false start put Clear Brook in a 2nd & 22 situation at the Friendswood 25 yard line when a pass was intercepted by Owens just inside the goal line.  He made it out to the 2 before being brought down.  That is the 2nd week in a row for Owens to intercept a pass (Hopefully he can keep the streak alive next week).
     The rest of the first half didn't look as good for Friendswood and by the time the 2nd quarter was over Friendswood had another field goal while giving up a touch down.  But the second half was a different ball game.
     It took just under two minutes for Page to connect with Roenne on a beautiful pass up the middle.  Roenne was wide open and made it to the end zone for his first TD of the season.  Four minutes later, Page found himself in the end zone again.  The game continued on this pace until the 2nd string players got their turn.  Just for the record, some of the 2nd string players would be starters in another school.  But in a school where the talent pool for their position is so rich, they find themselves playing backup.
     While still not perfect, yet, Friendswood did plenty of things right in this game.  The fakes are getting much more believable.  Page's arm is continuing to improve, meaning that an opposing defense has to cover more people and has to realize that the receivers are not only there to provide a distraction for the run.  The defense's swarming technique is very effective in stopping certain styles of offense.  Blackburn and Halata both did a good job running the ball and Ford had some nice heads up plays.
The box score for this game was

                                            1Q  2Q  3Q  4Q  TOTAL
Friendswood Mustangs     10    3    21    7    41   
Clear Brook Wolverines     0     7     0     0     7

     Plenty of Mustangs worked hard this week and deserve a pat on the back.  This week's atta-boys go to: Blackburn, Swaney, Williamson, Page, Whitaker, Roenne, Yurachek, Stanford, Bell, Nickerson, Owens, Roher, Hermes, Dobard, Ford, Follis, Halata, Peterson, Boddie, Lynch, Hall, Romine, Klump, Slaughter, Van Wieren, Virts and Karam.
     A piece of advice to all the Mustangs - take a look at the name on the back of your jersey.  That is the player you should be.  Don't try to be someone else.  Yes, practice things that someone else does better than you, but don't abandon your strengths to try play more like so and so.  Know your strengths, improve on your weaknesses and be you.
     Next week, Friendswood (4-1, 2-1) will travel back to the same stadium for a Saturday afternoon game against Clear Creek (3-3, 0-3).  All of the players and fans are hoping that this game has better weather than the Saturday afternoon games we played there last year.  While we didn't have to suffer through any hard rain or lightning delays, in was melting hot.  Kick off will be at 1pm in the CCISD Veteran's Stadium.  Be there or be square.
   

Clear Falls Knights vs. Friendswood Mustangs - September 30, 2016

     On Friday, September 30, 2016, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the Clear Falls Knights in the second week of district play for district 24-6A.  This was also the annual Patriotic Halftime performance.  Both teams came into the game 0-1 in district play.
     If you read my blog last week, you know how unhappy I was with the officials not calling fouls.  I definitely can't say the same about this week.  By my unofficial count, there were 20 flags during the game.  Not all the penalties were accepted, but I counted 13 against Clear Falls and 7 against Friendswood.  While at times it seemed like there was a flag on every play, I would much rather see this than see obvious fouls ignored.
     I think it's fair to say that Friendswood dominated Clear Falls on both sides of the ball Friday night.  It took a little bit for Friendswood to get settled, but once they did, there was no question about who was the stronger team.  Friendswood received the kick off and used 9 plays to get to the end zone, employing a couple of good fakes to get there.  Blackburn and Halata shared running back duties during the game and Halata showed that the transition from defense to offense may have been the right move.  Swaney also got his hands on the ball during the opening drive.  Once Friendswood got on the board, it was off to the races and a new school record for most points scored during a single game.  Before that record was set, Page set a new record for most rushing yards by a Mustang.  Since there are still 5 regular season games left this season, there's no telling how high that number will be.  Offensive touchdowns were scored by Page, Roher, Bell, Klump, Nemecek & Halata.
     Friendswood's defense did give up one touchdown and a 2 point conversion, but also scored twice - once on a pick 6 by Owens and once on a picked up loose ball by Hermes.  Ford also had an interception during the game.  Despite playing a great game, the defense did demonstrate a few areas that aren't perfect, yet.  Both while the starters were playing and more so when the 2nd and 3rd string players were in, there were too many holes in the middle of the field.  Clear Falls was able to take advantage of those holes and gain yardage several times.  That can't happen when Friendwood faces teams with a stronger offense.  And defense - sometimes an interception or a batted down pass is better than a sack.  Don't solely focus on the sack and miss other opportunities.  Another concerning thing I saw was arm tackling.  Again, this was during the second half when the starters became observers, but all players should demonstrate proper technique.  If that doesn't happen, then what happens when the backups become the starters?
     Despite this technique error, the coaches are being listed in the atta-boys for this week.  This year, the coaches have shown more variety in their play calling.  This makes things much more difficult for the opposing defense and is, in my opinion, part of the reason Friendswood has scored 219 points in 4 games.
     When you see the box score below, or if you've already seen the final score from the game, you may be thinking that Friendswood is rude and shows poor sportsmanship in running up the score.  Depending upon the circumstances, I might agree with you - but not in this situation. For the most part, the starting offense only played the first half.  During the entire second half, the offense was made up of 2nd and 3rd string players - players who work their tails off day in and day out and rarely get to see any real playing time under the Friday night lights.  The only offensive player I can think of who played during both halves of the game is Halata, who was making his first varsity start on offense.  Before Friday night, the sophomore had been playing defensive back.  It's not fair to the backups, and their backups to be told they have to hold back because the starters played so well.  Those kids deserve the chance to show what they can do.  Some of the defensive starters did play during the 3rd quarter, but I don't think any of them played during the 4th quarter.  The backups shouldn't have to lay down and play dead because of how well the starters played.
     Clear Falls should be commended also.  No matter how bad things looked for them, they didn't give up.  They played all 4 quarters and though it was not their night, they still showed that they have heart.
The box score for Friday night's game is

                                         1Q  2Q   3Q  4Q  Total
Clear Falls Knights            0     8     0     0     8
Friendswood Mustangs     21   35   21   7     84

     This week's atta-boys list is longer than usual, but all of these players deserve a pat on the back.  This week's list is: Swaney, Page, Blackburn, Owens, Roher, Bell, Halata, Nickerson, Hermes, Ford, Roenne, Coyle, Karam, Klump, Nemecek, Slaughter, the O-line, the d-backs and the coaches/play callers.
     Next week Friendswood (3-1, 1-1) travels to CCISD's Veteran's Memorial Stadium to take on a Clear Brook team that is surprising people with their improvements over last year.  Clear Brook (4-1, 2-0) has a new head coach this year and his changes have shown a positive improvement for that team.    The Wolverines will take on the Mustangs on Friday, October 7, 2016 at 7pm.
GO MUSTANGS!!