On Saturday, November 27, 2016, the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to NRG Stadium to take on the Cinco Ranch Cougars in their first ever meeting. Cinco Ranch, while being in 6A, D2, is a much larger school than Friendswood, though the enrollment difference isn't as wide as what Friendswood faced last year against Katy.
There are alot of things I want to say about the game - but I'm going to limit myself to only a few of the topics.
First, on the first play of the game (after the kick off and return), the Mustangs saw a nightmare unfold on the field and the most egregious actions I've ever seen displayed by the opposing team and their fans. When the whistle was finally blown to officially end the play (an issue I will get to later), one Mustang did not move. Everyone on the field had gotten up and began walking to where they needed to regroup, and he was still lying face down as still as if he were sound asleep. Everyone who was in the area took a knee while the trainers rushed to him. I think everyone on the Friendswood side of the stadium was holding his breath, hoping that he had just had the wind knocked out of him. As painful as that is, it is not a lasting injury. Once they got him sitting up, it was obvious to everyone who could see him that Page was in pain and his ankle was the problem. Page was carried off the field by two trainers and did not put any weight on that leg. Friendswood fans offered the polite applause appropriate to a player who is conscious and being helped off the field. Cinco Ranch players and fans, on the other hand, cheered, whooped, whistled and hollered as if they had just won the World Series and all their dreams had come true. The Cougar players were encouraging their fans to scream louder. In my 35+ years of watching high school football, I have never seen anything so disrespectful or inappropriate. Ever.
I immediately made a comment about this on my facebook page. One of my husband's aunts, who lives in Katy, responded to me via messenger instead of posting her comments publicly. She told me that in Katy, they are taught to give a "tribute to a warrior" when an injured player leaves the field. She was not at the game, just saw my comment and offered an explanation. What they did was no tribute. That was rude beyond measure and wholly inappropriate. I would challenge each of those people to put the shoe on the other foot. Imagine if that were you being carried off the field. Imagine if that were your son being carried off the field. Then listen to they way you cheered. Louder than when any other injured player was helped off the field. Louder than any touchdown you scored. Louder than anything else that happened that day. Your actions in that moment spoke volumes about your school and your school district as well as your community. You should be embarrassed. You should be offering apologies with your tails tucked between your legs. At that point in time, I think you convinced every parent listening that we would never want our children to be part of your community. What type of community teaches their children to cheer and encourage others to cheer when an opponent is injured. Remember, these are kids we are talking about - high school students. Do you have no conscience???
While twitter and facebook blew up with how incensed the Friendswood fans were, the players on the sidelines checked on Page often and the players on the field concentrated on their task. I'm sure that was not easy - not only would it be natural for them to worry about their friend and teammate who is sitting on the trainers table in pain, but now the entire game plan for this game has gone out the window and they have to come up with something else quick. The Mustangs maintained their composure throughout the game and played with everything they had for the entire 48 minutes. Each and everyone of them deserves a pat on the back.
I was very impressed with the discipline the Mustangs showed, not only when the Cougar fans were acting so horribly, but also with all the cheap shots and late hits the officials allowed. I don't think I've ever seen a group of officials "talk to" players so many times in one game. As officials, it is your responsibility to know that one of the reasons that many of the rules exist is to prevent as many injuries as possible. Anyone who has been around sports will tell you that injuries are part of the game. And while that is true, rules exist to help minimize the risk. Mowing down a player after the whistle is a personal foul. And yet, more than once, these officials watched it happen and never did anything about it. And the only way they didn't see it is if their eyes were closed - it happened right in front of them. This was not a one time incident, but repeated. And how sad it is that anytime there was a flag or controversial call, the refs were watching the jumbo-tron before announcing the call. This just solidified their appearance of being incompetent. I am honestly surprised that more players were not injured. Not only were there late hits, but the officials allowed play to continue after forward progress had stopped. In one particular play, the ball carrier had his legs wrapped up, but was taking hits to his upper body from several different directions before the officials finally blew the whistle.
I realize that it would be impossible for the Texas Association of Sports Officials or the UIL to supervise the officials at every game, but in this day and age, I believe it is important that the governing bodies do a better job of holding officials accountable. I sincerely hope that the officials lack of rule enforcement does not lead to a lasting injury.
With this heartbreaking loss, the Friendswood Mustang's season comes to a close. While every team member deserves an atta-boy, I'm reserving this week's list for the senior class of 2017. Some of them will continue to play football at the collegiate level; and for others, this was the last time they will put on pads and a helmet. Thank you Tyler Page, Tom Hermes, Weston Owens, Reed Roher, Cade Roenne, Brandon Scott, Nick McMahon, Zach Cacciapaglia, Alex Klump, Carson Briones, Jacob Blain, Ian Ringer, Kyle Ford, Dalton Malek, Cody Williamson, Dylan LaFavers, Zach Romine, Connor Phinney, Devin Molander, Evan Mueller, Zach Follis, Jose Pena III, Ben Salughter, Jorde Iniguez, Alex Garza, Chase Willis, Karney Lynch, Elijah Blackburn, C.J. Henson, Parker Carnes, Connor Stanford, Nathan Coyle, Tristan Martinez, Anthony Lucarelli, Zach Riggs, Dane Grissom. Jared Stasky, Matthew Virts, John Heyart, Josh Gardiner, Chase Rueter, Nicky Stevens, Liam Reeves III, Drake Dobard, Derrick Bowers, Zach Uhart, and Valen Cepak. Thank you for your contribution to the Mustangs. Thank you for your blood, sweat, and tears given to make this team a team others didn't want to face. Thank you for what you've done to shed a positive light on Friendswood - the high school and the community. Thank you for being leaders and being a positive example to the younger students in our community. Thank you. I wish you good fortunes for the rest of your senior year and wherever life takes you afterward. There's just one thing left to say - GO MUSTANGS!!
Monday, November 28, 2016
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
La Ports Bulldogs vs. Friendswood Mustangs - November 18, 2016
On Friday, November 18, 2016, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the La Ports Bulldogs at CCISD's Challenger Columbia Stadium in round 2 of the 6A, Div 2 playoffs. This was the first time these two teams had met since 1973.
I was very thankful that the rain cleared out before game time. Left behind from the cool front that moved through was cooler temps and a strong wind blowing from goalpost to goalpost. After the game, I read that the winds were 30 mph. I can't remember a game with that much wind since the Mustangs traveled to Orange to play West Orange Stark. I believe that game was in 2010. The difference with that game is that the wind blew at an angle to the field as opposed to down the field.
La Porte had posession of the ball first and spent almost 3 minutes on their first drive, ending when a Bulldog drug a Mustang with him into the end zone. For the most part, Friendswood defense did a good job of controlling the game during this first drive. But all it takes is for one person to misread the play or play a little too far off a receiver and the results can be points on the board.
When it was time for La Porte to kick off to the Mustangs, the kicker was having to kick straight into the wind. His first kick and his rekick both sailed out of bounds. After the second kick was caught by the coaches on the sidelines, the ball was placed at the 35 yard line for Friendswood's offense to get their first chance to play in this game. Unfortunately, for Friendswood, their first offensive drive ended with a three and out. However, the defense learned a few things about La Porte during that first drive and this was another three & out.
The Mustangs drive started near mid-field and needed 5 plays to get to the end zone. At this point, it began to look like the game might be a back and forth. Both teams had scored and both teams had used their punting team - something we aren't used to seeing. While it could have been a back and forth similar to the first half of the game last week, that's not exactly how it worked out.
Both teams had a strong team. La Porte's offensive style was a little different than what I was expecting, but it was easy to see how they got to the 2nd round of the playoffs. La Porte's defense was also good, but they just weren't ready for the Friendswood offense. Many people will tell you how awesome Page played during this game - and none of them would be wrong - but the rest of his offensive unit helped to make him look great. When Whitaker wasn't driving forward, he was blocking or creating the illusion that he was driving. When Roher wasn't racing toward the end zone with the ball, he was helping to create a path for Page. Yes, Page picked up a dropped snap and raced 60+ yards to the end zone, and yes he probably ran over 500 total yards (actual running, not the number of yards he advanced the ball). Yes, Page looked great! The rest of the offense didn't look too shabby either. It was nice to see the play callers mixing things up a little bit, too. Plays where the fans thought, "We've been here before. Page will do this or that", and he did neither - and it worked. Great effort by the Friendswood offense.
I've heard that Friendswood's defense is a little disappointed in their performance. I can see why they would feel that way, but the fact is, they got the job done. For the most part, the Mustang defense looked very strong and capable. There were a few misreads that led to points being scored, or the ball being much too close to the goal line than anyone would have liked. But you can't let a few mistakes color your opinion of the whole game. That being said, arm tackling is never a good idea and neither is playing 5 yards off a receiver. The defense did have that pass batted down in the red zone by Owens, and the interception by Nickerson. And how many times did the defense chase La Porte's quarterback out of bounds? Something else, La Porte hasn't ended a game with fewer points scored than that since they played Clear Springs before district play began. The only point in looking back now is looking for what you need to work on. Now is the time to look forward.
The boxscore for the game is
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
La Porte Bulldogs 7 7 14 7 35
Friendswood Mustangs 14 14 14 14 56
Several players deserve a pat on the back after this game. This week's atta-boys go to Follis, Horman, Halata, Ford, Hurst, Whitaker, Page, Roher, Swaney, Blackburn, Bell, Roenne, Peterson, Nickerson, Owens, Willis, Yurachek, Boddie, and Klump.
Thanks to the great playing by the Mustang offense and the defense getting the job done, Friendswood lives to play another week. For Friendswood (9-2, 5-2), the third round of the Texas High School Football Playoffs will take place at NRG Stadium on Saturday, November 26. Kick off will be at 2pm. The opponent - Katy Cinco Ranch (9-3, 5-2). Cinco Ranch hasn't been past the 2nd round of the playoffs since 2009 when they made it to the state semifinals. Friendswood's last trip to the 3rd round was last year. The Mustangs haven't advanced from there since 2010 when they made it to the state semifinals. For the Mustangs and their fans, this will be a white out game. Tickets are being sold around town during the week and will be sold for a higher price at the gates on Saturday. Don't forget to bring cash for parking. Oh, and
I was very thankful that the rain cleared out before game time. Left behind from the cool front that moved through was cooler temps and a strong wind blowing from goalpost to goalpost. After the game, I read that the winds were 30 mph. I can't remember a game with that much wind since the Mustangs traveled to Orange to play West Orange Stark. I believe that game was in 2010. The difference with that game is that the wind blew at an angle to the field as opposed to down the field.
La Porte had posession of the ball first and spent almost 3 minutes on their first drive, ending when a Bulldog drug a Mustang with him into the end zone. For the most part, Friendswood defense did a good job of controlling the game during this first drive. But all it takes is for one person to misread the play or play a little too far off a receiver and the results can be points on the board.
When it was time for La Porte to kick off to the Mustangs, the kicker was having to kick straight into the wind. His first kick and his rekick both sailed out of bounds. After the second kick was caught by the coaches on the sidelines, the ball was placed at the 35 yard line for Friendswood's offense to get their first chance to play in this game. Unfortunately, for Friendswood, their first offensive drive ended with a three and out. However, the defense learned a few things about La Porte during that first drive and this was another three & out.
The Mustangs drive started near mid-field and needed 5 plays to get to the end zone. At this point, it began to look like the game might be a back and forth. Both teams had scored and both teams had used their punting team - something we aren't used to seeing. While it could have been a back and forth similar to the first half of the game last week, that's not exactly how it worked out.
Both teams had a strong team. La Porte's offensive style was a little different than what I was expecting, but it was easy to see how they got to the 2nd round of the playoffs. La Porte's defense was also good, but they just weren't ready for the Friendswood offense. Many people will tell you how awesome Page played during this game - and none of them would be wrong - but the rest of his offensive unit helped to make him look great. When Whitaker wasn't driving forward, he was blocking or creating the illusion that he was driving. When Roher wasn't racing toward the end zone with the ball, he was helping to create a path for Page. Yes, Page picked up a dropped snap and raced 60+ yards to the end zone, and yes he probably ran over 500 total yards (actual running, not the number of yards he advanced the ball). Yes, Page looked great! The rest of the offense didn't look too shabby either. It was nice to see the play callers mixing things up a little bit, too. Plays where the fans thought, "We've been here before. Page will do this or that", and he did neither - and it worked. Great effort by the Friendswood offense.
I've heard that Friendswood's defense is a little disappointed in their performance. I can see why they would feel that way, but the fact is, they got the job done. For the most part, the Mustang defense looked very strong and capable. There were a few misreads that led to points being scored, or the ball being much too close to the goal line than anyone would have liked. But you can't let a few mistakes color your opinion of the whole game. That being said, arm tackling is never a good idea and neither is playing 5 yards off a receiver. The defense did have that pass batted down in the red zone by Owens, and the interception by Nickerson. And how many times did the defense chase La Porte's quarterback out of bounds? Something else, La Porte hasn't ended a game with fewer points scored than that since they played Clear Springs before district play began. The only point in looking back now is looking for what you need to work on. Now is the time to look forward.
The boxscore for the game is
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
La Porte Bulldogs 7 7 14 7 35
Friendswood Mustangs 14 14 14 14 56
Several players deserve a pat on the back after this game. This week's atta-boys go to Follis, Horman, Halata, Ford, Hurst, Whitaker, Page, Roher, Swaney, Blackburn, Bell, Roenne, Peterson, Nickerson, Owens, Willis, Yurachek, Boddie, and Klump.
Thanks to the great playing by the Mustang offense and the defense getting the job done, Friendswood lives to play another week. For Friendswood (9-2, 5-2), the third round of the Texas High School Football Playoffs will take place at NRG Stadium on Saturday, November 26. Kick off will be at 2pm. The opponent - Katy Cinco Ranch (9-3, 5-2). Cinco Ranch hasn't been past the 2nd round of the playoffs since 2009 when they made it to the state semifinals. Friendswood's last trip to the 3rd round was last year. The Mustangs haven't advanced from there since 2010 when they made it to the state semifinals. For the Mustangs and their fans, this will be a white out game. Tickets are being sold around town during the week and will be sold for a higher price at the gates on Saturday. Don't forget to bring cash for parking. Oh, and
GO MUSTANGS!!!!!!
Monday, November 14, 2016
George Ranch Longhorns vs. Friendswood Mustangs - November 11, 2016
On Friday, November 11, 2016, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the George Ranch Longhorns at Henry Winston Stadium in the first round of the 2016 6A, Div 2 playoffs.
These two teams have previously met twice, with each contest ending in favor of the home team. I don't think there was anyone in the stadium Friday night who didn't know that George Ranch won the 2015 5A Div 1 State Championships. George Ranch was known for being fast and powerful, having 3 D1 pledges on their squad. This was a high energy game and moving the student section to be next to the band added to the fire.
George Ranch won the toss and elected to receive to start the game. The Friendswood defense spent those first ten plays by George Ranch learning their offense. One of those plays being a rather impressive pass as the QB was being chased out of bounds by Stanford & someone (sorry, I didn't see your jersey number.) that was caught for a 35 yard gain. There were some really nice stops and a few misreads before Friendswood found themselves behind 7-0 less than halfway through the first quarter. In only one other game has Friendswood not scored first. Unlike in that other game, this score came before Friendswood had touched the ball.
Friendswood's offense took the field next and I have to say I was not impressed with the way they chose to play that kick return. Apparently, the powers that be weren't impressed with the way it turned out either because they didn't try that approach again. Friendswood made some great plays on this drive and was helped along by a face mask penalty against George Ranch on a complete pass. Bell ran into the end zone about 4 minutes after George Ranch scored, bringing the score to a tie. That was the score at the end of the 1st quarter.
During the second quarter, there was a play that squeaked out five or ten more yards in a way I can try to describe, but could never do justice. Page was running up the left and was caught by the Longhorn defense. Before they could bring him down, Whitaker made it over and starts pushing Page and keeping him upright. Try to picture this, George Ranch has someone behind Page and someone on his left, Page is running backwards facing Whitaker while Whitaker runs and pushes everyone forward. They went more than 5 yards like this. It was very impressive and I'm sure my description doesn't do it justice. If he hasn't already, Whitaker should consider adding this to his highlight reel for the year. Also during the second quarter, Hermes caught an interception, after dropping one earlier in the game.
The second quarter saw both teams score once each, bringing us to another tie at halftime.
The second half of the game was not nearly as close as the first. George Ranch played hard through the 3rd quarter, but I think after the interception that was made inside the 5 yard line by Owens, the second interception for Friendswood, the Longhorns were emotionally defeated. At this point, Friendswood was up by 1 touchdown, but George Ranch seemed to check out.
The final score for the evening was
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
George Ranch Longhorns 7 7 7 0 21
Friendwood Mustangs 7 7 14 14 42
Several players earned a pat on the back after that huge win against George Ranch. This week's atta-boys go to: Hermes, Nickerson, Follis, Boddie, Bell, Page, Whitaker, Ford, Roher, Klump, Yurachek, Roenne, Willis, Stanford, Owens, Redding, & Horman.
The Mustangs still aren't perfect, but each week they do something better than they did the previous week. As long as all those improvements show up on the field at the same time, the Mustangs could be playing for a while. However, if they look at a team, look at who that team previously played and what their style is and think, "This will be an easy win for us" - then that will be the end of the season. If you're goal is to play at AT&T Stadium on Saturday, December 17, then there are no breaks from here on out. No rest stops, no days off, no easy weeks. You have to play every down of every game like your future depends on it. Because it does.
One piece of advice I will offer, if you're going for a spectacular play that looks amazing, make sure it works. Diving tackles only look cool when you make the stop. Otherwise, you look like a little kid playing superman.
In round 2 of the playoffs, Friendswood (8-2, 5-2) will host the La Porte Bulldogs (9-2, 6-0) at Challenger Columbia Stadium in CCISD. La Porte has made the playoffs for at least the last 10 years, but hasn't played past the first round since 2012. They will be hungry and looking to return to their former glory. From what little I know about La Porte, expect to see an offense that is similar to Friendswood. The question will be, which offense executes this style better and which defense is better prepared to stop it. I, for one, am not ready to see this season come to an end. There's just one thing left to say:
These two teams have previously met twice, with each contest ending in favor of the home team. I don't think there was anyone in the stadium Friday night who didn't know that George Ranch won the 2015 5A Div 1 State Championships. George Ranch was known for being fast and powerful, having 3 D1 pledges on their squad. This was a high energy game and moving the student section to be next to the band added to the fire.
George Ranch won the toss and elected to receive to start the game. The Friendswood defense spent those first ten plays by George Ranch learning their offense. One of those plays being a rather impressive pass as the QB was being chased out of bounds by Stanford & someone (sorry, I didn't see your jersey number.) that was caught for a 35 yard gain. There were some really nice stops and a few misreads before Friendswood found themselves behind 7-0 less than halfway through the first quarter. In only one other game has Friendswood not scored first. Unlike in that other game, this score came before Friendswood had touched the ball.
Friendswood's offense took the field next and I have to say I was not impressed with the way they chose to play that kick return. Apparently, the powers that be weren't impressed with the way it turned out either because they didn't try that approach again. Friendswood made some great plays on this drive and was helped along by a face mask penalty against George Ranch on a complete pass. Bell ran into the end zone about 4 minutes after George Ranch scored, bringing the score to a tie. That was the score at the end of the 1st quarter.
During the second quarter, there was a play that squeaked out five or ten more yards in a way I can try to describe, but could never do justice. Page was running up the left and was caught by the Longhorn defense. Before they could bring him down, Whitaker made it over and starts pushing Page and keeping him upright. Try to picture this, George Ranch has someone behind Page and someone on his left, Page is running backwards facing Whitaker while Whitaker runs and pushes everyone forward. They went more than 5 yards like this. It was very impressive and I'm sure my description doesn't do it justice. If he hasn't already, Whitaker should consider adding this to his highlight reel for the year. Also during the second quarter, Hermes caught an interception, after dropping one earlier in the game.
The second quarter saw both teams score once each, bringing us to another tie at halftime.
The second half of the game was not nearly as close as the first. George Ranch played hard through the 3rd quarter, but I think after the interception that was made inside the 5 yard line by Owens, the second interception for Friendswood, the Longhorns were emotionally defeated. At this point, Friendswood was up by 1 touchdown, but George Ranch seemed to check out.
The final score for the evening was
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
George Ranch Longhorns 7 7 7 0 21
Friendwood Mustangs 7 7 14 14 42
Several players earned a pat on the back after that huge win against George Ranch. This week's atta-boys go to: Hermes, Nickerson, Follis, Boddie, Bell, Page, Whitaker, Ford, Roher, Klump, Yurachek, Roenne, Willis, Stanford, Owens, Redding, & Horman.
The Mustangs still aren't perfect, but each week they do something better than they did the previous week. As long as all those improvements show up on the field at the same time, the Mustangs could be playing for a while. However, if they look at a team, look at who that team previously played and what their style is and think, "This will be an easy win for us" - then that will be the end of the season. If you're goal is to play at AT&T Stadium on Saturday, December 17, then there are no breaks from here on out. No rest stops, no days off, no easy weeks. You have to play every down of every game like your future depends on it. Because it does.
One piece of advice I will offer, if you're going for a spectacular play that looks amazing, make sure it works. Diving tackles only look cool when you make the stop. Otherwise, you look like a little kid playing superman.
In round 2 of the playoffs, Friendswood (8-2, 5-2) will host the La Porte Bulldogs (9-2, 6-0) at Challenger Columbia Stadium in CCISD. La Porte has made the playoffs for at least the last 10 years, but hasn't played past the first round since 2012. They will be hungry and looking to return to their former glory. From what little I know about La Porte, expect to see an offense that is similar to Friendswood. The question will be, which offense executes this style better and which defense is better prepared to stop it. I, for one, am not ready to see this season come to an end. There's just one thing left to say:
GO MUSTANGS!!!!!!
Monday, November 7, 2016
Alvin Yellowjackets vs. Friendswood Mustangs - November 4, 2016
On Friday, November 4, 2016, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the Alvin Yellowjackets for the final regular season game of the 2016 football season. Alvin was already out of the playoff picture. For Friendswood, this game would determine if the team would be playing their first playoff game at home or away.
This game was senior recognition for Friendswood and to the best of my knowledge, all the senior football players got to play at some point during the game.
To start the game, Alvin won the toss and elected to receive the kickoff. With their first possession, Alvin went 3 & out thanks, in part, to Yurachek, & Follis. The punt was brought across the 50 and into Alvin territory by Halata. Friendswood didn't get off to the quick start the offense normally does, taking 6 plays to reach the end zone. While the offense was not as explosive as they were earlier in the season, the blocking for this game was much improved over games past. Several times in my notes I complimented Whitaker, Swaney, Bell, & Blackburn on their blocking. There were also some members of the defense who had a great night. Ford tipped a punt and nearly got his hands on a second punt. Hermes had another interception.
During most games, the offense is the unit that gets all the glory because they are the ones putting points on the scoreboard. This week, I think the defense deserves more recognition. If you've read my blog before, you know that I don't keep up with stats. If you're interested in stats, I would recommend you check out http://www.chron.com/sports/highschool/ You can search by team, player, sport, year or other filters to see plenty of stats. I haven't seen a breakdown, but I think that Alvin earned less than 100 yards total during the first half. Friendswood's defense knew exactly how to handle Alvin's offensive style. In fact, if you took out kick returns, their total yards in the first half would probably be around 50.
During the second half, seniors who don't normally play got their turn under the Friday Night Lights. Those seniors whose names made it into my notes during the last half of the game were Blackburn, Garza, Mueller, Iniguez, Riggs, Scott, Slaughter, Lucarelli, and Martinez. I know there are other seniors who played during this time, but those are the names I noted for one thing or another.
The boxscore for the game was
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
Alvin Yellowjackets 0 0 0 7 7
Friendswood Mustangs 17 17 0 3 37
This week, several players earned a pat on the back. In addition to the senior mentioned above, this week's atta-boys go to: Yuracheck, Follis, Halata, Bell, Page, Hall, Boddie, Horman, Hermes, Willis, Ford, Blackburn, Page, Nemecheck, Dobard, Whitaker, Lynch, Nickerson, Roher, Redding, Karam, Dobard, & Williamson.
Friendswood (7-2, 5-2) will have huge test after huge test from here on out. Playoffs start this week. There will be no easy weeks and the first game is against last year's 5A D1 State Champs, George Ranch (7-4, 4-2). These two teams have faced other twice, each ending in favor of the home team. Friendswood is considered to be the underdog in this game - a position they are very familiar with. For at least the last 2 years Friendswood was expected to lose the first game in the playoffs. Both were great games that didn't turn out the way the sports "authorities" expected. Hopefully this will be true again this year.
This game will be played at Henry Winston Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2016. Kickoff will be at 7pm. The stadium will open at 5:00pm for season ticket holders who have purchased a ticket for this game. All other ticket holders will be able to enter the stadium at 5:30pm. FHS CTE will host a pregame dinner of Joe's BBQ for $10/person. Friendswood hasn't hosted a playoff game in 7 years and I hope the stadium is just as packed as it always is.
Seniors - From here on out, you are not guaranteed next week. Play your heart out, leave it all on the field, and say your prayers that you get another week of playing the game you love.
This game was senior recognition for Friendswood and to the best of my knowledge, all the senior football players got to play at some point during the game.
To start the game, Alvin won the toss and elected to receive the kickoff. With their first possession, Alvin went 3 & out thanks, in part, to Yurachek, & Follis. The punt was brought across the 50 and into Alvin territory by Halata. Friendswood didn't get off to the quick start the offense normally does, taking 6 plays to reach the end zone. While the offense was not as explosive as they were earlier in the season, the blocking for this game was much improved over games past. Several times in my notes I complimented Whitaker, Swaney, Bell, & Blackburn on their blocking. There were also some members of the defense who had a great night. Ford tipped a punt and nearly got his hands on a second punt. Hermes had another interception.
During most games, the offense is the unit that gets all the glory because they are the ones putting points on the scoreboard. This week, I think the defense deserves more recognition. If you've read my blog before, you know that I don't keep up with stats. If you're interested in stats, I would recommend you check out http://www.chron.com/sports/highschool/ You can search by team, player, sport, year or other filters to see plenty of stats. I haven't seen a breakdown, but I think that Alvin earned less than 100 yards total during the first half. Friendswood's defense knew exactly how to handle Alvin's offensive style. In fact, if you took out kick returns, their total yards in the first half would probably be around 50.
During the second half, seniors who don't normally play got their turn under the Friday Night Lights. Those seniors whose names made it into my notes during the last half of the game were Blackburn, Garza, Mueller, Iniguez, Riggs, Scott, Slaughter, Lucarelli, and Martinez. I know there are other seniors who played during this time, but those are the names I noted for one thing or another.
The boxscore for the game was
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
Alvin Yellowjackets 0 0 0 7 7
Friendswood Mustangs 17 17 0 3 37
This week, several players earned a pat on the back. In addition to the senior mentioned above, this week's atta-boys go to: Yuracheck, Follis, Halata, Bell, Page, Hall, Boddie, Horman, Hermes, Willis, Ford, Blackburn, Page, Nemecheck, Dobard, Whitaker, Lynch, Nickerson, Roher, Redding, Karam, Dobard, & Williamson.
Friendswood (7-2, 5-2) will have huge test after huge test from here on out. Playoffs start this week. There will be no easy weeks and the first game is against last year's 5A D1 State Champs, George Ranch (7-4, 4-2). These two teams have faced other twice, each ending in favor of the home team. Friendswood is considered to be the underdog in this game - a position they are very familiar with. For at least the last 2 years Friendswood was expected to lose the first game in the playoffs. Both were great games that didn't turn out the way the sports "authorities" expected. Hopefully this will be true again this year.
This game will be played at Henry Winston Stadium on Friday, November 11, 2016. Kickoff will be at 7pm. The stadium will open at 5:00pm for season ticket holders who have purchased a ticket for this game. All other ticket holders will be able to enter the stadium at 5:30pm. FHS CTE will host a pregame dinner of Joe's BBQ for $10/person. Friendswood hasn't hosted a playoff game in 7 years and I hope the stadium is just as packed as it always is.
Seniors - From here on out, you are not guaranteed next week. Play your heart out, leave it all on the field, and say your prayers that you get another week of playing the game you love.
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