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!!
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