Welcome Back!
I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd written here until I logged on today. I've mentally written so many posts over the last few years, but never taken the time to type them out.
I am still going to high school football games almost every Friday night, but now we are supporting two teams and are bouncing back and forth between the two (have season tickets for both) - the Friendswood Mustangs and the Manvel Mavericks.
There are lots of other things that have changed on the Houston area High School Football scene. Gone are the days where lots of local newspapers wrote articles about all the games and the Houston Chronicle's website kept a site where anyone could check out up-to-date stats on the teams and individual players. And gone are the days where anyone could learn about any team for free with just a few keystrokes and mouse clicks. With the lack of articles not behind pay walls, the void is being filled with amateur, semi-pro, and professional reporters who discuss their observations and analysis on X (formerly twitter) and YouTube. There's some great info out there, you just have to know where to find it. What I haven't found yet is a replacement for the Chronicle's stats sheet. That was a great tool during must win games for the fans to know more about their team's opponent. By reading the stats, you could tell if the team preferred to pass or run the ball, as well as how a defense had been stacking up against their opponents. since that site is gone, I may have been the only person looking at it, but I sure do miss it.
Another change in the Houston area High School Football scene is the schools playing. There are sooo many new schools - schools that did not field a varsity football team when I last wrote my blog. I have seen a few of those team play, but that number is probably a minority of the new schools.
The last big change would be the coaching "carousel" as some of the sports writers call it. Both of the teams that we are supporting have new head coaches this year, though one of them is a returning coach while the other is a former player turned coach (who I actually got to see when he played in high school).
This coming week, the two teams that we support will be playing against each other. The Friendswood Mustangs will travel to Iowa Colony to play the Manvel Mavericks at Alvin ISD newest district stadium - Freedom Field. This will be the 4th time I've seen Manvel play this season, but the first time to see Friendswood in person (though I have seen videos). The Mustangs have been playing very well this year and to simply look at the scoreboards, you might think that this game will be a blowout. However, those scoreboards don't tell the whole story. The caliber of teams that Friendswood and Manvel have been playing against are not the same. Manvel's schedule so far contained better teams than Friendswood's. This means that Manvel should be better prepared for the game against the Mustangs. It also means that both teams are susceptible to thinking that don't have anything to fear this week. Both teams will need to bring their A-game if they expect to walk out of Freedom Field with more points on their side of the scoreboard.
Unfortunately for Manvel, they have been bitten by the injury bug more than any team I've heard of in the last several years. In 5 quarters of play (last quarter from one game through the last quarter of the next), I have seen 4 knee injuries, some more serious than others. These haven't been the only injuries, just the most obvious. These injuries have caused Coach Martin and the rest of the Mavericks to reengineer the offense and make changes on defense. Luckily for the Mavericks, they have the depth needed to cover for guys who are out temporarily, or even longer. But with the game plan having been focused on different styles of play, adjustments have been needed.
Friendswood on the other hand has tweaked their game as the season has progressed, but not due to injuries. They have been learning and improving each week, making adjustments to improve upon what they are already putting on the field.
I've read and heard from a few people who believe that Friendswood is good, but Manvel is playing at a higher level. Having not seen Friendswood in person yet, it's hard for me to agree or disagree. What I can say is that Manvel has some serious talent on their team this year, but they also struggle with mental mistakes and finishing plays. I am hopeful that this week in practice, they will be able to focus on focusing and playing all the way to the whistle. The players need to remember that, regardless of what they do in practice, this is neither touch nor flag football.
I am looking forward to a great game this week.
I no longer post play by plays during the game, but I do update the score at the end of each quarter. You can follow my updates at x.com/momrod2000
If you want to watch the game, Texan Live will be live streaming the game (for a fee). https://www.texanlive.com/video/64fb8fa52308880001edbaa2
I m looking forward to getting back to writing my blog and telling more people about these two great programs.
Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 40+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I continue to learn more about the game and strategies every week. My vocabulary may be lacking, but I know what I see and describe it as best I can.
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