Friendswood Mustangs vs A&M Consolidated Tigers - November 15, 2024

     On Friday, the Mustangs from Friendswood, along with their parents and fans made the 125 mile trip to Tigerland Stadium in College Station to watch their team take on the Tigers of A&M Consolidated. Before the game, all of us Freindswood fans knew that this was going to be the toughest game thus far for the Mustangs. What we didn't know what that it would also be the worst refs we've seen in quite a while (more on my soapbox issue later).

    At the same time that the football team was getting ready to take the field in CSTAT, the volleyball team was on the court in Bryan playing for the Regional Championship and the Mighty Mustang Band was in Indianapolis waiting to hear if they had advanced to the semi-final round of the BOA Grand National Championships. The volleyball team put up a good fight, but lost 3-1. The band did advance to Saturday's semi-final round, but did not advance to the final round on Saturday evening. For the football team, it was a little like being the visiting team during a college game. The cheerleaders and Wranglerettes were there to cheer for them, and we did an excellent job of filling the visitor side stands (we wouldn't have all fit had the marching band been there). The home team's press box was kind enough to allow the cheer coach to play a recorded version of the school song before the game and the fight song when the team entered the field.

    Since we left the stadium Friday night, I have been debating on how to write this blog. Of course, I will talk about the game, give the box score, and list the game's attaboys. I also need to give the Senior Shoutouts, and (unfortunately) spend some time on my soapbox issue - referees. I decided to cover the referees first, then move on to the game and the Senior Shoutouts.

    If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that, in all athletics, my soapbox issue is referees who don't do their jobs fairly or who don't do them correctly. Even before I had to take my younger daughter straight from a basketball game to Urgent Care due to an injury caused by referees who let too much go, I often talked about poor officiating. That day just made the issue an even bigger one for me. (We actually ended up in the Urgent Care twice. Once when she took a charge and once when she got intentionally elbowed in the face and ended up having the skin above her eye glued back together). While Friday night's poor officiating didn't send anyone for medical care (that I know of), it did contribute to the final score in a way that hurt the Mustangs. I'm not about to argue that had the officials done their jobs correctly that we would have won. But I will argue that the score would have been closer and the Mustangs would have had a better chance at a win. There were multiple missed holds and at least one missed horse collar. The two worst blown calls were when the punter was tackled after the kick with no flag thrown, and when the Mustang who was back to receive a punt called for a fair catch, was tackled, dropped the ball and the officials declared it a fumble recovered by the Tigers. The horse collar prevented a TD and the two worst blown calls resulted in an erroneous change of possession from Friendswood to Consol. Would these have changed the outcome of the game, probably not. Would the final score be different if these calls had been made correctly, yes, I believe it would have.

    This was my first time to Tigerland Stadium on College Station. I was immediately put into a good mood once we got there because this is one of the few stadiums where the concession stand sells Coke Zero is a 20z bottle. They also had Double Dave's pepperoni rolls. Both are items that are rarely found in stadium concession stands and both are things I will buy every time I see them.

    I was disappointed to see how far the Mustangs had to walk to get from the field to their lockeroon but was glad to see when they entered the field for warm-ups that they were on a business trip and not there to party. As you will see in the box score Friendswood was in this game for quite a while. The Mustangs that I saw on Friday night is not the same team that I had seen earlier in the season, and I don't necessarily mean the personnel on the field. This team played with the heart and passion that we saw in the very first game against FB Marshall. Every single sports prognosticator that I saw make a prediction on this game picked Consol. I know that our football players knew that, but I believe that they went onto that field with the intention of proving all of the "experts" wrong. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, A&M Consol capitalized on every mistake that the Mustangs made and benefitted from blown calls by the game officials. Every member of the Friendswood Mustangs football team should hold his head high after the season that they just had.

BOX SCORE
	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	FINAL
Friendswood Mustangs	7	6	7	0	20
A&M Consolidated Tigers	6	28	21	7	62

    Despite the final score, several Mustangs earned attaboys in the final game of the season. The players earning attaboys are: Allen, Daly, Lee, Butler, Bateman, Winters, Ausbie, Slaughter, Crites, Cain, Ruffeno, Condon, Muecke, Molina, Gerami, St. Jean, Cottrell, and Sindelar.

    For the seniors, this was their last football game in a Friendswood Mustangs uniform. I genuinely hope that each of you will look back on this time with happy memories. Though your time in pads and a Mustang helmet may be over, you still have the opportunity to improve the team. Please pass down your knowledge of the game to your younger teammates. Please cheer for them as they learn to fill your shoes. Thank you for everything that you have contributed to the team over your years at Friendswood High School. The FHS Mustangs football class of 2025 includes: Jacob Morris, Jalen Ausbie, Caden Crow, Nicholas Ruffeno, Cooper Prince, Garrett Muecke, Jackson Lee, Mason Sindelar, Mikey Butler, Keaton Cottrell, Ronan Wilson, Caleb Condon, Cameron Brezina, Rigo Umanzor, Logan Mudd, Ryan Ressler, Walker Winters, Carols Hernandez, Connor Collins, Collin Bob, Thomas Daly, Jackson Slaughter, Johan George, Caleb Allen, Nathan Mills, Fletcher Weston, Vincent Basciano, Cole Riasetto, Connor Vu, and Tyler Threadgill. To each of you, I wish success in your endeavors and if you want to continue playing in college, I hope that you find the right fit for you.

    For the rest of us, only 40 weeks until the next FNL for the Frienswood Mustangs.

Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 45+ 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.

Friendswood Mustangs vs. Fort Bend Kempner Cougars - November 9, 2024

    On Saturday, November 9, 2024, the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to Mercer Stadium in Sugar Land to end the regular season against the Fort Bend Kempner Cougars. While this was the final district game of the season, everyone knew that there were no playoff spots on the line. The 4 playoff spots for District 11-5A-D1 had already been decided. For the home team, this was their last football game of the season. For the visitors, it was their last chance to try out anything that they are preparing for the playoffs as well as to give the non-starters a chance to prove that they are ready to take on a bigger role for the team. Despite the scoreboard, the Mustangs did not look playoff ready. This was not what you want to see the week before you take on the role of David in the story of Goliath.

    But before we start talking about next week, let's talk about the game between the Mustangs and the Cougars. I hate to say that the Mustangs did not look as good as the scoreboard would indicate. Friendswood was able to capitalize on multiple mistakes by Kempner, but didn't look like the finely tuned football team that is ready to take on a team lauded by Dave Campbell's Texas Football, MaxPreps, and Texas HS Football as one of the top 5A teams in Texas.

    Let's start with the bad. Too many passes were overthrown or off target. Too many mistakes were made when players were in the wrong place at the right time. There were too many turnovers and too many earned penalties against Friendswood. (I specify earned because we all know that referees aren't always fair). The offense has become too predictable with the attempts to draw the defense offsides. (I'm sure the o-line hates that call). The defense let too many ball carriers get by them. The offense wasn't prepared when they were picked off or fumbled and they let the Cougar defense get to the QB too many times. The kickoff team let too many ball carriers get by (they had plenty of practice during the game) leaving the kicker to defend the goal line. All around, this just wasn't a team that looked ready for the playoffs.

    Now with the good. The players who were injured early in the season are looking better and better in their recoveries.  Some of the players who needed to rest were able to spend this game on the sidelines, giving their bodies another week to prepare for what is to come. Some of the backup players proved that they are ready for starting roles. The defense was watching for turnover, interception and pick 6 opportunities and capitalized multiple times (even if one was called back due to penalties). Some players displayed their determination to be playmakers, one even took a charge like a basketball player.     

    With those good things comes some attaboys. There were some JV players on the field during the game who deserve a pat on the back, too. These are in the order that I made my notes and the order does not indicate who deserved more or fewer attaboys. Those earring attaboys from Saturday evenings game are: Lee, Crites, Muecke, Sindelar, Bateman, Gerami, Butler, Umanzor, Allen, Ruffeno, Ausbie, Cain, Wilson, Slaughter, Bob, Abebe, Condon, Molina, Mills, Boyer, Bucholz, Yawn, Hernandez, Collins, Prince, Black, Rudd, & #40 (?). 

BOX SCORE
	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	FINAL
Friendswood Mustangs	29	14	6	6	55
FB Kempner Cougars	7	0	7	13	27

    And now on to next week. Friendswood is not the only District 11-5A-D1 team headed to College Station for a playoff game on Friday night. The Crosby Cougars will be playing against the College Station Cougars at the same time that the Friendswood Mustangs will be taking on the Tigers of A&M Consolidated High School, also in College Station. I'm not sure what this will mean for people who want to get there early to enjoy dinner before the game, or those who plan to stay in College Station and attend the A&M game against New Mexico State at Kyle Field on Saturday. I'm hoping that the Mustang alumni attending FHS 2.0 (aka Texas A&M University) will make the drive over to Tigerland Stadium to support their alma mater and cheer for the Mustangs.

    For those who are interested, below is the 5A-D1 playoff bracket from Dave Campbells's Texas Football.

This bracket can be found at https://www.texasfootball.com/article/2024/11/06/2024-txhsfb-playoff-bracket-5a-division-i?ref=article_preview_img During this coming week, Dave Campbell's Texas Football will publish their bracketology and their picks for the week. They usually spend some time talking about teams that they think are the top of the class and/or their favorites.

    I am sincerely hopeful that this will be the week that revives the tradition for Friendswood of traveling for away games, especially playoff games. My family and I moved to Friendswood in 2007 (although for my husband, he was moving back to Friendswood). Our first Mustang playoff game was that year at Kyle Field. I was so impressed with the number of people sitting on the Friendswood side. As time went on, we've played playoff games at Kyle Field, Galena Park ISD Stadium, Woodforest National Bank Stadium, TDECU Stadium (before and after renovations), Rice University Stadium, and NRG Stadium. No matter where we played or who we played against, there was always a sea of blue in the stands. A few years ago, that sea of blue at the away games, and even at home games, got smaller and smaller. This week, there's reason to believe that it will be even worse when it comes to the number of Mustang fans in the stands. As luck would have it, the week of our first play off game in a while is not only a long drive for a Friday night, it's also the weekend that the Mighty Mustang Band is competing in Indianapolis at the BOA Grand National Championships (Grand Nats). This means that there will be no live fight song, stand music, or any of the other musical sounds that the Mustangs are used to hearing from the stands. I have it on good authority that the Wranglerettes are planning to use their speaker in the stands and hope that the players will be able to hear their music. It won't be the same as having a live band, but it will be better than nothing.  Last I heard, despite, the marching band not being there, the Wranglerettes are planning to perform using prerecorded music.

    For everyone willing and able to make the drive, the first playoff game of the season is Friday, November 15, 2024 at Tigerland Stadium in College Station, Texas. Kickoff is at 7pm. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pay attention as, like I said above, there are 2 high school playoff games in College Station on Friday that both kick off at 7pm. Under the current UIL rules, for the first round of the playoffs, the higher seeded team can choose to play at home. Most do, and I don't blame them. After Round 1, all future playoff games are played in neutral stadiums, but not necessarily in unfamiliar stadiums. That being said, Friendswood CAN NOT afford to get ahead of themselves. They MUST fix the problems from Saturday before heading to College Station. They need to PAY ATTENTION when watching film and be prepared to capitalize on any mistakes, no matter how minor, that the Tigers make on Friday night. Because the Tigers are ranked so much higher than the Mustangs, (MaxPreps #4, vs. #46), and they are coming in undefeated, there is a chance that the Tigers will get complacent, overlook the Mustangs, or come in with a chip on their shoulders. Friendswood needs to be prepared to capitalize on that mistake. 

    I realize that at that time of day on a Friday, it's 124 miles and a 2 hour and 45 minute drive from FHS to Tigerland Stadium, but please, make your plans now to be there, be loud, be proud, and support your Mustangs!

Be there or be 🟦

GO MUSTANGS!

Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 45+ 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.

Kingwood Park Panthers vs. Friendswood Mustangs - November 1, 2024

     On Friday, November 1, 2024, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the Kingwoord Park Panthers for the last game to be played in Henry Winston Stadium during the 2024 season. This was senior night for the cheerleaders and football team and was also the Patriotic Halftime game.

    If you've never been to a Patriotic Halftime game, you should experience it at least once. Patriotic halftime occurs each year during the game that is closest to 9/11 or closest to Veterans Day. Each year, the pregame dinner is hosted by the Mighty Mustang Band and they perform a few pieces of stand music during the dinner. Before the game, the band performs their full contest show (halftime isn't long enough for 2 drill teams and 2 contest shows, so each drill team performs a field routine (shorter than a contest routine) and each band performs part of their contest show). The junior high bands joins the high school band for the first half (percussion and brass in the stands, woodwinds in chairs on the track). Since the JH band is with the HS band they play just about every piece of stand music they have during the first half. 

    During halftime, the opposing team's drill team and band perform before FHS takes the field. The Wranglerettes perform to patriotic music and either dance with their red, white, and blue long skirts, using red, white, and blue scarves, or using another patriotic prop. While the Wranglerettes are performing, the choir is getting into position. Some years only the high school choirs sing; other years they are joined by the junior high choirs. The band then plays patriotic music while the choir sings, honoring our country as well as first responders and each branch of the armed forces. Halftime concludes with the National Anthem played by the Mighty Mustang Band while the choirs sing and the Friendswood Junior High Band unfurls a large American flag. 

    The football game didn't start out the way Mustangs fans had hoped. The first quarter is a perfect example of why I don't like it when games are on non-school days (whether a Saturday or a teacher in-service day). The players (and coaches) are out of their routine and it shows. By the second quarter, it appears that the Mustangs got all of the sugar and Halloween party treats out of their systems and got down to playing must-win football. 

    I think everyone knew before this game that it was a must-win if the Mustangs are hoping to play after November 9. The top 4 teams in each district make the playoffs. Before this game, Friendswood already had 3 losses and needed to make sure that that number didn't reach 4. 

    On the kick off, Friendswood ran the ball in for a touchdown. It appeared that maybe the day off and all of the sugar from Halloween wouldn't be an issue. Instead, the touchdown was called back on a flag and this was a bigger omen for how the night would go than the big run. There were so many flags and most of them were against Friendswood. It felt like the Mustangs were playing against the Panthers AND the "Zebras". There was one play that was stopped that I don't even think the referees knew why he blew his whistle.  

    The second quarter is when Friendswood's defense finally got all the Halloween fun out of their systems and really started working together. Before that, they looked like they didn't know what they were doing or who was supposed to be doing what. It was bad. Once they got things figured out, it seemed like the only 1st downs for K-Park was the long passes. And I'm not going to lie, K-Park's receivers came up with some amazing catches. 

    Unfortunately for Friendswood, they suffered multiple injuries during the game and some of the starters did not return. I wish a speedy recovery to each of the players. To those who will not make it back onto the field this season, you still have a vital role on the team. Your job is to help your team be successful throughout the rest of the season. If that means that you're a cheerleader, then you be the best cheerleader in every practice, every lift, and every game. If that means that you are an extra set of eyes for the coaches, then learn to watch every detail of every play. If that means that you're helping the players to stay grade eligible, then you become the best tutor in that locker room. Your job actually has become harder. Instead of just doing your job to execute on the field, you have to be more versatile both on and off the sidelines.

    Below is the box score from the game. As you can see, Friendswood really woke up during the second quarter. 

BOX SCORE
	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	FINAL
Kingwood Park Panthers	14	0	0	7	21
Friendswood Mustangs	7	21	7	14	49

    Before I get to what happens next, there are multiple players who deserve attaboys for their efforts on Friday against the Panthers. The players receiving attaboys are Winters, Lee, Bob, Ruffeno, Sindelar, Allen, Abebe, Ausbie, Condon, Muecke, Butler, Mc Elwain, Molina, Daly, Bateman, Petreyko, Crites, Cain, Slaughter, Rudolph, Wilson, and Collins.

    As I said last week, I wasn't going to look at playoff scenarios until after the game against K-Park and then only if we won. Well, not only did we win, with the way the schedule lines up for the last week of the regular season, Friendswood has clinched a spot in the 2024 playoffs. Below are the current standings for District 11-5A-D1, thanks to https://x.com/walterca1107

    Also thanks to Chris Walter, below are the last games of the regular season,

-Pasadena vs. La Porte -Angleton at Crosby -Kingwood Park at Porter -Friendswood vs. Fort Bend Kempner

    La Porte has clinched the district title. With Angleton and Crosby playing each other this coming week, whoever wins that game will be 2nd seeded team from our district and the loser will be the 3rd seeded team. Even if Friendswood loses to FB Kempner, we have beaten any team with which we could tie.

    This does NOT mean that we can get complacent and overlook Kempner. However, it does mean that the coaches can try out a few things to discover the best way to replace players who are out with injuries. 

    Since we do know that we are going to the playoffs, we can end this week talking about what to expect. The way the UIL sets up the playoff brackets, the first round is the bi-district championship. Each district is paired up with a district based on number (district 1 & 2, district 3 & 4, etc). The 1st seeded team will play the 4th seeded team from the paired district and the 2nd and 3rd seeded teams play each other. For us, this means that we will play the top seeded team from District 12. This past Friday night, A&M Consolidated HS won District 12, which means they will be our first game of the playoffs. The UIL also gives each District Champion the option of playing at home or at a neutral site for their first playoff game. For Friendswood, this means that we will be traveling to College Station to play at Tigerland Stadium either Thursday, November. 14, Friday, November 15, or Saturday, November 16.

    If you like brackets and want to follow along, you can find the UIL's blank bracket at https://www.uiltexas.org/football/playoff-brackets/5AD1 This bracket should be filled in by the UIL as the playoffs progress. Dave Campbell's Texas Football usually does a good write up on Bracketology and updates it throughout the playoffs. Other sites to read more about how this works are texashsfootball.com and maxpreps.com  Sadly, there used to be so many more sites and reporters who were so good at this, but as the industry has changed, those people have found themselves doing other things. 

    Unfortunately for Friendswood fans, I really can't tell you much about the A&M Consolidated Tigers except that they are undefeated this season. So far they have played Lake Benton (final score 33-21), Forney (final score 35-34), Pflugerville Weiss (final score 25-19), College Station (final score 34-20), Austin Anderson (56-28), Kyle Lehman (final score 77-0), Hendrickson (final score 55-14), Cedar Creek (86-6), and Buda Hays (49-0). They have been consistently  ranked as one of the top 5A teams in Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football and by Texas HS Football. That being said, what I don't know is the quality of those teams that they have been playing. Are they in a district full of Angletons or a district full of Pasadenas? The honest answer is that I don't know. But we will all find out in 2 weeks. 

    But before that, our last game of the regular season will be on Saturday, November 9, at Mercer Stadium against the Fort Bend Kempner Cougars. The original schedule shows that that kick off is at 6pm. It was published by a local reporter yesterday that kick off is at 6pm. Be sure to watch friendswoodfootball.org or https://x.com/FwoodFootball for official informaiton.

New Caney Porter Spartans vs. Friendswood Mustangs - October 25, 2024

    On Friday, October 25, 2024, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the Porter Spartans for Homecoming 2024. Due to the homecoming activities during halftime, those who arrived early were treated to performances by the Wranglerettes and the Mighty Mustang Band before the game. The Wranglerettes performed their signature field high kick routine and the band perfmored their full contest show as their last performance before the UIL Area contest the next morning. 

    To start the game, it looked like the Mustangs were a little distracted with all of the homecoming activities. It took a few possessions, but they did finally settle down to business. Once they did, the Mustangs dominated the game on almost every possession. There were a few calls by the play callers that were head scratchers, but there were more by the refs. The longer the game went the more I wondered about the calls. For example, apparently, it's permissible for one team to pick up the QB and throw him to the ground after the whistle, but it's not okay for the other team to tackle the QB when he releases the ball for a pass. That being said, overall the officials weren't bad. This was one crew that I wouldn't mind seeing again.

    If this is the version of the Mustangs that we see for the rest of the season, I think the fans will be pleased. The run game was working, and the passing game wasn't bad, though I have seen it better (and that's a comment on the QBs and on the receivers, not just one group). 

    The defense played well, but continue to struggle with the same problems that have plagued them all season - speed. I'm not knocking the effort of the defense; they never give up on a play. They just struggle to catch a ball carrier once they get behind them. 

    For anyone who wasn't there, the box score tells the story and is not deceiving for how the game went.

BOX SCORE
	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	FINAL
New Caney Porter Spartans	0	0	0	14	14
Friendswood Mustangs	7	14	14	7	42

    There are multiple Mustangs receiving attaboys this week for their contributions to the game's outcome. This week's attaboys go to Stopher, Muecke, Butler, Crites, Sindelar, Ausbie, Cain, Riassetto, Condon, Bateman, Lee, Ruffeno, Gerami, Bob, Rudolph, Allen, Slaughter, Brister, Winters. Randall, Umanzor, and McElwain. 

    Up next for the Mustangs is Senior Night for cheer and football before the final home game of the year. Kickoff will be at 7pm on Friday, November 1, in Henry Winston Stadium with the Friendswood Mustangs on one side of the ball and the Kingwood Park Panthers on the other. This week is the "World Famous" Patriotic Halftime Show. For those who have never been, this halftime show features the band, choir, and Wrangleretettes. The junior high band is often present to hold the large American. In addition to all of the American flags on the field, the flag for each branch of the service will be present. 

    Before the game, the Mighty Mustang Band will host a pregame dinner in the FHS cafeteria. Dinner will be from 4:30pm - 6:30pm. Tickets are $20/person and the menu is Rudy's brisket or turkey baked potato with tea or lemonade, and dessert.

    To the best of my knowledge, the last time the Mustangs and Panthers met was a 1st round playoff game at Henry Winston Stadium in 2018. The Mustangs won that game, and all the Mustang fans are hoping for the same result this time around. The current standings in District 11-5A-D1, thanks to https://x.com/walterca1107

   

     As we get close to the end of the season, people are starting to talk about the playoffs. In order for Frindswood to continue playing after November 9, they will have to win the upcoming game against Kindwood Park and win against the FB Kempner Cougars on Saturday, November 9.  I don't want to get ahead of myself, and I certainly don't want to jinx anything, so I won't look at any playoff scenarios until after the Kingwood Park game.

    Don't miss the last home game of the season. Be there or be ☐.

GO MUSTANGS

Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 45+ 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.

Friendswood Mustangs vs Pasadena Eagles - October 17, 2024

     On Thursday, October 17, 2024, the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to Pasadena Veterans Memorial Stadium to take on the Pasadena Eagles. I've been watching Mustang football since 2007 and don't recall another meeting between the two teams. 

    This game started with a mix of starters and backup players and by the end of the night, the Mustangs were fielding their backups backups backups. It was a great opportunity for some of the guys who usually play JV to get a taste of varsity FNL (on a Thursday). This was also a good time to let some of the starters who are a little banged up get a break and enjoy the game from the sidelines. 

    Because of all this, I am not able to give an accurate list of the guys who earned attaboys. I do not know the names of the JV players who played well. The varsity players who earned attaboys are: Allen, Winters, Brister, Petreyko, Bob, Condon, Slaughter, Lee (although I debated this one, and anyone who was there knows why, in the end I decided that his good plays outweighed his big oops), Bateman, Ausbie, Sindelar, Gerami, Umanzor (who caught his first interception on varsity), and Prince.

    There were some big mistakes that could have been caused by complacency. The game was going so well that experienced players failed to execute on routine plays. Thankfully, this did not hurt the Mustangs in the grand scheme of things. That won't be true for the rest of the season. 

    The box score below speaks for itself and there's not much I can say about the game that isn't clear by looking at the numbers. Let's just say that we heard Friendswood's fight song a lot during this game.

BOX SCORE   1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter FINAL Friendswood Mustangs 14 30 17 7 68 Pasadena Eagles 0 0 0 0 0

    Speaking of the fight song, can someone please tell me why the drum majors were looking for instruction when Friendswood scored? Do they need permission from the band directors to play the fight song? On one of the touchdowns, the cheerleaders and Wranglerettes got tired of waiting for the band, so they started singing and dancing the fight song choreography. They were almost finished when the band finally started. It was a really bad look for Friendswood. Another bad look is something that happened to both bands - someone should be paying attention to the field throughout the game. There were very few injuries on Thursday night, but both bands are guilty of continuing to play while an injured player was being tended to on the field. Eventually, someone noticed, but it was a bad look for both groups.

    Next up for the Mustangs is Homecoming week and FNL at Henry Winston Stadium against the Porter Spartans. Porter's current record is 3-4 with a 2-2 district record. So far in district play they have beaten Kempner (10-9) and Pasadena (35-0) and lost to Angleton (49-7) and La Porte (41-20). Friendswood has the tools to beat Porter, but they cannot let the activities of homecoming week distract from their goal.  If Friendswood wants to keep playing after Nov 9, they have to win every game for the next 3 weeks. 

    Being this close to the end of the regular season, it's time to start sharing the district standings. Thanks to Chris Walter, x.com/walterca1107 for posting this weekly on his X page. As you can see, there are only 3 teams who have scored more points and allowed fewer points that Friendswood. Unfortunately, those are 3 are teams that Friendswood has already played, making us behind in the standings. We need to finish in the top 4 in order to make the play-offs.   

    Thursday, October 24, the Homecoming parade will take place in downtown Friendswood starting at 6:30pm. This year's parade theme is "This is FHS and You're Watching the Disney Channel!"  There will be a community pep rally in the Chase Bank parking lot at 7pm.  On Friday, the FISD Museum will be open from 10am - 2pm. Also, FHS is hosting an open house starting at 1pm. There will be a pep rally in the stadium at 3:10pm and the junior class is hosting a pregame dinner in the cafeteria beginning at 5pm. The menu is burgers, chips, drinks, and a dessert from Locals Kitchen. Tickets can be purchased at the door and are $15/person.  Pregame activities will begin at 6:30pm in the stadium with kick off at 7pm. The FHS Class of 2003 will be honored at the game. Tickets for the game will go on sale on Monday, October 21, at https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/11738/henry-winston-stadium-friendswood-isd

GO MUSTANGS!

Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 45+ 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.

Angleton Wildcats vs. Friendswood Mustangs - October 11, 2024

    On Friday, October 11, 2024, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the Angleton Wildcats at Henry Winston Stadium. Many people believed that they knew what the outcome of the game would be before the game started. Unfortunately, it seemed like many of those people were on the home sidelines. There were enough people on the Friendswood sidelines who believed that they could win to keep the score closer than others expected.

    Friendswood had multiple opportunities to increase the number on their side of the scoreboard, but just couldn't finish the plays. Once again, I was surprised to see that the coaches chose to leave Butler in for the entire game. He is still sporting a wrap that looks like a compression sleeve on his leg and is moving with a limp. That being said, he can still throw and scan scramble for short distances.

    In order to make the playoffs this year, Friendswood needs to win out for the regular season. Looking at the schedule, it looks very possible. There is only one team left on the schedule that I am not familiar with, but if what I've heard about that team is correct,  Friendswood has made it through the most difficult part of their regular season schedule. Even if that is all true, the O-line has got to get better at protecting the QB. Whether the QB is Butler, Randall, Brister, or someone else, they have to find a way to give the receivers time to get into position for the QB to make the throw. If not, we will continue to see Friendswood with low score totals. The Mustangs also need to continue to work on the speed of the defensive backs. We have 2 this year who have some speed, but they don't have enough and 2 is not enough. We may be able to get through the rest of the season with our current speed, but that won't be enough to be successful in the playoffs. I would also hope that the defense is playing catch with the QBs just like the receivers. They should be doing everything that can to increase their versatility on defense. 

BOX SCORE
	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	FINAL
Angleton Wildcats	24	0	7	0	31
Friendswood Mustangs	7	0	0	0	7

    Despite the final score, and the needs of the team, there are some Mustangs who deserve attaboys for their efforts against Angleton. This week's attaboys go to Winters, Butler, Muecke, Ruffeno, Lee, Wilson, Sindelar, Ausbie, Cain, Molina, Allen, McElwain, Crow, Condon, Bateman, Vu, Petreyko, & Morris.

    Next up for the Mustangs is the Pasadena Eagles. This will be the last Thursday game of the year for the Mustangs. Kickoff will be at 7pm at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Pasadena on Thursday, October 17. Be there or be 🟦

GO MUSTANGS!

Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 45+ 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.

Friendswood Mustangs vs. Crosby Cougars - October 4, 2024

     On Friday, October 4, 2024, the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to Crosby to take on the Cougars in the second week of district play. Sadly, this was not the bounce back that the Mustangs were hoping for after their loss to La Porte the previous week. 

    It is unusual for the Mustangs to be the least physical team on the field, but that is what happened on Friday night. Friendswood tried to stop the Cougar offense, but just didn't have the size nor speed. That doesn't mean that the Mustangs gave up. Far from it. They gave it everything they had. But their all just wasn't enough. 

    This was the first time that the Mustang's QB Butler started a game since Marshall. He was wearing a brace that looked like a tall compression sock. He was also sporting a bit of a limp. Butler was sacked multiple times, threw multiple interceptions, and wasn't able to run well. Honestly, I was a bit surprised not to see any of the other quarterbacks all night long. 

    The Mustang defense also gave it their all, but their all just wasn't good enough. Friendswood's defense needs to work on their speed. Sindelar is the only guy in the backfield who has the ability to run down all but the fastest receivers, but he can't be every where all at once. Petreyko also has some speed and knows how to use it. But like Sindelar, he can't play the entire field either, Major props to all of the guys for never giving up on a play. 

    Despite the loss, they guys played their hearts out. This week's attaboys go to Sindelar, Bob, Petreyko, Brezina, Daly, Collins, Bateman, Lee, Muecke, and Gerami.

	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	FINAL
Crosby Cougars	7	7	7	7	28
Friendswood Mustangs	7	0	0	7	14

    Next up for the Mustangs will be the Angleton Wildcats. The two teams will play at Henry Winston Stadium on Friday, October 11, 2024. The FHS Choir will be hosting Pastapalooza in the FHS cafeteria before the game. Be there or be ▢.  

Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 45+ 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.