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.