On Friday, September 5, 2025, the Mavericks of Morton Ranch High School travelled to Magnolia to take on the Mustangs of Magnolia West High School.
I have been watching high school football since the late 1970s (hopefully I don't look as old as I am), but didn't start traveling for football games until the late 1980s. Even though I've been watching high school football for a long time, this was the first time I had ever been to The Ranch at Magnolia West High School.
For those who are new to my blog, I started writing about high school football in 2009 after attending a playoff game where the officials were so obviously biased that even the UIL agreed and the game officials were sectioned by the UIL. I never did learn their exact punishment and I would be curious to know if whatever it was was enough to discourage a repeat of that behavior. After writing about high school football for 7 seasons, I took a break for a few years. There were multiple reasons for the break. I grew tired of seeing quotes from my blog published in newspapers without due credit. While I enjoyed seeing changes that I suggested on the field the next week, when coaches were asked about the changes, they never gave credit where credit was due. There was also a surge in other avenues for people to find out about the games. TSBN and Texan Live began to emerge as leaders in the high school sportscasting world. I quit seeing TBSN after a while, but saw other radio streams took their place. But after all those years of writing, I really did miss it. Even when I didn't sit down at the keyboard and type out my thoughts, I was still composing blogs in my head after games. Also during that break, I began going to a few college games (JuCo and D1). I often mentally composed blogs after those games, but again, I never sat down to type out my thoughts. Then in 2023, I decided to revive the blog and starting writing again. One more thing to know, I NEVER read other people's write ups before writing my blog. I want my blog to be my thoughts and not colored by other people's obersvations or opinions. One other thing, if you are here to read game stats or a play-by-play, you are in the wrong place. Used to I would have directed you to the Houston Chronicle's stats page. They no longer have that page. Last I heard, MaxPreps was the best place for game stats, but I don't even know if that's true anymore.
Enough introduction. Time to get down to business. The Mavericks of Morton Ranch came to this game after a heartbreaking double overtime loss to Aldine Nimitz. To learn more about that game, please see my previous post, https://brownfall.blogspot.com/2025/08/adline-nimitz-cougars-vs-morton-ranch.html The Mustangs came into this game after a 20-13 win against the Bryan Vikings.
One thing I immediately noticed was that this is a one high school stadium as opposed to a district stadium shared by multiple high schools. This means that the football team, band, and dance team all practice on the same field in the same stadium where they compete/perform. If you have never experienced both dedicated and district stadiums, having your own stadium on your campus is a big advantage when to comes to the players familiarity and comfort in their environment. I also noticed that the rest rooms were no where near the bleachers and they didn't have Coke Zero in the concession stand. I guess there had to be some obvious down sides.
I was glad to see that the Mavericks did not come into the game with a defeated attitude. After the year that they had last year, and the way the game ended last week, that could have happened. Kudos to the coaches, parents, and players for keeping a positive attitude and making sure it was visible in the way they played and their body language.
Both defenses got a slow start. It looked like what some would call a Zombie D - they were on the field, but not playing well. It took a few possessions, but both defenses did finally get themselves in gear and started making some good plays. Sadly, the Mavericks did make some costly mistakes. The officials also missed some calls that would have made a difference in the results of the plays, but overall they were much better than last week's crew. I have definelty seen worse.
Sadly, one thing that did not improve is the play caller's creativity. Have you ever heard of Einstein's definition of insanity? According to Mr. Einstein, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Some weeks, running up the middle might be an effective play that you want to run over and over and over again. However, if you never gain more than 3 yards running up the middle, stop running up the middle. Or mix it up and run up the middle less often.
Another observation was that, while the receivers (and even players on defense), did make several catches, some impressive catches, there were other passes that should have been caught. If I were advising the team, I would advise 2 things; first I would encourage that the QBs and receivers play catch as often as possible, even if it's just backyard catch, and second I would encourage them to carry a ball with them everywhere they go. Treat it like a fragile baby. Like an American flag, never let it touch the ground. As for those games of catch, include the safeties and defensive backs. It's a lot easier to intercept the ball if you're used to catching it.
One other piece of advice that I would give to the coaches would be to play tighter to the receivers when you know that the QB is going to be throwing long passes. I don't mean pass interference coverage. I mean either encourage the QB not to throw that pass or give yourself the opportunity to intercept the pass. When the ball is in the air, both teams have an equal opportunity to catch it. That's why both defensive and offensive pass interference is a penalty and the yardage penalized is the same either way.
Lastly, I would advise more time in the weight room and, if they are not already doing some, spending some time in a yoga or pilates class. The reason for the weight room is obvious. No matter how good you are or how agile you are, if you are playing someone much stronger than you, you will get pushed or drug around the field. But yoga or pilates? Really? Well, ballet used to be popular among NFL players for a reason. All 3, yoga, pilates, and ballet, teach you muscle control, flexibility, balance, and how to engage your core. All of these are very important in any sport.
Like last week, this week's game was decided in overtime. Like last week, the Mavericks were up with just a few minutes left on the game clock and gave up too many points very quickly. Unlike last week, this week's game only took one over time to decide and unlike last week, the Mavericks came out on the winning side, thanks to an interception just before the goal like by Lincoln Hernandez. Good job sir!
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I can not tell you how happy I am for these kids. Their last win was against Mayde Creek on October 26, 2023. Since that game, they had 12 consecutive losses. Congratulation on breaking the streak!
Now to the best part of each blog - the attaboys. If you see any of these players this week, be sure to give them a pat on the back. They earned it. This week's attaboys go to: T. Williams, J. Jenkins, C. Meche, C. Williams, E. Rios, L. Hernandez, M. Washington, R. Nichols, H. Reed, M. Kinlaw, G. Obikili, S. Fontenette, T. Eli, K. Murray, J. Wilson, T. Alexander, J. Wabuko, T. Lazar, C. Brown, & #88. Mr. 88, your name is not listed on MaxPreps. Your kicks are much improved over last week and you deserve an attaboy. I took note of jersey numbers during the game and looked up names on MaxPreps. If any of these are incorrect, I apologize. If there is a better source for the team roster, please let me know!
This game was the second and last pre-district game for District 19-6A. District play opens for the Mavericks with a game against the Katy Tigers. In the not too distant past, they were jokingly known around the Houston area as Katy University. Not because they were a college or playing college-aged players, but because they dominated every game they played. For the high schools playing against them, Katy's opponents were always playing the part of David in the story of David and Goliath. I haven't seen them play in about 10 years. Katy won the last game I saw, but then found themselves in front of the UIL for a potential ineligible player in a play off game. I watched the livestream of that hearing. If you only watched the first part of the hearing, you would have thought that the UIL was going to penalize Katy with a forfeit of that playoff game and that the team they beat was about to get all of the gear passed back out and paracice hard to make up for lost time before playing again in a few days. But after reading Katy the riot act, the UIL decided that a warning was appropriate and they continued on in the playoffs. Katy ISD has opened 3 high schools since then and attendance zones have been redrawn throughout the district. Katy High School is still a very good football team, but is not the dominate powerhouse that they were 10 years ago. Katy will come into this game 0-2 and after losing to very good powerhouses - Dickinson and Atascocita. If the Mavericks hope to hold their own against Katy, they can not have a zombie defense and the offenseive plays will have to be unpredictable for the entire game. A win will require a complete game for all 4 quarters - creative, unpredictable play calling, focused defense, continued improvement on special teams, and self confidence.
The Katy Tigers will host the Morton Ranch Mavericks at Rhodes Stadium on Friday, September 12, 2025. Kick off is scheduled for 7:30pm. Be there, be loud and support the Mavericks!
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.
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