Morton Ranch Mavericks vs. Obra D. Thompkins Falcons - October 9, 2025

     On Thursday, October 9, 2025, the Thompkins Falcons hosted the Morton Ranch Mavericks at Rhodes Stadium. Kick off was at 7pm. For Morton Ranch, this was the last game of the season at Rhodes Stadium.

    As you'll see when you get down to the box score, this wasn't a great night for the Mavericks. Each week, the Mavericks have looked better than the week before; until we got to this week. I have no idea what happened this week. I don't know if the flu has been going around, or something else was out of the ordinary, but watching them play looked like something was just off. There were a few moments where things looked normal, but they were few and far between.

    If I were advising the coaches, I would tell them to revisit their pass coverage. This aspect of the game was showing marked improvement, but not in this game. I saw players standing and waiting for receivers/ball carriers to get to them. I saw defensive players standing 5+ yards away from a receiver watching while he caught the ball then running toward the receiver. I saw long passes caught with no defender anywhere near the receiver. I would encourage the coaches to teach the players to be focused on the ball and not the other team. If they were, they might have recovered the fumble at the beginning of the second half instead of tackling the player so that he landed on top of the ball. I would also advise the coaches to get to the bottom of whatever it was that had the team out of sorts. There are still 3 games left in the season and the team still has the chance to finish 4-4 in district play.

    One bright spot was the punter. He has steadily improved throughout the season and this was probably his best game yet. 

Box Score
	1st Q	2nd Q	3rd Q	4th Q	Final
Morton Ranch Mavericks	0	0	0	2	2
Obra D. Thompkins Falcons	7	28	10	6	51

    Despite the way the game turned out, there are still players who deserve a pat on the back for their efforts during the game. The players who deserve attaboys this week are C. Williams, T. Lazar, T. Eli, M. Kinlaw, M. Washington, H. Reed, Hartwell, J. Wilson, C. Rosalez, L. Hernandez, C. Brown, D. Hamilton, & S. Fontenette. There was also a player who was injured in the 3rd quarter. I'm not sure who he is (I have a guess, but I'm not positive).  I would like to wish him a speedy recovery.

    Another bright spot for this game was the Maverick Belles' halftime performance. This week was the annual "Belle and a Buddy" dance. This year's theme was Under the Sea. There were lots of surfers, inflatable fish, inflatable sharks, and even and inflatable octopus. They looked like they were having fun and the crowd loved their performance.

    Next up for the Mavericks is their last Friday night game of the season. The Mavericks will take on the Rams from Mayde Creek on Friday, October 17, 2025. Kick off is scheduled for 7pm.

    Be there, be loud and GO MAVERICKS!

Morton Ranch Mavericks vs. Paetow Panthers - October 3, 2025

     On Friday, October 3, 2025, the Morton Ranch Mavericks hosted the Paetow Panthers at Rhodes Stadium. Kick off was at 7pm.

    This was the annual Pink Out game for Morton Ranch and was junior high night for both schools. Personally this was a fun night because I had family in town who went to the game with me. 

    The start of the game was not great. While the Mavericks who took the field to start the game and throughout most of the first half might have been the same players who played against Jordan, they didn't play like that team. Watching the Paetow offense run away from the Mavericks looked like a greased pig chase. The Mavericks got to the ball carriers several times, but the Panthers slipped so many tackles. Honestly it was a little odd to watch. It kind of reminded me of a football movie where the hero is the ball carrier and he is running toward the goal line for the game winning touchdown. 

    Something else I noticed, especially in the first half was the total mismatch between players. The Mavericks not as big, not as fast and not as strong.

    Things got better in the second half. I'm not sure what the coaches said during halftime, but it was effective. If the Mavericks had played the entire game like they played the third quarter, they would have won this game. Last week I commented on the Maverick defense all chasing the QB and leaving the receivers open. I've also commented several times about the defensive backs playing too far off the receivers. This week I saw a HUGE improvement in both. Well done!

Box Score
	1st Q	2nd Q	3rd Q	4th Q	Final
Paetow Panthers	13	27	0	20	60
Morton Ranch Mavericks	8	7	14	8	37

    I did notice a Maverick or two complaining to their coaches that the referees were missing calls. While I did not see the specific things that they were complaining about, I did see a few other missed calls that did result in points on the board. Referees need to do better.

    Time for the best part of the blog - the attaboys. Because I was visiting with family during the game, I didn't catch as many jersey numbers to give the credit due for some good plays. If you see any of these players this week, please give them a pat on the back, they earned it. This week's attaboys go to C. Brown, K. Jenkins, T. Williams, C. Williams, T. Lazar, D. Hamilton, T. Williams, T. Eli, #31, H. Reed, & S. Fontenette. If anyone knows who #31 is, please let me know. I take note of jersey numbers during the game and look up their names on MaxPreps. If there is a better source for the Mavericks roster, please let me know.

    Next up for the Mavericks is their last game in Rhodes Stadium for this season. The game will take place on Thursday, October 9 between the Morton Ranch Mavericks and the Thompkins Falcons. Kick off is scheduled for 7pm. Be there or be square. 

GO MAVERICKS!