Tonight the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to Dickinson to take on the Dickinson Gators. For those of us sitting on the visitors' side of the field, it was a long and frustrating game. The second half more so than the first.
First, let me say, that if you are looking for stats or an official report on tonight's game, you are in the wrong place. This is my observations of the game. My high school football education began approximately 35 years ago when my parents bought my first season tickets. I spent years sitting between my dad and grandpa learning about the game and about the teams in Galveston County. I have attended almost every Friendswood football game since we move here; for - at least - the last 5 seasons.
So, what did I see tonight. Well, I saw a lot. I did not attend any practices this week, so I do not know what the attitude of the Friendswood players was like. But I would bet my next paycheck that the Dickinson practices were intense. After the beat down they received at the hands of Texas City last week, they were looking to make a statement and to make sure that everyone knew that they were a team that could not be overlooked. I think Friendswood heard them loud and clear, especially in the second half. From here on out, Friendswood needs to make sure that all practices have the focus and intensity of a rank bull trying to buck off a cowboy. Emotion is good. But don't let the emotion get in the way of focus and logic. A practice that is very emotional, but not focused burns time and energy, but accomplishes nothing. This week coming up, Friendswood will travel to Rosenberg to take on Terry. I haven't seen them yet this year, but if last year is any indication, they are huge, fast and technically sound. Anything less that the Mustangs best will not be good enough.
But what is the Mustangs' best? I sure hope we haven't seen it yet.
I spent a good portion of the drive home trying to think of a positive spin to put on tonight's game. Well, no one was injured - although the refs didn't do much to make sure that happened. The Mustangs didn't use last week's one and only kick off return play, (and this week, they actually gained some yardage while using other plays.) When the defense tackled, they used better technique. And our receivers caught most of the passes that were on target, (at least when they were open to receive the pass.)
Friendswood should not have lost this game. The Mustangs are a better team than the Gators, even if we haven't seen it yet. But, the Gators appeared to have wanted it more tonight. And that made a huge difference.
Friendswood's special teams did a better job this week. But unless there was a less than obvious strategy, the place kicker should be kicking the ball much farther. We all know you have a great leg, but the direction of the kick should be distance, not height. Better than last week, and I'm hoping that next week will be even better.
Defense - like a said, when they tackle the technique is better. I haven't seen nearly as much arm tackling as I have in the past. That is a very good thing. However, great dives only look spectacular when you catch the opponent. And if you dive and miss, or even if you don't dive, don't lay on the ground and pound your fist into the turf like a toddler. Get up and do something. And guys, how many times are you going to allow your opponent to run the ball up the middle? Granted, that play didn't always gain a lot of yards, but it worked way too often and served to pump up their players to make bigger plays. A few years ago, our defense was young, small, and notorious for being unable to stop and offensive line that wanted to run the ball. Go back, watch the films and don't repeat their mistakes. If you continue to allow the other teams offense to push you out of the way, your season will be a short one. And, does Friendswood have any sprinters on the team? If so, they need to be covering receivers. The Mustangs need someone who can chase down opponents.
Offense - there were not nearly as many dropped passes this week (although that one of the end of the game, . . .). The quarterback's throws were either on target or overthrown. Not really off to the right or left, or underthrown. That is better than last week. However, I do feel like he made some poor choices on who to throw to. He either underestimated the Dickinson defenders or overestimated his receivers ability to catch the ball under coverage. Blumrick threw two interceptions tonight. The last one was caught at the one yard line with less than a minute left in the game. Our offense also, once again, tried to run the same play several times and each time it was unsuccessful. Hey guys, we've talked about this before - remember the definition of insanity?? Oh and bobbling snaps - really guys? And yes, that was supposed to be plural - snaps. Like I said previously, I don't keep stats during the game (the newspapers do a good job of that), but I think our offense is relying too heavily on a few people. Spread the ball around more, allow more people to touch the ball. The best offenses are diverse. Relying on one or two people can get you to November and December, but not nearly as effectively and easily and spreading the love can. Of course, that's assuming all the players are capable of doing what needs to be done. If they aren't, perhaps they need to spend more time practicing. There should be at least two or three viable receivers lined up on every play. Give the quarterback real options. It's amazing what happens when the defense doesn't know what to expect.
Officials - honestly Friendswood, you got robbed. I don't normally say that. And while I often dis the officials, I actually do respect them. I don't know if I would be able to watch everything all at once. I often wonder what happened when I see a flag on the field in someplace where the ball did not travel. However, even I know the difference between a fumble, a touchdown, and a player being down. I also know that referees are supposed to stop a play when there is a lack of forward progress in order to prevent injuries to the players. I am very thankful that no one was hurt during all the times that the officials allowed that to happen. Tonight's officiating crew needs to go home and study. I'll give you a few pointers - if/when the ball is in the possession of a offensive player and breaks the plane of the goal line, the play is over and it is a touchdown. Anything that happens concerning possession of the football after the ball crosses the goal line is moot. A player can not fumble of have the ball stripped and have possession change to the other team because it is a dead ball. This mistake by the officials cost Friendswood some points tonight and those points could have changed which teamed ended up with this game in the W column. I was actually surprised that the Friendswood fans didn't protest this more. I think we were too confused by what was happening. And the players probably would have stopped the Gator who had the ball sooner if they had realized the officials mistake. During halftime, fans were watching the replay on the camcorders that were in the stands. On the video, there was no question about it. There was blue paint between our player's feet and the goal line. Another one for the officials - when a player who has possession of the ball is hit and goes down (both knees on the ground), he is down. The play is dead at this point. A player can not pick up the ball and run with a dead ball. Doing so is nothing more than a delay of the game and exercise for the player.
I forgot my program and don't have this year's jersey numbers memorized yet. So, there are players who deserve attaboys who won't get them tonight because I don't know their names and I couldn't read the names on their jerseys from where I was sitting. For this, I apologize. But for those players I do know - this week's attaboys go to Longbotham, Vandersypen, Williams, Faulk, Holle, Page and Blumrick. Yes, Blumrick threw two interceptions, but he continued to play without appearing flustered and he did make some good passes. We also saw tonight that while he is not a "track star", he does know how to run.
Hey Mustangs - let this week be a learning experience for you. I realize, it may take a few hours to calm down enough to really analyze what you did tonight, as a team and as an individual. But take the time to do that. Otherwise, this loss is meaningless. Tonight showed that the better team doesn't always come out on top. Yes, you can rightfully blame the officials for their (huge) mistakes. However, you really should have run away with this game. Those mistakes by the officials should not have made the difference between winning and losing. Pick yourselves up, dust your selves off and work your tails off this week. Otherwise, Terry HS is going to show you how it feels to be 1-2. And no one likes that feeling.
The final score for this week's game was Friendswood 30 - Dickinson 33
The Mustang's next game is on Saturday, September 14, 2013. The Mustangs will travel to Rosenberg to Traylor Stadium to take on the Terry HS Rangers. This will be the last pre-district game. If you want to know what's going on during the game, be sure to follow me on twitter, www.twitter.com/momrod2000
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am watching the game and "taking notes" by twittering during the games. I am at each game with at least one of my kids, if not both. Sometimes, my husband is able to attend with us and sometimes I have other family with me as well. My football education is from attending high school football games for 30+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I was 3 when my parents bought my first season ticket. I missed 2 home games from the time I was 3 years old through junior high, and started traveling (not missing a single game) during high school. I started taking my kids to games before they could walk and have been taking them ever since.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Friday, August 30, 2013
Alvin vs. Friendswood - August 30, 2013
Tonight, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the Alvin Yellowjackets to start the 2013 high school football season. Our defense, overall, looked better than they have looked in a good while. They weren't perfect. They gave up a few big plays. But this year's defense is faster than in years past and can read a defense better. Although, I might recommend eye exams for a few of the players. They were so close to making big plays that I think they thought they were playing horseshoes (only game where close counts). :) The tackling looked good, the speed looked good and the knowledge looked good.
Our offense was different that what we've become accustomed to. The Mustangs used two quarterbacks tonight, and neither of them really ran with the ball, even though they had the opportunity. Both quarterbacks seem to favor passing the ball, though there were a good number of running plays, which worked about as often as they didn't. As for the passing game, it wasn't bad, but I think the quarterbacks (all of them) and the receivers need to spend more time practicing together. Repetition, repetition, repetition. There were too many missed and dropped passes.. Some were off target, but not too many. The offensive line needs some more practice, too. Or maybe some more time in the weight room. They didn't always do a good job protecting the quarterback. There was a lot of punting that resulted from either the quarterback or running back not being protected.
Special teams weren't so special tonight. The place kicking was inconsistent. The kickoff run back "strategy" appeared to have "Van Meter" disease -run the same play over and over and expect a different result. To whoever is calling the plays there - can you please, please, pretty please, try something different next time. Perhaps you'll gain more than 5 yards. The place kicker sure can kick the ball high, but how far can he kick? And two failed point after attempts?
I don't mean to sound like the game was full of negatives. Some players deserve atta boys; such as Langston, Sargent, Longbotham, Faulk, & Blumrick. But what I saw on the field tonight isn't going to cut it against Texas City, Dawson or Terry. Was this a case of playing down to the opponent? If it was - shame on you. You should always put forth your best effort. Was this a case of still working out the new system and learning your teammates? If it was that's okay - just learn fast.
Final score tonight - Alvin 14 - Friendswood 36. Next Friday, the Mustangs travel to Dickinson to take on the Gators.
I'm looking forward to a great season full of exciting football (If tonight was your first Mustangs game; I promise, the games are usually much more exciting.)
Our offense was different that what we've become accustomed to. The Mustangs used two quarterbacks tonight, and neither of them really ran with the ball, even though they had the opportunity. Both quarterbacks seem to favor passing the ball, though there were a good number of running plays, which worked about as often as they didn't. As for the passing game, it wasn't bad, but I think the quarterbacks (all of them) and the receivers need to spend more time practicing together. Repetition, repetition, repetition. There were too many missed and dropped passes.. Some were off target, but not too many. The offensive line needs some more practice, too. Or maybe some more time in the weight room. They didn't always do a good job protecting the quarterback. There was a lot of punting that resulted from either the quarterback or running back not being protected.
Special teams weren't so special tonight. The place kicking was inconsistent. The kickoff run back "strategy" appeared to have "Van Meter" disease -run the same play over and over and expect a different result. To whoever is calling the plays there - can you please, please, pretty please, try something different next time. Perhaps you'll gain more than 5 yards. The place kicker sure can kick the ball high, but how far can he kick? And two failed point after attempts?
I don't mean to sound like the game was full of negatives. Some players deserve atta boys; such as Langston, Sargent, Longbotham, Faulk, & Blumrick. But what I saw on the field tonight isn't going to cut it against Texas City, Dawson or Terry. Was this a case of playing down to the opponent? If it was - shame on you. You should always put forth your best effort. Was this a case of still working out the new system and learning your teammates? If it was that's okay - just learn fast.
Final score tonight - Alvin 14 - Friendswood 36. Next Friday, the Mustangs travel to Dickinson to take on the Gators.
I'm looking forward to a great season full of exciting football (If tonight was your first Mustangs game; I promise, the games are usually much more exciting.)
Friday, October 19, 2012
Goose Creek Memorial vs. Friendswood - October 19, 2012
Tonight, the 5-1 (2-1) Friendswood Mustangs celebrated their homecoming and hosted the Goose Creek Memorial Patriots 3-2 (1-2). The was the first ever meeting between the two schools.
Homecoming activities first - The Homecoming Queen is Jillian Bergeson. The Football Sweetheart is Anna Griffith. Anna received a standing ovation when she was named Football Sweetheart, and anyone who knows her, or knows of her, will know why.
My first thought when I saw the team tonight, even before the kick off, was that the team was in the black pants again. I have said from the first time I saw the team wearing black pants - the blue and black uniforms are bad juju. And while we did win tonight, there were several aspects of the game that need work. I'm not sure if I didn't notice before because of the style of play we've been facing, or if this is a problem that is getting worse instead of better.
Before I get into all the details, let me hand out some props to some of the players who made good things happen tonight. Wood, Montalvo, Williams, Dooley, Bertlesman, Vandersyphen, Longbotham, Hill, Vail, Camarillo, Alexander, King, Wenzel, and Langston.
The Mustang offense played well most of the time tonight, but I think our coaches need to sit down and come up with a plan B, C, D, E & Plan F. Having 3 of the top rushers in the district on your sideline, and with the news that Wood made over the first few games of the season means that everyone knows how to stop our offense. If the O-Line can't open holes for Wood, and the ball carriers can't get around the opponents-D-line, our offense is going no where. Wood is getting better at the passing game, but he's not consistently accurate enough to depend upon that aspect of the game. Wood has earned a majority of his yards by running up the middle, then moving to the outside. That strategy isn't working anymore. Wood is a great athlete, he is agile, faster than many other players and can jump over obstacles, but he can't make a hole to run through. He needs the rest of the offense to block for him and create the necessary holes. That actually goes for anyone who's carrying the ball. Longbotham has become the little engine that could. I don't think the boy knows how to stop; and that's a good thing. Vandersyphen is one of the most agile players I've seen. But none of them can win alone. Our offense needs to work on becoming more diverse. That said, tonight, they did what had to be done to win the game. There was one trick play that worked (we haven't seen many trick plays this season). Wood pass the ball (laterally) to Williams, who passed it back to Wood. They passed the ball almost the width of the field each time. Wood was able to make it to the end zone, but a penalty called the play back.
There were too many penalties tonight as well. I think our team was get frustrated. I know it's hard to stay calm when things aren't going well, but you have to. That's when mistakes are made.
Now to the Mustangs inconsistent defense. For as long as I can remember, our defense has struggled to defend against the pass, and it's an issue that seems to be getting worse instead of better. It seems that the strategy is to be sure to give the opponent as much room as possible to catch the pass, then try to stop him from running to the end zone. This is a stupid strategy, for many reasons. How many first downs and yards has the team given up by doing this? The answer is too many. And how many points have been given up, I don't even want to count. I understand wanting to prevent pass interference calls, however, . . . . At one point this evening, One of the Mustangs who was lined up to defend a receiver ran away from the receiver toward the quarterback. This left 1 Mustang to defend against 2 receivers. I think anyone can see this problem with this set up. We're just lucky that the pass was dropped. And if he thought that the Patriots were going to run the ball, he needs more practice at reading an offense. I think it was fairly obvious that the Patriots were going to pass the ball. Camarillo usually does the best job of all the Mustangs at defending against the pass, but . . . . And Camarillo and Longbotham both do a great job of getting to the receiver after he has the ball, but again; but . . . .
I do however, need to give props to Dooley for recovering 2 fumbles tonight. And props to everyone who helped make those fumbles happen.
How many interceptions have the Mustangs caught this year? How does that compare to years past? How many opportunities did the Mustangs have for an interception? And hoe many of those opportunities did a player make the attempt? These number would be very telling.
If they don't already do it, the coaches need to go over the game film with the players. I think they all would be surprised if they paused and measured just how open the receivers are. That kind of defense will get crushed at The Rig next week.
Dawson is not going to drop passes all night long. Neither are they going to miss passes. Dawson is ranked #1 in the state for a reason, and it's not because the don't take advantage of every opportunity given by their opponents. You can bet that Dawson will make Friendswood pay for every mistake they make, whether it's a mistake in execution or strategy. And the one thing I do not want to listen to all night next week is that screaming Eagle. Last year, that eagle screeched every time Dawson scored or earned a first down. That was like fingernails on a chalkboard and we heard it way too many times last year. I truly hope that the players and coaches do everything necessary to shut that thing up, Or better yet, just make sure it doesn't make any noise all night long.
I will be at The Rig cheering for the Mustangs next week. Will you?
Tonights boxscore
Goose Creek 0 7 0 0 7
Friendswood 0 14 0 10 24
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Friendswood Mustangs vs. Texas City Stingarees October 12, 2012
Last night, the Friendswood Mustangs traveled to Texas City to take on the Texas City Stingarees. The Mustangs entered the game 5-0 (2-0) and Texas City entered the game 3-2 (1-1). I think everyone expected this to be a night that Texas City sought revenge for their one point loss to the Mustangs last year that sent the Mustangs to the playoffs and forced Texas City to end their season earlier than they had hoped. Many people said that this would be the game for second place on the district. I was hoping that they were wrong, and they still may be, but it looked as though they were right.
Before I get to my thoughts on the game, let me hand out some well deserved "atta boys". Some of the players who made good things happen last night were Wood, Faulk, Faulk (yes, there were two Faulks who played well), Bertlesman, Hill, Vandersypen, Montalvo, Camarillo, and the "Brian Cushing award" goes to Longbotham.
Friendswood did not have the game they were hoping for last night. I wish I could say that our offensive line didn't play up to their usual standard, or that our defense didn't do what they needed to, and leave it at that. Both of those statements are true, but there was something else going on last night. I wish I could put my finger on it, but something was off. Vail & Wood were not in sync on all of their snaps, and it wasn't just one snap that was bobbled or low. Holes were not opened they way they usually are. Players did not block for the ball carrier they way they usually do. I'm not sure . . . Maybe there are some players who were sick; or maybe some of them pulled an all-nighter cramming for school on Thursday night (and if that's the case, shame on whoever put them in that position); maybe they didn't prepare for this game the way they should have; or maybe they came to Texas City with a chip on their shoulder (and if so, it's a good thing the Stingarees knocked it off before the Mustangs travel to The Rig in two weeks). I'm not looking to make excuses for the Mustangs. Texas City has a good football team and they played well last night. After what they did in Pearland last week, everyone expected them to come out and play hard for a full 48 minutes last night. But I wish I knew why the Mustangs weren't playing as well as they can. I'm not trying to make excuses for poor play. I'm just saying that there was something else going on as well.
Friendswood still struggles with a weak (almost nonexistent) secondary. This is a problem that seems to have gotten worse over the last few years instead of better. It took a "play" by a determined Friendswood sophomore to bring our defense to life near the end of the first quarter (maybe the beginning of the second). And they played better for the rest of the game afterward. This play led to Longbotham's "Brian Cushing award.". After being hit so that his helmet came off, Longbotham continued to play and was the only Mustang to chase down the ball carrier (I think it was one of the Foremans) to prevent a touchdown. Longbotham didn't know that there was a penalty for an illegal block that was bringing the ball back anyway. And he received a personal foul for continuing to play without a helmet. But he obviously was doing everything in his power to prevent that touchdown. I heard later, from a reliable source, that when Longbotham's helmet came off, it didn't even come unbuckled. When he went back to pick it up, all the straps were still secure. I wish I'd seen that hit. But that brings up an interesting real world application issue. Obviously, it's incredible dangerous for players to be playing without helmets. But when a helmet is knocked off during a play, what should happen? If the play continues, and the player removes himself from the action, the team who hit a player hard enough to cause that is rewarded by having one more active player on the field than it's opponent. Another player cannot be substituted in during the play, and if he could, he would not be in the right place to be effective. However, allowing the player to continue to play without the helmet puts him at risk of serious injury. So, what to do? I disagree with the ruling made last night - a personal foul (15 yard penalty) against the player who no longer has a helmet. His lack of helmet was not his fault, and with the straps still being secure while the helmet was on the ground, it would appear that he did nothing to put himself in that position. Would a personal foul penalty against the player who caused the helmet to come off be more appropriate? That would discourage players from giving those kinds of hits. But would "dirty" players "accidentally forget" to secure their helmets before a play to "draw the foul"? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Now, to the aspect of the game that should never have happened; was wrong in every way; and should not be tolerated - unfair officiating. The officiating last night was not as poor as the playoff game between Friendswood and Dawson a couple of years ago, but it was obviously biased. Waiting seconds after a player was down to blow the whistle, and then declaring a fumble long after the ball carrier was down? Watching one team repeatedly cross the line of scrimmage and leaving the flag in the ref's pocket? Allowing pass interference? Watching obvious holding and doing nothing about it? There were several times during the game that I wish we had the NFL's replay, zooming, and slow motion capabilities. If so, those officials would no longer be working in high school football. It was terrible. And what was also upsetting was our coaches reaction to the poor officiating. I know that we all try to teach our kids to respect authority, and that booing or arguing with officials is wrong. But what does it teach them when we don't stand up for them? It looked like of the of the players felt like his coaches wouldn't do it, so it was his job to make the officials aware that he was being illegally held during a play. I'm not sure what Friendswood ever did to any of the officials to cause them to blatantly dislike Friendswood, but it became obvious a few years ago, and while it has gotten better, it still shouldn't be happening at all. There is absolutely no excuse for unfair or poor officiating.
But, I must also give credit to the way the Mustangs handled the bad calls. They never gave up. They continued to play hard and work to win. It would have been very easy to throw in the towel, but they never did. Good job boys.
The next game is Friendswoo's homecoming. The Mustangs will host the Goose Creek Memorial Patriots. I am hopeful that the team will not be sidetracked by all the homecoming activities and think that becuase Goose Creek doesn't have a good record, they are not worthy of adequite preperation. The Mustangs cannot overlook the Patriots and start thinking about Dawson. The rest of the season must be taken one week and one team at a time. I'm sure that the coaches and players will work to fix whatever problems the players were struggling with last night, Let's see some real Mustang football this week.
Friendswood 7 7 7 0 21
Texas City 21 14 21 7 63
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am watching the game and "taking notes" by twittering during the games. I am at each game with at least one of my kids, if not both. Sometimes, my husband is able to attend with us and sometimes I have other family with me as well. My football education is from attending high school football games for 30+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I was 3 when my parents bought my first season ticket. I missed 2 home games from the time I was 3 years old through junior high, and started traveling (not missing a single game) during high school. I started taking my kids to games before they could walk and have been taking them ever since.
Before I get to my thoughts on the game, let me hand out some well deserved "atta boys". Some of the players who made good things happen last night were Wood, Faulk, Faulk (yes, there were two Faulks who played well), Bertlesman, Hill, Vandersypen, Montalvo, Camarillo, and the "Brian Cushing award" goes to Longbotham.
Friendswood did not have the game they were hoping for last night. I wish I could say that our offensive line didn't play up to their usual standard, or that our defense didn't do what they needed to, and leave it at that. Both of those statements are true, but there was something else going on last night. I wish I could put my finger on it, but something was off. Vail & Wood were not in sync on all of their snaps, and it wasn't just one snap that was bobbled or low. Holes were not opened they way they usually are. Players did not block for the ball carrier they way they usually do. I'm not sure . . . Maybe there are some players who were sick; or maybe some of them pulled an all-nighter cramming for school on Thursday night (and if that's the case, shame on whoever put them in that position); maybe they didn't prepare for this game the way they should have; or maybe they came to Texas City with a chip on their shoulder (and if so, it's a good thing the Stingarees knocked it off before the Mustangs travel to The Rig in two weeks). I'm not looking to make excuses for the Mustangs. Texas City has a good football team and they played well last night. After what they did in Pearland last week, everyone expected them to come out and play hard for a full 48 minutes last night. But I wish I knew why the Mustangs weren't playing as well as they can. I'm not trying to make excuses for poor play. I'm just saying that there was something else going on as well.
Friendswood still struggles with a weak (almost nonexistent) secondary. This is a problem that seems to have gotten worse over the last few years instead of better. It took a "play" by a determined Friendswood sophomore to bring our defense to life near the end of the first quarter (maybe the beginning of the second). And they played better for the rest of the game afterward. This play led to Longbotham's "Brian Cushing award.". After being hit so that his helmet came off, Longbotham continued to play and was the only Mustang to chase down the ball carrier (I think it was one of the Foremans) to prevent a touchdown. Longbotham didn't know that there was a penalty for an illegal block that was bringing the ball back anyway. And he received a personal foul for continuing to play without a helmet. But he obviously was doing everything in his power to prevent that touchdown. I heard later, from a reliable source, that when Longbotham's helmet came off, it didn't even come unbuckled. When he went back to pick it up, all the straps were still secure. I wish I'd seen that hit. But that brings up an interesting real world application issue. Obviously, it's incredible dangerous for players to be playing without helmets. But when a helmet is knocked off during a play, what should happen? If the play continues, and the player removes himself from the action, the team who hit a player hard enough to cause that is rewarded by having one more active player on the field than it's opponent. Another player cannot be substituted in during the play, and if he could, he would not be in the right place to be effective. However, allowing the player to continue to play without the helmet puts him at risk of serious injury. So, what to do? I disagree with the ruling made last night - a personal foul (15 yard penalty) against the player who no longer has a helmet. His lack of helmet was not his fault, and with the straps still being secure while the helmet was on the ground, it would appear that he did nothing to put himself in that position. Would a personal foul penalty against the player who caused the helmet to come off be more appropriate? That would discourage players from giving those kinds of hits. But would "dirty" players "accidentally forget" to secure their helmets before a play to "draw the foul"? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Now, to the aspect of the game that should never have happened; was wrong in every way; and should not be tolerated - unfair officiating. The officiating last night was not as poor as the playoff game between Friendswood and Dawson a couple of years ago, but it was obviously biased. Waiting seconds after a player was down to blow the whistle, and then declaring a fumble long after the ball carrier was down? Watching one team repeatedly cross the line of scrimmage and leaving the flag in the ref's pocket? Allowing pass interference? Watching obvious holding and doing nothing about it? There were several times during the game that I wish we had the NFL's replay, zooming, and slow motion capabilities. If so, those officials would no longer be working in high school football. It was terrible. And what was also upsetting was our coaches reaction to the poor officiating. I know that we all try to teach our kids to respect authority, and that booing or arguing with officials is wrong. But what does it teach them when we don't stand up for them? It looked like of the of the players felt like his coaches wouldn't do it, so it was his job to make the officials aware that he was being illegally held during a play. I'm not sure what Friendswood ever did to any of the officials to cause them to blatantly dislike Friendswood, but it became obvious a few years ago, and while it has gotten better, it still shouldn't be happening at all. There is absolutely no excuse for unfair or poor officiating.
But, I must also give credit to the way the Mustangs handled the bad calls. They never gave up. They continued to play hard and work to win. It would have been very easy to throw in the towel, but they never did. Good job boys.
The next game is Friendswoo's homecoming. The Mustangs will host the Goose Creek Memorial Patriots. I am hopeful that the team will not be sidetracked by all the homecoming activities and think that becuase Goose Creek doesn't have a good record, they are not worthy of adequite preperation. The Mustangs cannot overlook the Patriots and start thinking about Dawson. The rest of the season must be taken one week and one team at a time. I'm sure that the coaches and players will work to fix whatever problems the players were struggling with last night, Let's see some real Mustang football this week.
Friendswood 7 7 7 0 21
Texas City 21 14 21 7 63
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am watching the game and "taking notes" by twittering during the games. I am at each game with at least one of my kids, if not both. Sometimes, my husband is able to attend with us and sometimes I have other family with me as well. My football education is from attending high school football games for 30+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I was 3 when my parents bought my first season ticket. I missed 2 home games from the time I was 3 years old through junior high, and started traveling (not missing a single game) during high school. I started taking my kids to games before they could walk and have been taking them ever since.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Santa Fe vs. Friendswood October 5, 2012
Last night, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the Santa Fe Indians at Henry Winston Stadium. Santa Fe came into the game 0-4(0-1) and Friendswood came in 4-0(1-0) after a record setting game against Galena Park with a scoreboard that more closely resembled a basketball game than a football game.
First off, some of the players deserving "atta boys" are Jordan Wood, Colin Faulk, Sam Longbotham, Jonah Vandersypen, Michael Hill, Michael Montalvo, Slade Holle, Ryan Bertlesman, Walker Williams, Garrett Wenzel, Anthony Makransky, and Sean White. I have no doubt that there are other players deserving of "atta boys", but I didn't see everything that everyone did. So, if you played last night, give yourself a pat on the back.
Each week, Friendswood gets better about penalties. Last night, I counted 8 penalties. And only 2 of those were against Friendswood. The entire team is improving. Our defense was able to swarm the ball carrier regularly. The pass coverage is also improving, though it's still not quite as good as it was about 4 years ago. Santa Fe didn't throw the ball much, which may be why I didn't notice Camarillo's pass coverage, but I did notice Makransky. He did well. Our defense is still playing too far off the receivers, then trying to race them once a receiver has the ball. This can work against a team on slugs. But anyone with speed will waltz right past us. One thing our defense did do well last night against the passing game was preventing the ball from getting to the receivers. More than once, passes were batted down and nearly intercepted.
Our offense was on fire again last night. So much so, that many of the back up players played the second half. In fact, I didn't see Jordan Wood set foot on the field during the entire second half. I saw immediately that Faulk was in at QB for the second half, but I thought Wood might work on is free safety skills; you know, just for fun.
I am very much looking forward to next week's game. Friendswood will travel to Texas City to take on the Stingarees.
Santa Fe 0 0 0 14 14
Friendswood 21 21 20 0 62
First off, some of the players deserving "atta boys" are Jordan Wood, Colin Faulk, Sam Longbotham, Jonah Vandersypen, Michael Hill, Michael Montalvo, Slade Holle, Ryan Bertlesman, Walker Williams, Garrett Wenzel, Anthony Makransky, and Sean White. I have no doubt that there are other players deserving of "atta boys", but I didn't see everything that everyone did. So, if you played last night, give yourself a pat on the back.
Each week, Friendswood gets better about penalties. Last night, I counted 8 penalties. And only 2 of those were against Friendswood. The entire team is improving. Our defense was able to swarm the ball carrier regularly. The pass coverage is also improving, though it's still not quite as good as it was about 4 years ago. Santa Fe didn't throw the ball much, which may be why I didn't notice Camarillo's pass coverage, but I did notice Makransky. He did well. Our defense is still playing too far off the receivers, then trying to race them once a receiver has the ball. This can work against a team on slugs. But anyone with speed will waltz right past us. One thing our defense did do well last night against the passing game was preventing the ball from getting to the receivers. More than once, passes were batted down and nearly intercepted.
Our offense was on fire again last night. So much so, that many of the back up players played the second half. In fact, I didn't see Jordan Wood set foot on the field during the entire second half. I saw immediately that Faulk was in at QB for the second half, but I thought Wood might work on is free safety skills; you know, just for fun.
I am very much looking forward to next week's game. Friendswood will travel to Texas City to take on the Stingarees.
Santa Fe 0 0 0 14 14
Friendswood 21 21 20 0 62
Friday, September 14, 2012
Rosenberg Terry vs. Friendswood - September 14, 2012
First, please allow me to act like my teenage daughter for a minute - OMG! OMG! OMG!
Okay, I think I might have gotten that out of my system. Where do I even begin with tonight's game. How about with my pregame research. Since two of the best sports writers the Galveston County Daily News have ever had left Galveston County and now have a much larger audience, I haven't been able to find nearly as much good information on our opponents. That is, unless our opponent is a team I already know about. For example, I tried to research Rosenberg Terry this week. I found a small amount of information on the Fort Bend Herald's website. And a little more on the Houston Chronicle's website. But I didn't find nearly as much information as I would have liked. I was able to find out that, depending on which poll you read, Terry came into this game ranked as the #8 or #13 4A team in the state. Although, I think I may have come across something that our coaches didn't see. That little pitch play they ran that gained them yards every time and points sometimes - well, someone posted video of them running it against Clear Falls. It worked against them, too. Other than that video, I was able to deduce from the information on the Chronicle's website that the Rangers like to run the ball, run it well, and don't pass very often. And we saw some of that tonight.
Terry had obviously did their homework on Friendswood. The first quarter was very rough for Friendswood. It took Terry about two play to run right past Friendswood and find the end zone - 63 yards from where they started. Friendswood spend most of the rest of the first quarter trying to get some points on the board. After a lot of hard work, the boys had to settle for a field goal and three points. A couple of snaps later, Makransky recovered a Terry fumble at the Terry 8 yard line. 1 minute 39 seconds after the first field goal Friendswood has to settle for a second field goal. And 45 seconds later, Terry found the end zone; however, they had already had their only extra point success of the night. So to end the first quarter, the score was Terry 13 - Friendswood 6.
During the second quarter, Terry continued to do what they'd been doing. Why change what's working? I can't pin point any real changes that Friendswood made, but I would say that the defense continued to learn the Terry offense. Each team scored during the second quarter, but Terry scored twice and Friendswood scored once.
The third quarter was where Friendswood began to make their intentions known. They intended to win. The Mustangs were no longer just keeping things close - Friendswood scored 21 points during the third quarter, while Terry only scored 13. This was now a 5 point game.
I think most of the stadium spent the fourth quarter on their feet. Friendswood took the lead for the first time with 7:06 left in the game and never gave it back. With a score of 39-40, Friendswood decided to go for 2 after the touchdown. The conversion was good, but there was a penalty on the play - never did find out the cause for that penalty. On the second try, Friendswood was called for illegal motion. Third attempt - I guess Wood's line of sight was blocked, because he had an open receiver near the 1 yard line. However, by the time he threw the ball, the receiver was at the back of the end zone and under heavy coverage. The pass was overthrown and incomplete. Terry got the ball back, but wasn't able to do anything with it. Thanks to the Friendswood defense, the ball went back to Friendswood on downs. With 1 minute 49 second left in the game, Friendswood found the end zone again. This time, Friendswood chose to kick; which I admit is not what I thought they would do. The kick was good, and the score was Terry 39 - Friendswood 47. Terry managed the clock well and made some good plays to get them back to the end zone with 14 seconds left on the clock. The game came down to the two point conversion attempt. After a delay of game penalty against Terry, the pass was incomplete. The final score for the game was Rosenberg Terry Rangers 45 - Friendswood Mustangs 47.
Yes, you read that right, the non-ranked Friendswood Mustangs defeated the #13 ranked Terry Rangers.
Thoughts from the game:
This is my 6th season to watch the Friendswood Mustangs. Friendswood has always done a good job of learning their opponent during the half and making the necessary adjustments at half time. The Mustang's strength has always been the ability to find the end zone, over and over again. And the place where the team has struggled has been the defense. Our offense has had to run up the score to overcome all the points the defense allowed. So far, this year is no exception. Our defense has improved over the last week. And they were facing an offense that averaged almost 400 yards/game over the first two games. I was very worried coming into the game, and the first half of the first quarter seemed to validate my fears.
And. I don't know why, but the Mustang offense suffered from a severe case of slippery hands syndrome tonight. What happened? Did someone bring a jar of axle grease and tell everyone it was rubber cement? I don't remember the last time I saw the Mustangs drop that many passes and fumble that many times. Just before Terry's first turnover, I told my husband that if Terry mishandled the ball Friendswood would take advantage of it. I never imagined that Terry would be taking advantage of so many of the Mustangs' mistakes.
Our offensive line did a great job of protecting Wood tonight. I don't recall any really hard hits he took tonight. That is a good thing.
Our defense improved throughout the game when it came to stopping the run, however, our pass protection seems to have gone backwards.
Some of the players who made good things happen tonight were: Wood, Longbotham, Vandersypen, Williams, Holle, Hill, Varner, Makransky, Montalvo (I think he is the faster sprinter on our defense), Camarillo, & Langston.
Scoreboard 1st 2nd 3rd 4th final
Terry 13 13 13 6 45
Friendswood 6 7 21 13 47
Next week, the Friendswood Mustangs have a Bye Week. The next game for the Mustangs will be against Galena Park at the Galena Park ISD stadium. As of right now, I don't know if I'll be able to attend, due to my oldest daughter having something that night. I'm trying to decide if I can leave Friendswood at 6:30 and be back before 11pm. And if I do, how much of the game would I have to miss.
Something Fun:
Tonight was the annual Wranglerette Pre-game dinner. I always love this dinner. I was able to watch my daughter dance with the other Fall Clinic participants. Hopefully, next year she'll be dancing in a Drill Trainers uniform.
Being the Wranglerette Pre-game Dinner night also means that it was the annual Daddy Daughter Dance during halftime. This year, the dads dressed up as super heroes. If you're my friend on facebook, I posted a video of the dance there.
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am watching the game and "taking notes" by twittering during the games. I am at each game with at least one of my kids, if not both. Sometimes, my husband is able to attend with us and sometimes I have other family with me as well. My football education is from attending high school football games for 30+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I was 3 when my parents bought my first season ticket. I missed 2 home games from the time I was 3 years old through junior high, and started traveling (not missing a single game) during high school. I started taking my kids to games before they could walk and have been taking them ever since.
Okay, I think I might have gotten that out of my system. Where do I even begin with tonight's game. How about with my pregame research. Since two of the best sports writers the Galveston County Daily News have ever had left Galveston County and now have a much larger audience, I haven't been able to find nearly as much good information on our opponents. That is, unless our opponent is a team I already know about. For example, I tried to research Rosenberg Terry this week. I found a small amount of information on the Fort Bend Herald's website. And a little more on the Houston Chronicle's website. But I didn't find nearly as much information as I would have liked. I was able to find out that, depending on which poll you read, Terry came into this game ranked as the #8 or #13 4A team in the state. Although, I think I may have come across something that our coaches didn't see. That little pitch play they ran that gained them yards every time and points sometimes - well, someone posted video of them running it against Clear Falls. It worked against them, too. Other than that video, I was able to deduce from the information on the Chronicle's website that the Rangers like to run the ball, run it well, and don't pass very often. And we saw some of that tonight.
Terry had obviously did their homework on Friendswood. The first quarter was very rough for Friendswood. It took Terry about two play to run right past Friendswood and find the end zone - 63 yards from where they started. Friendswood spend most of the rest of the first quarter trying to get some points on the board. After a lot of hard work, the boys had to settle for a field goal and three points. A couple of snaps later, Makransky recovered a Terry fumble at the Terry 8 yard line. 1 minute 39 seconds after the first field goal Friendswood has to settle for a second field goal. And 45 seconds later, Terry found the end zone; however, they had already had their only extra point success of the night. So to end the first quarter, the score was Terry 13 - Friendswood 6.
During the second quarter, Terry continued to do what they'd been doing. Why change what's working? I can't pin point any real changes that Friendswood made, but I would say that the defense continued to learn the Terry offense. Each team scored during the second quarter, but Terry scored twice and Friendswood scored once.
The third quarter was where Friendswood began to make their intentions known. They intended to win. The Mustangs were no longer just keeping things close - Friendswood scored 21 points during the third quarter, while Terry only scored 13. This was now a 5 point game.
I think most of the stadium spent the fourth quarter on their feet. Friendswood took the lead for the first time with 7:06 left in the game and never gave it back. With a score of 39-40, Friendswood decided to go for 2 after the touchdown. The conversion was good, but there was a penalty on the play - never did find out the cause for that penalty. On the second try, Friendswood was called for illegal motion. Third attempt - I guess Wood's line of sight was blocked, because he had an open receiver near the 1 yard line. However, by the time he threw the ball, the receiver was at the back of the end zone and under heavy coverage. The pass was overthrown and incomplete. Terry got the ball back, but wasn't able to do anything with it. Thanks to the Friendswood defense, the ball went back to Friendswood on downs. With 1 minute 49 second left in the game, Friendswood found the end zone again. This time, Friendswood chose to kick; which I admit is not what I thought they would do. The kick was good, and the score was Terry 39 - Friendswood 47. Terry managed the clock well and made some good plays to get them back to the end zone with 14 seconds left on the clock. The game came down to the two point conversion attempt. After a delay of game penalty against Terry, the pass was incomplete. The final score for the game was Rosenberg Terry Rangers 45 - Friendswood Mustangs 47.
Yes, you read that right, the non-ranked Friendswood Mustangs defeated the #13 ranked Terry Rangers.
Thoughts from the game:
This is my 6th season to watch the Friendswood Mustangs. Friendswood has always done a good job of learning their opponent during the half and making the necessary adjustments at half time. The Mustang's strength has always been the ability to find the end zone, over and over again. And the place where the team has struggled has been the defense. Our offense has had to run up the score to overcome all the points the defense allowed. So far, this year is no exception. Our defense has improved over the last week. And they were facing an offense that averaged almost 400 yards/game over the first two games. I was very worried coming into the game, and the first half of the first quarter seemed to validate my fears.
And. I don't know why, but the Mustang offense suffered from a severe case of slippery hands syndrome tonight. What happened? Did someone bring a jar of axle grease and tell everyone it was rubber cement? I don't remember the last time I saw the Mustangs drop that many passes and fumble that many times. Just before Terry's first turnover, I told my husband that if Terry mishandled the ball Friendswood would take advantage of it. I never imagined that Terry would be taking advantage of so many of the Mustangs' mistakes.
Our offensive line did a great job of protecting Wood tonight. I don't recall any really hard hits he took tonight. That is a good thing.
Our defense improved throughout the game when it came to stopping the run, however, our pass protection seems to have gone backwards.
Some of the players who made good things happen tonight were: Wood, Longbotham, Vandersypen, Williams, Holle, Hill, Varner, Makransky, Montalvo (I think he is the faster sprinter on our defense), Camarillo, & Langston.
Scoreboard 1st 2nd 3rd 4th final
Terry 13 13 13 6 45
Friendswood 6 7 21 13 47
Next week, the Friendswood Mustangs have a Bye Week. The next game for the Mustangs will be against Galena Park at the Galena Park ISD stadium. As of right now, I don't know if I'll be able to attend, due to my oldest daughter having something that night. I'm trying to decide if I can leave Friendswood at 6:30 and be back before 11pm. And if I do, how much of the game would I have to miss.
Something Fun:
Tonight was the annual Wranglerette Pre-game dinner. I always love this dinner. I was able to watch my daughter dance with the other Fall Clinic participants. Hopefully, next year she'll be dancing in a Drill Trainers uniform.
Being the Wranglerette Pre-game Dinner night also means that it was the annual Daddy Daughter Dance during halftime. This year, the dads dressed up as super heroes. If you're my friend on facebook, I posted a video of the dance there.
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am watching the game and "taking notes" by twittering during the games. I am at each game with at least one of my kids, if not both. Sometimes, my husband is able to attend with us and sometimes I have other family with me as well. My football education is from attending high school football games for 30+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I was 3 when my parents bought my first season ticket. I missed 2 home games from the time I was 3 years old through junior high, and started traveling (not missing a single game) during high school. I started taking my kids to games before they could walk and have been taking them ever since.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Dickinson vs. Friendswood - September 7, 2012
This week was an interesting game for me. This week, Friendswood (my current home and favorite place to live) hosted Dickinson (where I grew up and went to school). I had family sitting on both sides of the stadium, and both were cheering for both teams. Like I said, interesting. It was nice to not only see some good football, but I also got to watch my nephew march in the gator band from the comfort of my stadium seat in my home stadium.
Before the game, one of my relatives told me that unless the Mustangs "roll over and play dead", the game would be an easy win for Friendswood. During the first half of the first quarter, I told her that the Mustangs did have a weakness that the Gators could exploit. Then I asked her how fast the Gators were. On the very next snap, one of the Gators went through the hole and made it to the end zone. I guess I need to remember to keep my mouth shut. It was not pleasant to see the Gators on the board first after they got stomped last week. It seemed like it took the Mustangs a while to get going, but once they did, . . . I've always said that the Mustangs improved throughout the course of a game, and we're usually more of a second half team.
Before I get into too many details, let me dole out some well deserved "atta boys". Last night, some of the players who made good things happen are; Wood, Camarillo, Longbothom, Vandersypen, Hill, Bertlesman, Williams, Montalvo, Horner, King, Dooley, Wegner, Makransky, Holle, & Simmons. And props to King for stripping the ball from the Gators after his fumble was recovered by them.
I think last night could be summed up as a game of penalties. According to my count, there were a total of 22 penalties last night - 12 for Dickinson and 10 for Friendswood. It felt like every other play there was a flag on the field. The Gators got most of their penalties in the first half, while Friendswood waited until the second half to start raking in those flags. However, Friendswood was called more than once for a kick going out of bounds without being touched. While I understand the reasoning behind that rule, I don't think it's right for a team to be penalized when their opponent watches the ball bounce out of bounds without trying to catch/stop it. But then that gets into subjective officiating, and no one wants that.
I would also say that Dickinson watched the tape from our game against Alvin, because they knew what they needed to do to get on the score board. The first half of the first quarter, I was really concerned that Dickinson would run all over the field last night. And while they did get too many big runs, our defense is better than last year. Our defense is definitely improving. (But some of those holes were still big enough to drive an 18-wheeler through.) The Mustangs still need to practice stopping the run game.
It was really nice to see the improvement in the pass coverage. That is something that has gotten under my skin for the last few years. There were a few times that our pass coverage was looking like the past, but the Gators receivers had butterfingers last night, so we didn't have to pay for those mistakes. The defense played tight on the receivers more last night than they did in games past. THANK YOU!! Camarillo did a great job with this last night!
It was interesting to watch Longbothom and Vandersypen run the ball. I'm glad we will get to watch them for more than just this season, as they are both sophomores. They are both good, but they are good in different ways. I wish I had the stats on this, but going on memory, I think the Gators sacked Wood more than the Yellowjackets did last week. However, those sacks looked less painful. I'm not sure if it was the way Wood was sacked, or if he was feeling better, or a better actor, but he seemed to get up quicker this week than last. I hope that our offensive line continues to improve in this aspect.
I haven't read the stats from last night, but I think more Mustangs got their hands on the ball last night - and with the number of times the Mustangs were in the end zone, that's a good thing. One stat that was announced last night - total yardage during the 3rd quarter (combined Gators and Mustangs) was 300+. I don't remember the exact number, but it was either 328 or 348. That was probably the longest quarter I've ever seen. I wish I knew exactly how long it was, but according to my twitter posts from last night, it was at least an hour long. And you could tell by the way the boys were playing that they were ready for it to be over (and that better not be because some one's Monster wore off. I hope they've learned their lessons about drinking those before a game.)
While the final score last night was a difference of 3 touchdowns, it also highlighted things that the Mustangs have improved and things that still need to improve (of course, there's always room to improve, even for the pros).
The score board from the night was:
Gators 7 0 14 7 28
Mustangs 0 21 21 7 49
If you want to read my play by play from the game, you can follow me on twitter, @momrod2000
A final thought - and this is for all coaches, everywhere - Pay attention to who is around you when you're talking game strategy. I don't think any coach would want their opponents to know if they were planning to do something a little different.
The next game for Friendswood will be Friday, September 14, 2012, at Henry Winston Stadium. The Mustangs will host the state ranked Terry Rangers. Before the game, the Wranglerettes will host a pregame Chick-Fil-A dinner in the cafeteria beginning at 5pm. Performing at the dinner will be the Wranglerettes, Drill Trainers and Fall clinic participants.
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am watching the game and "taking notes" by twittering during the games. I am at each game with at least one of my kids, if not both. Sometimes, my husband is able to attend with us and sometimes I have other family with me as well. My football education is from attending high school football games for 30+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I was 3 when my parents bought my first season ticket. I missed 2 home games from the time I was 3 years old through junior high, and started traveling (not missing a single game) during high school. I started taking my kids to games before they could walk and have been taking them ever since.
Before the game, one of my relatives told me that unless the Mustangs "roll over and play dead", the game would be an easy win for Friendswood. During the first half of the first quarter, I told her that the Mustangs did have a weakness that the Gators could exploit. Then I asked her how fast the Gators were. On the very next snap, one of the Gators went through the hole and made it to the end zone. I guess I need to remember to keep my mouth shut. It was not pleasant to see the Gators on the board first after they got stomped last week. It seemed like it took the Mustangs a while to get going, but once they did, . . . I've always said that the Mustangs improved throughout the course of a game, and we're usually more of a second half team.
Before I get into too many details, let me dole out some well deserved "atta boys". Last night, some of the players who made good things happen are; Wood, Camarillo, Longbothom, Vandersypen, Hill, Bertlesman, Williams, Montalvo, Horner, King, Dooley, Wegner, Makransky, Holle, & Simmons. And props to King for stripping the ball from the Gators after his fumble was recovered by them.
I think last night could be summed up as a game of penalties. According to my count, there were a total of 22 penalties last night - 12 for Dickinson and 10 for Friendswood. It felt like every other play there was a flag on the field. The Gators got most of their penalties in the first half, while Friendswood waited until the second half to start raking in those flags. However, Friendswood was called more than once for a kick going out of bounds without being touched. While I understand the reasoning behind that rule, I don't think it's right for a team to be penalized when their opponent watches the ball bounce out of bounds without trying to catch/stop it. But then that gets into subjective officiating, and no one wants that.
I would also say that Dickinson watched the tape from our game against Alvin, because they knew what they needed to do to get on the score board. The first half of the first quarter, I was really concerned that Dickinson would run all over the field last night. And while they did get too many big runs, our defense is better than last year. Our defense is definitely improving. (But some of those holes were still big enough to drive an 18-wheeler through.) The Mustangs still need to practice stopping the run game.
It was really nice to see the improvement in the pass coverage. That is something that has gotten under my skin for the last few years. There were a few times that our pass coverage was looking like the past, but the Gators receivers had butterfingers last night, so we didn't have to pay for those mistakes. The defense played tight on the receivers more last night than they did in games past. THANK YOU!! Camarillo did a great job with this last night!
It was interesting to watch Longbothom and Vandersypen run the ball. I'm glad we will get to watch them for more than just this season, as they are both sophomores. They are both good, but they are good in different ways. I wish I had the stats on this, but going on memory, I think the Gators sacked Wood more than the Yellowjackets did last week. However, those sacks looked less painful. I'm not sure if it was the way Wood was sacked, or if he was feeling better, or a better actor, but he seemed to get up quicker this week than last. I hope that our offensive line continues to improve in this aspect.
I haven't read the stats from last night, but I think more Mustangs got their hands on the ball last night - and with the number of times the Mustangs were in the end zone, that's a good thing. One stat that was announced last night - total yardage during the 3rd quarter (combined Gators and Mustangs) was 300+. I don't remember the exact number, but it was either 328 or 348. That was probably the longest quarter I've ever seen. I wish I knew exactly how long it was, but according to my twitter posts from last night, it was at least an hour long. And you could tell by the way the boys were playing that they were ready for it to be over (and that better not be because some one's Monster wore off. I hope they've learned their lessons about drinking those before a game.)
While the final score last night was a difference of 3 touchdowns, it also highlighted things that the Mustangs have improved and things that still need to improve (of course, there's always room to improve, even for the pros).
The score board from the night was:
Gators 7 0 14 7 28
Mustangs 0 21 21 7 49
If you want to read my play by play from the game, you can follow me on twitter, @momrod2000
A final thought - and this is for all coaches, everywhere - Pay attention to who is around you when you're talking game strategy. I don't think any coach would want their opponents to know if they were planning to do something a little different.
The next game for Friendswood will be Friday, September 14, 2012, at Henry Winston Stadium. The Mustangs will host the state ranked Terry Rangers. Before the game, the Wranglerettes will host a pregame Chick-Fil-A dinner in the cafeteria beginning at 5pm. Performing at the dinner will be the Wranglerettes, Drill Trainers and Fall clinic participants.
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am watching the game and "taking notes" by twittering during the games. I am at each game with at least one of my kids, if not both. Sometimes, my husband is able to attend with us and sometimes I have other family with me as well. My football education is from attending high school football games for 30+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I was 3 when my parents bought my first season ticket. I missed 2 home games from the time I was 3 years old through junior high, and started traveling (not missing a single game) during high school. I started taking my kids to games before they could walk and have been taking them ever since.
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