Phantom Stang
09-16-2010, 03:14 PM
Stangs hoping to stay on a roll at Early
Written by Ron Howell
Thursday, 16 September 2010
So far, the 2010 season for Sweetwater’s football team has resembled a yo-yo.
The Mustangs began the year with a 27-13 road win at Vernon, only to lose at Monahans 35-7 the follow-ing week. But Sweetwater rebounded this past Friday at the TSTC Sammy Baugh Classic with a 46-14 win over Levelland, giving the Mustangs one more victory than they had in all of ‘09.
While Sweetwater will be back on the road this Friday to face Early at 7:30 p.m., the Mustangs are hoping to put together a string of wins for the first time under head coach Craig Slaughter.
After Early (2-1), Sweetwater begins a three-week homestand as it faces Midland Greenwood and Midland Christian to end non-district play before hosting Wylie to open 5-3A district action on Oct. 8.
Sweetwater had 486 yards against Levelland en route to its highest one-game point total in two years.
The 46 points was the most since Sweetwater beat Brownwood 59-41 in the ninth game of the ‘08 season, exceeding the previous high (41 against Breckenridge last year) since Slaughter became coach.
“We want to get on a roll and see what we can achieve,” he said Wednesday. “If we can do that, it will set up some big games ahead. The kids will be really fired up. Having three in a row at home could set up a huge district opener.”
The offensive explosion — Sweetwater scored in all four quarters — wasn’t the only positive as the defense held Levelland’s offense to one touchdown and 207 total yards. Except for an 88-yard kickoff return, the Lobos had trouble moving the ball all night.
Class 2A Early, which played in Sweetwater’s district in 2000 and 2001 after the Mustangs first dropped to Class 3A, are likely to be a tougher foe after just missing a 3-0 start.
Early, which is coming off a 2-8 season after making the playoffs in each of the previous four years, upset Cisco 27-26 in its opener for new coach Brad Bowden before losing to Eastland by three, 30-27, the following week. Early beat Coleman, 24-6, this past Friday to equal its win total for the previous year.
The Longhorns are led by running back Austin Baugh, who has six TDs including two second-half scores last week when Early rallied from a 6-3 deficit to get its second win.
One big area of improvement Slaughter saw against Levelland was quarterback Taylor Jones’ ability to complete throws from the pocket. Jones, after throwing for one touchdown each in his first two games, had three vs. the Lobos on throws of 72, 21 and 13 yards en route to a 13-of-21, 266-yard performance. Jones was also a running threat with 100 yards, including a spectacular 65-yard TD when he accepted a pitchout from B.J. Walker to give Sweetwater a 33-14 lead in the third quarter.
The defensive effort was led by linebacker Kyle Lambert, who was making his first start and had seven solo tackles plus two assists. Ryan Linebaugh had five solo stops and two assists and Walker and Sam Nemir had four solo tackles and four assists. Cameron Fox and Sean Morrow had interceptions. Sweetwater also got rushing touchdowns from Walker, Jarrell Houston and Josh Gomez as well as receiving TDs from Tanner Crain, Parker Scott and Connor Stafford as they pulled away in the second half for an easy win.
http://www.sweetwaterreporter.com/content/view/271080/122/
Written by Ron Howell
Thursday, 16 September 2010
So far, the 2010 season for Sweetwater’s football team has resembled a yo-yo.
The Mustangs began the year with a 27-13 road win at Vernon, only to lose at Monahans 35-7 the follow-ing week. But Sweetwater rebounded this past Friday at the TSTC Sammy Baugh Classic with a 46-14 win over Levelland, giving the Mustangs one more victory than they had in all of ‘09.
While Sweetwater will be back on the road this Friday to face Early at 7:30 p.m., the Mustangs are hoping to put together a string of wins for the first time under head coach Craig Slaughter.
After Early (2-1), Sweetwater begins a three-week homestand as it faces Midland Greenwood and Midland Christian to end non-district play before hosting Wylie to open 5-3A district action on Oct. 8.
Sweetwater had 486 yards against Levelland en route to its highest one-game point total in two years.
The 46 points was the most since Sweetwater beat Brownwood 59-41 in the ninth game of the ‘08 season, exceeding the previous high (41 against Breckenridge last year) since Slaughter became coach.
“We want to get on a roll and see what we can achieve,” he said Wednesday. “If we can do that, it will set up some big games ahead. The kids will be really fired up. Having three in a row at home could set up a huge district opener.”
The offensive explosion — Sweetwater scored in all four quarters — wasn’t the only positive as the defense held Levelland’s offense to one touchdown and 207 total yards. Except for an 88-yard kickoff return, the Lobos had trouble moving the ball all night.
Class 2A Early, which played in Sweetwater’s district in 2000 and 2001 after the Mustangs first dropped to Class 3A, are likely to be a tougher foe after just missing a 3-0 start.
Early, which is coming off a 2-8 season after making the playoffs in each of the previous four years, upset Cisco 27-26 in its opener for new coach Brad Bowden before losing to Eastland by three, 30-27, the following week. Early beat Coleman, 24-6, this past Friday to equal its win total for the previous year.
The Longhorns are led by running back Austin Baugh, who has six TDs including two second-half scores last week when Early rallied from a 6-3 deficit to get its second win.
One big area of improvement Slaughter saw against Levelland was quarterback Taylor Jones’ ability to complete throws from the pocket. Jones, after throwing for one touchdown each in his first two games, had three vs. the Lobos on throws of 72, 21 and 13 yards en route to a 13-of-21, 266-yard performance. Jones was also a running threat with 100 yards, including a spectacular 65-yard TD when he accepted a pitchout from B.J. Walker to give Sweetwater a 33-14 lead in the third quarter.
The defensive effort was led by linebacker Kyle Lambert, who was making his first start and had seven solo tackles plus two assists. Ryan Linebaugh had five solo stops and two assists and Walker and Sam Nemir had four solo tackles and four assists. Cameron Fox and Sean Morrow had interceptions. Sweetwater also got rushing touchdowns from Walker, Jarrell Houston and Josh Gomez as well as receiving TDs from Tanner Crain, Parker Scott and Connor Stafford as they pulled away in the second half for an easy win.
http://www.sweetwaterreporter.com/content/view/271080/122/