wildstangs
08-10-2005, 12:56 PM
Stangs ready for another run
By RON HOWELL/Reporter Sports Editor
Going to the playoffs is the goal of every high school foot-ball team, but in Sweetwater it is a longtime tradition.
Since 1984 -- or at least three years before any of the current Mustangs were born -- Sweet-water has missed the postseason only three times. And in that time there have been 201 victories, an average of slightly less than 10 per season.
Last year was an above average one, even for such a tradi-tion-rich program, as the Mus-tangs finished with an 11-3 mark and advanced to the state quarterfinals for the seventh time over that 21-year period.
With a bit more luck, the season might have been even more special. Sweetwater's three los-ses in 2004 were by a total of just 10 points, and two of them were to District 4-3A foes Wylie (13-7 in the regular season) and, heartbreakingly, to Snyder (21-20 in the playoffs).
In what was arguably the state's toughest 3A district, Snyder was a Division II semifinalist and Wylie won the Divi-sion I state championship. And the Tigers -- who are ranked No. 3 in the state by Texas Football -- and Bulldogs might be just as tough this year. But so might the Mustangs, who return five starters on offense and seven on defense, including senior Kendal Carrillo, District 4-3A's defensive MVP.
Sweetwater is ranked No. 14 in Class 3A by Texas Football. Head coach Kent Jackson, who has won 75 percent (39-13) of his games here and is 84-34-1 overall, thinks Wylie should be ranked as well and doesn't discount Merkel or Clyde, either.
"(The district) will be nothing new," he said, "and we'll have a tough (non-district) schedule to help get ready for it."
Five of the six teams on the non-district schedule made the playoffs in 2004, including the two 4A teams (San Angelo Lake View and Andrews) on the list.
Sweetwater's Wishbone of-fense lost its top two rushers and a number of top linemen to graduation, and Jackson is not sure who his starting quarterback will be with three candidates vying for the job. There are also some question marks on defense.
But there will again be plenty of speed and quickness on both sides of the ball, and if the team stays healthy Sweetwater could have another long run.
Another positive factor is the return of all but one member of the coaching staff, which was going through a considerable change at this time a year ago. The only new face for 2005 is Blake Sandford, who was hired from Early.
"Last year, there was a lot of learning on everyone's part," said Jackson. "This year, we've been able to come in knowing what to do. Everyone adapted very well."
Offense
Jackson's three candidates to start at quarterback are senior Sonny Birdwell (170), the top backup a year ago, plus Carrillo (175) and junior Duone Cun-nings (158). Carrillo saw considerable action at quarterback in two playoff games as a soph-omore, but was primarily used as a running back last season. He rushed for 778 yards and 14 touchdowns and received first team all-district honors, in ad-dition to being a standout as a defensive back and punter.
Jackson sees the three-way competition as a good problem to have. "All three of them will contribute to the team in more than one way," he said. "It'll be an interesting deal to see them make their contributions and to be such positive factors. Any of them could be starting in a lot of places. It's a nice situation."
Junior Joseph Banyard (173), the district's offensive newcom-er of the year in 2004, will likely start at halfback along with another returning junior, Skye Green (144), who was second team all-district. Junior Justin Adames (186) is competing for the fullback slot with seniors Chaz Diggs (205) and Tyler Bedingfield (170), plus junior Jeffrey Straley and sophomore Austen Davis. Also competing at halfback for a starting spot are senior Joe Limones (144), junior Justin Rodriguez (137) and sophomore J.J. McCoy.
The returning starters on the offensive line are both seniors -- center Lance Clark (270) and tight end Russell Clayton (220). Clark was second team all-dis-trict and Clayton was given all-district honorable mention. A-lso returning to start at wide re-ceiver is senior Brittan Pittman (161), who was an all-district honorable mention pick.
Also projected to start on the line are senior Brandan Fang-man (180) and senior Britt Glover (252) at guard and seniors Taylor Jones (170) and Ty Jones (225) -- no relation to each other -- at tackle. The competition for starting spots will come from seniors Michael Hollis (254) and Casey Toland (194) at guard, senior Kendall Mayes (226) at both tackle po-sitions, junior James Beckwith (217) at center and two seniors, Tripp Maxwell (224) and Har-old Tennon (160), at tight end.
The other wide receiver candidates for the Mustangs are seniors KiKi Johnson (122), Shawn Kincaid (154), Parker Morrow (150), Ben Edwards (160) and Steven Palma (145).
Defense
The seven returning starters on this year's unit are Carrillo at strong safety, Pittman at free safety, Fangman at defensive end, Banyard and Adames at linebacker and Green and Cun-nings at cornerback. Fangman received first team all-district recognition, Pittman and Green made the second team and Ad-ames and Banyard each re-ceived honorable mention.
Carrillo had 168 tackles and five interceptions last season. Pittman had eight interceptions and Green four. Adames recor-ded 142 tackles, while Banyard had 138.
While Fangman will start at one end, the other end position is up for grabs with Beckwith, Taylor Jones, Clayton and Ten-non the top candidates and Ty Jones also competing to start.
Either Toland, Diggs or Bed-ingfield will start at noseguard. The competition at tackle in-volves Maxwell, Clark, Mayes, Glover and Hollis.
At linebacker, Adames starts in the middle and Banyard on the weak side, but the starter on the strong side is undecided with Davis, Rosas and Straley all in the mix. Other candidates are Limones at weakside line-backer and Morrow at middle linebacker.
On the corners, Green and Cunnings will be challenged for playing time by Birdwell, Rod-riguez and Palma. Carrillo will face competition from McCoy and Edwards at strong safety, and Pittman will compete with Kincaid and Johnson for time at free safety.
Carrillo will again handle the punting duties after earning first team all-district honors, and either Morrow, who was second team all-district, or Beckwith will be the team's placekicker. Johnson will again be the holder on kicks, with either Maxwell or Birdwell serving as deep snappers.
Green, Carrillo, Cunnings, Pittman and Banyard will like-ly be the chief kick returners on this year's team.
By RON HOWELL/Reporter Sports Editor
Going to the playoffs is the goal of every high school foot-ball team, but in Sweetwater it is a longtime tradition.
Since 1984 -- or at least three years before any of the current Mustangs were born -- Sweet-water has missed the postseason only three times. And in that time there have been 201 victories, an average of slightly less than 10 per season.
Last year was an above average one, even for such a tradi-tion-rich program, as the Mus-tangs finished with an 11-3 mark and advanced to the state quarterfinals for the seventh time over that 21-year period.
With a bit more luck, the season might have been even more special. Sweetwater's three los-ses in 2004 were by a total of just 10 points, and two of them were to District 4-3A foes Wylie (13-7 in the regular season) and, heartbreakingly, to Snyder (21-20 in the playoffs).
In what was arguably the state's toughest 3A district, Snyder was a Division II semifinalist and Wylie won the Divi-sion I state championship. And the Tigers -- who are ranked No. 3 in the state by Texas Football -- and Bulldogs might be just as tough this year. But so might the Mustangs, who return five starters on offense and seven on defense, including senior Kendal Carrillo, District 4-3A's defensive MVP.
Sweetwater is ranked No. 14 in Class 3A by Texas Football. Head coach Kent Jackson, who has won 75 percent (39-13) of his games here and is 84-34-1 overall, thinks Wylie should be ranked as well and doesn't discount Merkel or Clyde, either.
"(The district) will be nothing new," he said, "and we'll have a tough (non-district) schedule to help get ready for it."
Five of the six teams on the non-district schedule made the playoffs in 2004, including the two 4A teams (San Angelo Lake View and Andrews) on the list.
Sweetwater's Wishbone of-fense lost its top two rushers and a number of top linemen to graduation, and Jackson is not sure who his starting quarterback will be with three candidates vying for the job. There are also some question marks on defense.
But there will again be plenty of speed and quickness on both sides of the ball, and if the team stays healthy Sweetwater could have another long run.
Another positive factor is the return of all but one member of the coaching staff, which was going through a considerable change at this time a year ago. The only new face for 2005 is Blake Sandford, who was hired from Early.
"Last year, there was a lot of learning on everyone's part," said Jackson. "This year, we've been able to come in knowing what to do. Everyone adapted very well."
Offense
Jackson's three candidates to start at quarterback are senior Sonny Birdwell (170), the top backup a year ago, plus Carrillo (175) and junior Duone Cun-nings (158). Carrillo saw considerable action at quarterback in two playoff games as a soph-omore, but was primarily used as a running back last season. He rushed for 778 yards and 14 touchdowns and received first team all-district honors, in ad-dition to being a standout as a defensive back and punter.
Jackson sees the three-way competition as a good problem to have. "All three of them will contribute to the team in more than one way," he said. "It'll be an interesting deal to see them make their contributions and to be such positive factors. Any of them could be starting in a lot of places. It's a nice situation."
Junior Joseph Banyard (173), the district's offensive newcom-er of the year in 2004, will likely start at halfback along with another returning junior, Skye Green (144), who was second team all-district. Junior Justin Adames (186) is competing for the fullback slot with seniors Chaz Diggs (205) and Tyler Bedingfield (170), plus junior Jeffrey Straley and sophomore Austen Davis. Also competing at halfback for a starting spot are senior Joe Limones (144), junior Justin Rodriguez (137) and sophomore J.J. McCoy.
The returning starters on the offensive line are both seniors -- center Lance Clark (270) and tight end Russell Clayton (220). Clark was second team all-dis-trict and Clayton was given all-district honorable mention. A-lso returning to start at wide re-ceiver is senior Brittan Pittman (161), who was an all-district honorable mention pick.
Also projected to start on the line are senior Brandan Fang-man (180) and senior Britt Glover (252) at guard and seniors Taylor Jones (170) and Ty Jones (225) -- no relation to each other -- at tackle. The competition for starting spots will come from seniors Michael Hollis (254) and Casey Toland (194) at guard, senior Kendall Mayes (226) at both tackle po-sitions, junior James Beckwith (217) at center and two seniors, Tripp Maxwell (224) and Har-old Tennon (160), at tight end.
The other wide receiver candidates for the Mustangs are seniors KiKi Johnson (122), Shawn Kincaid (154), Parker Morrow (150), Ben Edwards (160) and Steven Palma (145).
Defense
The seven returning starters on this year's unit are Carrillo at strong safety, Pittman at free safety, Fangman at defensive end, Banyard and Adames at linebacker and Green and Cun-nings at cornerback. Fangman received first team all-district recognition, Pittman and Green made the second team and Ad-ames and Banyard each re-ceived honorable mention.
Carrillo had 168 tackles and five interceptions last season. Pittman had eight interceptions and Green four. Adames recor-ded 142 tackles, while Banyard had 138.
While Fangman will start at one end, the other end position is up for grabs with Beckwith, Taylor Jones, Clayton and Ten-non the top candidates and Ty Jones also competing to start.
Either Toland, Diggs or Bed-ingfield will start at noseguard. The competition at tackle in-volves Maxwell, Clark, Mayes, Glover and Hollis.
At linebacker, Adames starts in the middle and Banyard on the weak side, but the starter on the strong side is undecided with Davis, Rosas and Straley all in the mix. Other candidates are Limones at weakside line-backer and Morrow at middle linebacker.
On the corners, Green and Cunnings will be challenged for playing time by Birdwell, Rod-riguez and Palma. Carrillo will face competition from McCoy and Edwards at strong safety, and Pittman will compete with Kincaid and Johnson for time at free safety.
Carrillo will again handle the punting duties after earning first team all-district honors, and either Morrow, who was second team all-district, or Beckwith will be the team's placekicker. Johnson will again be the holder on kicks, with either Maxwell or Birdwell serving as deep snappers.
Green, Carrillo, Cunnings, Pittman and Banyard will like-ly be the chief kick returners on this year's team.