Phantom Stang
08-20-2005, 12:31 PM
Stangs bury Lions in last tuneup
By RON HOWELL/Reporter Sports Editor
Nice weather and homefield advantage were certainly helpful, but it's doubtful that anything short of a natural disaster could have slowed down Sweetwater in its final scrimmage Friday.
The Mustangs scored quickly and often on offense, and their defense was just as tough to deal with as Sweetwater en-joyed a 6-0 touchdown rout over Vernon at the Bowl.
On offense, Sweetwater had 549 total yards, including 460 rushing, in the scrimmage that ended with a 12-minute "live" quarter that was played under game-type conditions. And the Mustangs were also deadly on the occasions when they went to the air, as their trio of signal callers -- Sonny Birdwell, Ken-dal Carrillo and Duone Cun-nings -- were a combined 9-of-12 with no interceptions.
Skye Green scorched Vernon with rushing touchdowns of 61 and 65 yards and Cunnings, Joseph Banyard and Birdwell also ran for TDs. Cunnings had a 10-yard score on the next-to-last offensive play under the controlled format, completing a short drive he set up with a 55-yard run to Vernon's 15.
Banyard had a 12-yard scor-ing run right before Cunnings' 55-yard burst, while Birdwell capped Sweetwater's only scoring drive of the live quarter with a 3-yard run that came at the 7:11 mark.
The other Sweetwater touchdown, which technically didn't count due to a penalty, came on a 30-yard pass by Cunnings to Shawn Kincaid.
Green had 137 yards on just five carries and Cunnings had 103 on only six totes. Banyard added 69 yards on nine runs. Kendal Carrillo had 34 yards, Justin Adames 27, Joe Lim-ones 23, Birdwell 21, Maurice Rosas 17, Rufus McCann 12, Justin Rodriguez 10, J.J. Mc-Coy five and Auston Davis two.
Kincaid led receivers with three catches for 42 yards, but Sweetwater spread the wealth there too as Green had two receptions and Banyard, Har-old Tennon, Brittan Pittman and KiKi Johnson one.
Vernon's offense had just 191 yards, 111 rushing and 80 pas-sing, and had three turnovers in the scrimmage to none for the Mustangs, who ran a total of 60 plays to the Lions' 45 and averaged five more yards per play -- 9.2 to 4.2.
Carrillo and Cunnings each recovered a fumble for Sweet-water and Pittman intercepted a Vernon pass, while Adames and Brandan Fangman forced the Lions' fumbles.
Vernon got to Sweetwater's 13 at the end of its opening 15-play series, but its closest ad-vance after that was the Mus-tangs' 49-yard line.
"The kids had a good time. We needed to be able to play one more before the pressure starts," said coach Kent Jack-son, whose team -- which was ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by a Web site poll that was released this past week -- begins its season by hosting Lubbock Coo-per this Friday.
"We had a little more pep in our step," Jackson said. "We had a lot of positives that kept us going. But the greatest deal of all is that everyone walked out healthy. It was a neat deal to get a lot of kids some work. They all got a lot of reps and that's a good thing.
Copyright © 2005 Sweetwater Reporter
By RON HOWELL/Reporter Sports Editor
Nice weather and homefield advantage were certainly helpful, but it's doubtful that anything short of a natural disaster could have slowed down Sweetwater in its final scrimmage Friday.
The Mustangs scored quickly and often on offense, and their defense was just as tough to deal with as Sweetwater en-joyed a 6-0 touchdown rout over Vernon at the Bowl.
On offense, Sweetwater had 549 total yards, including 460 rushing, in the scrimmage that ended with a 12-minute "live" quarter that was played under game-type conditions. And the Mustangs were also deadly on the occasions when they went to the air, as their trio of signal callers -- Sonny Birdwell, Ken-dal Carrillo and Duone Cun-nings -- were a combined 9-of-12 with no interceptions.
Skye Green scorched Vernon with rushing touchdowns of 61 and 65 yards and Cunnings, Joseph Banyard and Birdwell also ran for TDs. Cunnings had a 10-yard score on the next-to-last offensive play under the controlled format, completing a short drive he set up with a 55-yard run to Vernon's 15.
Banyard had a 12-yard scor-ing run right before Cunnings' 55-yard burst, while Birdwell capped Sweetwater's only scoring drive of the live quarter with a 3-yard run that came at the 7:11 mark.
The other Sweetwater touchdown, which technically didn't count due to a penalty, came on a 30-yard pass by Cunnings to Shawn Kincaid.
Green had 137 yards on just five carries and Cunnings had 103 on only six totes. Banyard added 69 yards on nine runs. Kendal Carrillo had 34 yards, Justin Adames 27, Joe Lim-ones 23, Birdwell 21, Maurice Rosas 17, Rufus McCann 12, Justin Rodriguez 10, J.J. Mc-Coy five and Auston Davis two.
Kincaid led receivers with three catches for 42 yards, but Sweetwater spread the wealth there too as Green had two receptions and Banyard, Har-old Tennon, Brittan Pittman and KiKi Johnson one.
Vernon's offense had just 191 yards, 111 rushing and 80 pas-sing, and had three turnovers in the scrimmage to none for the Mustangs, who ran a total of 60 plays to the Lions' 45 and averaged five more yards per play -- 9.2 to 4.2.
Carrillo and Cunnings each recovered a fumble for Sweet-water and Pittman intercepted a Vernon pass, while Adames and Brandan Fangman forced the Lions' fumbles.
Vernon got to Sweetwater's 13 at the end of its opening 15-play series, but its closest ad-vance after that was the Mus-tangs' 49-yard line.
"The kids had a good time. We needed to be able to play one more before the pressure starts," said coach Kent Jack-son, whose team -- which was ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by a Web site poll that was released this past week -- begins its season by hosting Lubbock Coo-per this Friday.
"We had a little more pep in our step," Jackson said. "We had a lot of positives that kept us going. But the greatest deal of all is that everyone walked out healthy. It was a neat deal to get a lot of kids some work. They all got a lot of reps and that's a good thing.
Copyright © 2005 Sweetwater Reporter