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11-19-2005, 11:52 AM
Second-half effort lifts Mustangs
By Jason Weddle / Reporter-News Staff Writer
November 19, 2005
MIDLAND — Sweetwater needed a player to step up in the second half Friday night. Instead, two did.
Skye Green and Joseph Banyard combined for 277 rushing yards and four second-half touchdowns to keep Sweetwater alive with a 38-20 Class 3A, Division II, Region I Area Championship win over Littlefield at Midland’s Grande Communications Stadium.
The Mustangs went into halftime on their heels, however, down 14-7 and with no momentum after Littlefield quarterback Matt Hall found Matt Clark for a 55-yard touchdown pass with 2:20 left in the second quarter.
The completion was the first of the game for either team, but, unfortunately for the Wildcats, it woke what had been a sputtering Mustangs’ offense that was shell-shocked by Littlefield’s fast start.
"I thought the guys were kind of flat and standing around (in the first half)," Sweetwater coach Kent Jackson said. "We just told them to come back out and have a good time."
Thanks to Green and Banyard, the Mustangs had a blast.
Green bolted for a 61-yard touchdown run on the third play of the second half to tie the score and regain the momentum lost on Littlefield’s long scoring strike. The Sweetwater defense forced a turnover on downs on the ensuing Wildcats’ possession and eight plays later, Green was in the end zone again — this time from 29 yards.
"I decided to step it up just a little bit more for the team," Green said. "I knew the team was going to lose if we kept playing like we did in the first half, and I didn’t want to lose."
Littlefield put together a much needed nine-play, 57-yard touchdown drive to answer Green’s second touchdown of the half. The Wildcats’ workhorse of a running back, Stephen Biljoen, scored from three yards out, but Colby Huseman’s potential game-tying extra point missed and Sweetwater held on to a 21-20 lead with just seconds remaining in the third quarter.
"That was big because you still feel like you’ve got things (under control) right there," Jackson said.
The Sweetwater offense took control of the game with an eight-play, 81-yard drive capped on a 13-yard Banyard touchdown run to start the fourth quarter.
The game-changing drive was kept alive twice on third-and-long conversions by Sweetwater’s Kendal Carrillo, who moved the chains with runs of 15 and 31 yards.
"Those were big plays and took a lot of guts," Jackson said. "He was doing a lot of that on his own right there on a couple of those plays where he just turned loose and got those last couple of yards by himself."
Ahead 28-20, the Sweetwater defense joined in the fun to force a four-play turnover on downs on Littlefield’s next possession. Green rewarded his defense with a 32-yard touchdown run on the next play to bust the game wide-open.
Knowing they weren’t going to get back into the game by continuing to run the ball, the Wildcats elected to start passing late in the fourth quarter. That decision, however, only compounded the problem as Hall was intercepted by Brittan Pittman on his first pass following the Green touchdown.
Parker Morrow again rewarded the Sweetwater defense with a late 23-yard field goal that made the score 38-20.
But despite the late surge by the Mustangs’ defense, it was Green and Banyard’s heroics that pushed Sweetwater to the third round. Green carried the ball 14 times for 160 yards and three touchdowns while Banyard racked up 111 yards and a pair of scores on 18 carries.
The two were part of a Sweetwater rushing attack that gained more than 400 yards.
"We stuck with our blocks," Banyard said. "We were determined to get all our blocks and not miss anything. When we do that, we’re going to be the toughest that we can be."
And as Littlefield found out Friday night, that is pretty darn tough.
With the win, Sweetwater advanced to play Iowa Park, which also won Friday night. The game is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. next Friday at Tarleton State University in Stephenville.
Littlefield 0 14 6 0—20
Sweetwater 0 7 14 17—38
SCORING SUMMARY
Second Quarter
S—Joseph Banyard 4 run (Parker Morrow kick)
L—Stephen Viljoen 1 run (Colby Huseman kick)
L—Depat Rosemond 55 pass from Matt Hall (Huseman kick)
Third Quarter
S—Skye Green 61 run (Morrow kick)
S—Green 29 run (Morrow kick)
L—Viljoen 3 run (Huseman kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
S—Banyard 13 run (Morrow kick)
S—Green 32 run (Morrow kick)
S—Morrow 26 Field Goal
Littlefield Sweetwater
First downs 11 18
Rushes-yards 35-156 52-407
Passing-yards 82 0
Comp-Att-Int 5-10-2 0-3-1
Punts-Avg. 1-22 1-26
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-1
Penalties-Yards 5-55 5-55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Sweetwater: Skye Green, 14-160, 3 TD; Joseph Banyard, 18-111, 2 TD Kendal Carrillo, 9-89; Auston Davis, 6-32, Sonny Birdwell, 2-1; Maurice Rosas, 1-6; J.J. McCoy, 2-7; Jeffery Straley 1-4 Littlefield: Stephen Viljoen, 23-80, 2 TD; Blake Demel, 7-59; Matt Hall, 3-14; Ryan Duran, 2-3 Passing — Sweetwater: Carrillo 0-2 1 INT; Birdwell 0-1
PASSING — Littlefield: Hall 5-10, 82 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
RECEIVING — Littlefield: Matt Clark 1-55, 1 TD; J.B. Alcom, 2-23; Colby Huseman 1-7; Blake Demel, 1-3.
By Jason Weddle / Reporter-News Staff Writer
November 19, 2005
MIDLAND — Sweetwater needed a player to step up in the second half Friday night. Instead, two did.
Skye Green and Joseph Banyard combined for 277 rushing yards and four second-half touchdowns to keep Sweetwater alive with a 38-20 Class 3A, Division II, Region I Area Championship win over Littlefield at Midland’s Grande Communications Stadium.
The Mustangs went into halftime on their heels, however, down 14-7 and with no momentum after Littlefield quarterback Matt Hall found Matt Clark for a 55-yard touchdown pass with 2:20 left in the second quarter.
The completion was the first of the game for either team, but, unfortunately for the Wildcats, it woke what had been a sputtering Mustangs’ offense that was shell-shocked by Littlefield’s fast start.
"I thought the guys were kind of flat and standing around (in the first half)," Sweetwater coach Kent Jackson said. "We just told them to come back out and have a good time."
Thanks to Green and Banyard, the Mustangs had a blast.
Green bolted for a 61-yard touchdown run on the third play of the second half to tie the score and regain the momentum lost on Littlefield’s long scoring strike. The Sweetwater defense forced a turnover on downs on the ensuing Wildcats’ possession and eight plays later, Green was in the end zone again — this time from 29 yards.
"I decided to step it up just a little bit more for the team," Green said. "I knew the team was going to lose if we kept playing like we did in the first half, and I didn’t want to lose."
Littlefield put together a much needed nine-play, 57-yard touchdown drive to answer Green’s second touchdown of the half. The Wildcats’ workhorse of a running back, Stephen Biljoen, scored from three yards out, but Colby Huseman’s potential game-tying extra point missed and Sweetwater held on to a 21-20 lead with just seconds remaining in the third quarter.
"That was big because you still feel like you’ve got things (under control) right there," Jackson said.
The Sweetwater offense took control of the game with an eight-play, 81-yard drive capped on a 13-yard Banyard touchdown run to start the fourth quarter.
The game-changing drive was kept alive twice on third-and-long conversions by Sweetwater’s Kendal Carrillo, who moved the chains with runs of 15 and 31 yards.
"Those were big plays and took a lot of guts," Jackson said. "He was doing a lot of that on his own right there on a couple of those plays where he just turned loose and got those last couple of yards by himself."
Ahead 28-20, the Sweetwater defense joined in the fun to force a four-play turnover on downs on Littlefield’s next possession. Green rewarded his defense with a 32-yard touchdown run on the next play to bust the game wide-open.
Knowing they weren’t going to get back into the game by continuing to run the ball, the Wildcats elected to start passing late in the fourth quarter. That decision, however, only compounded the problem as Hall was intercepted by Brittan Pittman on his first pass following the Green touchdown.
Parker Morrow again rewarded the Sweetwater defense with a late 23-yard field goal that made the score 38-20.
But despite the late surge by the Mustangs’ defense, it was Green and Banyard’s heroics that pushed Sweetwater to the third round. Green carried the ball 14 times for 160 yards and three touchdowns while Banyard racked up 111 yards and a pair of scores on 18 carries.
The two were part of a Sweetwater rushing attack that gained more than 400 yards.
"We stuck with our blocks," Banyard said. "We were determined to get all our blocks and not miss anything. When we do that, we’re going to be the toughest that we can be."
And as Littlefield found out Friday night, that is pretty darn tough.
With the win, Sweetwater advanced to play Iowa Park, which also won Friday night. The game is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. next Friday at Tarleton State University in Stephenville.
Littlefield 0 14 6 0—20
Sweetwater 0 7 14 17—38
SCORING SUMMARY
Second Quarter
S—Joseph Banyard 4 run (Parker Morrow kick)
L—Stephen Viljoen 1 run (Colby Huseman kick)
L—Depat Rosemond 55 pass from Matt Hall (Huseman kick)
Third Quarter
S—Skye Green 61 run (Morrow kick)
S—Green 29 run (Morrow kick)
L—Viljoen 3 run (Huseman kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
S—Banyard 13 run (Morrow kick)
S—Green 32 run (Morrow kick)
S—Morrow 26 Field Goal
Littlefield Sweetwater
First downs 11 18
Rushes-yards 35-156 52-407
Passing-yards 82 0
Comp-Att-Int 5-10-2 0-3-1
Punts-Avg. 1-22 1-26
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-1
Penalties-Yards 5-55 5-55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Sweetwater: Skye Green, 14-160, 3 TD; Joseph Banyard, 18-111, 2 TD Kendal Carrillo, 9-89; Auston Davis, 6-32, Sonny Birdwell, 2-1; Maurice Rosas, 1-6; J.J. McCoy, 2-7; Jeffery Straley 1-4 Littlefield: Stephen Viljoen, 23-80, 2 TD; Blake Demel, 7-59; Matt Hall, 3-14; Ryan Duran, 2-3 Passing — Sweetwater: Carrillo 0-2 1 INT; Birdwell 0-1
PASSING — Littlefield: Hall 5-10, 82 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
RECEIVING — Littlefield: Matt Clark 1-55, 1 TD; J.B. Alcom, 2-23; Colby Huseman 1-7; Blake Demel, 1-3.