Phantom Stang
11-25-2005, 02:30 PM
Hawks' record is not what it appears to be
By RON HOWELL/Reporter Sports Editor
Based on won-loss records, Sweetwater would appear to be a heavy favorite in today's Class 3A, Division II regional semifinal with Iowa Park.
Sweetwater brings an 11-1 re-cord into the 6 p.m. contest at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, while Iowa Park is just barely over .500 with a 6-5 mark.
But it's been a completely dif-ferent story over the last five weeks, as each team is a perfect 5-0. And both coaches will tell you that Iowa Park is a different team than it was six weeks ago when it started out 1-5.
All that should matter is that the Hawks have returned to the regional semifinals for the sec-ond straight season.
Iowa Park and Sweetwater almost met a year ago, but the Hawks were beaten by Snyder the week before the Tigers de-feated the Mustangs in the Class 3A state quarterfinals.
With a win today, Sweetwa-ter will return to the quarterfi-nals to play either Monahans or Bridgeport. And it won't take a lot of effort for the coaches and players to watch that matchup, which will be played at Sweet-water's Mustang Bowl (see box below) at 6 p.m. Saturday.
A big reason for Iowa Park's recent success has been its ability to run the ball offensively, as well as to stop the run defen-sively. The Hawks ran 46 times for 257 yards in last week's 30-7 victory over Little Elm, while giving up just 93. They also got a great defensive game from linebacker Sam Raines, who caused a safety that gave Iowa Park an early 2-0 lead and led to the first touchdown, and re-turned an interception 71 yards for the final touchdown. Raines also scored on a 2-yard run in the first half after a long interception return by teammate Brady Rusk, helping Iowa Park take a 16-0 halftime lead.
In their 27-13 win over Pilot Point a week earlier, the Hawks ran 45 times for 196 yards and threw just five times for 74.
Most of the rushing damage has been done by running back Drew Fulfer, who has 935 yards on 144 carries, and quarterback Dustin Riley, who has run for 538 yards on 112 attempts. Ri-ley also has 877 yards passing, but hasn't thrown much during the team's winning streak.
Sweetwater coach Kent Jack-son is concerned about the size of Iowa Park's offensive line, as the Hawks' front five averages just over 241 pounds compared to 219 for Sweetwater. He even makes David vs. Goliath com-parisons in talking about it.
“We've got a giant to tangle with,” Jackson said Wednes-day. “(Tyler) Duggins (who is the team's 6-7, 270-pound be-hemoth at left tackle) is as good as any lineman around. They start 10 seniors on offense and eight seniors on defense so they have incredible experience, and it's another program that's here (the playoffs) year in and year out. No doubt they'll come into this deal completely ready. We know what we've got to do.”
Sweetwater started slowly against Littlefield last week, but got its running game untracked in a 31-point second half as Skye Green and Joseph Banyard each scored a pair of touchdowns. That allowed the Mustangs to rally from a 14-7 deficit and claim a 38-20 win.
Green rushed for 172 yards, putting him over 1,000 for the season on just 88 carries, while Banyard had 110 yards to give him 925 overall. Both players have scored 21 touchdowns.
The defense also stepped up in the second half against Lit-tlefield. Sweetwater gave up just 87 yards during the stretch run after allowing 150 yards in the first two periods. In addition, safety Brittan Pittman had two interceptions, the last one coming in the fourth quarter which led to a 26-yard field goal by kicker Parker Morrow.
Sweetwater gained all of its 424 yards on the ground, as it threw just three passes. Simi-larly, Iowa Park threw just once in its win over Little Elm.
“They're very patient,” Jack-son said, “and they don't care about making big plays, as long as they move the chains. And they've done a very good job of doing that.”
Copyright © 2005 Sweetwater Reporter
By RON HOWELL/Reporter Sports Editor
Based on won-loss records, Sweetwater would appear to be a heavy favorite in today's Class 3A, Division II regional semifinal with Iowa Park.
Sweetwater brings an 11-1 re-cord into the 6 p.m. contest at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, while Iowa Park is just barely over .500 with a 6-5 mark.
But it's been a completely dif-ferent story over the last five weeks, as each team is a perfect 5-0. And both coaches will tell you that Iowa Park is a different team than it was six weeks ago when it started out 1-5.
All that should matter is that the Hawks have returned to the regional semifinals for the sec-ond straight season.
Iowa Park and Sweetwater almost met a year ago, but the Hawks were beaten by Snyder the week before the Tigers de-feated the Mustangs in the Class 3A state quarterfinals.
With a win today, Sweetwa-ter will return to the quarterfi-nals to play either Monahans or Bridgeport. And it won't take a lot of effort for the coaches and players to watch that matchup, which will be played at Sweet-water's Mustang Bowl (see box below) at 6 p.m. Saturday.
A big reason for Iowa Park's recent success has been its ability to run the ball offensively, as well as to stop the run defen-sively. The Hawks ran 46 times for 257 yards in last week's 30-7 victory over Little Elm, while giving up just 93. They also got a great defensive game from linebacker Sam Raines, who caused a safety that gave Iowa Park an early 2-0 lead and led to the first touchdown, and re-turned an interception 71 yards for the final touchdown. Raines also scored on a 2-yard run in the first half after a long interception return by teammate Brady Rusk, helping Iowa Park take a 16-0 halftime lead.
In their 27-13 win over Pilot Point a week earlier, the Hawks ran 45 times for 196 yards and threw just five times for 74.
Most of the rushing damage has been done by running back Drew Fulfer, who has 935 yards on 144 carries, and quarterback Dustin Riley, who has run for 538 yards on 112 attempts. Ri-ley also has 877 yards passing, but hasn't thrown much during the team's winning streak.
Sweetwater coach Kent Jack-son is concerned about the size of Iowa Park's offensive line, as the Hawks' front five averages just over 241 pounds compared to 219 for Sweetwater. He even makes David vs. Goliath com-parisons in talking about it.
“We've got a giant to tangle with,” Jackson said Wednes-day. “(Tyler) Duggins (who is the team's 6-7, 270-pound be-hemoth at left tackle) is as good as any lineman around. They start 10 seniors on offense and eight seniors on defense so they have incredible experience, and it's another program that's here (the playoffs) year in and year out. No doubt they'll come into this deal completely ready. We know what we've got to do.”
Sweetwater started slowly against Littlefield last week, but got its running game untracked in a 31-point second half as Skye Green and Joseph Banyard each scored a pair of touchdowns. That allowed the Mustangs to rally from a 14-7 deficit and claim a 38-20 win.
Green rushed for 172 yards, putting him over 1,000 for the season on just 88 carries, while Banyard had 110 yards to give him 925 overall. Both players have scored 21 touchdowns.
The defense also stepped up in the second half against Lit-tlefield. Sweetwater gave up just 87 yards during the stretch run after allowing 150 yards in the first two periods. In addition, safety Brittan Pittman had two interceptions, the last one coming in the fourth quarter which led to a 26-yard field goal by kicker Parker Morrow.
Sweetwater gained all of its 424 yards on the ground, as it threw just three passes. Simi-larly, Iowa Park threw just once in its win over Little Elm.
“They're very patient,” Jack-son said, “and they don't care about making big plays, as long as they move the chains. And they've done a very good job of doing that.”
Copyright © 2005 Sweetwater Reporter