Phantom Stang
07-16-2006, 06:38 PM
‘06 football season should be intriguing
By Ron Howell/Reporter Sports Editor
When it comes to Sweetwater football, you can usually count on a couple of things: the Mustangs will be highly competitive, and their district will get a shakeup every two years following the UIL's realigment.
Sweetwater's new district - 7-3A - will bear some resemblance to its former 4-3A district with Wylie and Clyde still around. But instead of Snyder and Merkel, the Mustangs will be taking on Comanche and Breckenridge in their other two district games.
And while neither of the new schools has enjoyed Snyder's success in recent seasons, their collective records from a year ago suggest that the new district may be even stronger.
During the 2005 regular season, Sny-der (9-1) and Merkel (0-10) combined for a 9-11 record. Meanwhile, Breckenridge - formerly in District 5-3A - had a 7-3 mark and Comanche, for-merly in Dis-trict 8-3A, was 5-5. Both made the Division II playoffs before running into Bridgeport, which defeated Comanche 27-14 in bi-district and eliminated Breckenridge 43-40 in the area play-offs the following week.
Sweetwater barely avoided a playoff date with Bridgeport as the Bulls lost a wild 43-42 thriller in overtime to Monahans at Mustang Bowl. Instead, Sweetwater beat Monahans 35-16 to reach the state semifinals.
The last time Sweetwater and Breckenridge met was in 2001, when the Mustangs won 38-26. In 2000, Sweetwater also won, 27-23. But to find the last time Sweetwater played against Comanche, you have to go back an incredible 90 years to 1916.
That year, Sweetwater faced Comanche in a playoff contest to determine the champion of West Texas and lost, 13-6. That game was held just four years after Sweetwater began playing football in 1912.
While Sweetwater has almost no history with Comanche, the Mustangs' six non-district foes - Wichita Falls, Brownwood, Decatur, Canyon, Big Spring and Borger - have all played them within the past 11 years except for Canyon, which hasn't played Sweetwater since 1987 when the Mustangs claimed a 35-14 win in the Class 4A quarterfinals. Like Comanche, Can-yon and Decatur have never played a regular season game with Sweetwater. But you may recall that Sweetwater played Decatur in the regional playoffs in 2002 at Stephenville, a game Sweetwater won 24-21. In that game, a last-second pass com-pletion was stopped at the 1 to preserve the victory.
Brownwood has one of the state's most storied programs, but Sweetwater beat the Lions three straight years until losing in 1999, the last time the teams met. Borger's last meeting with Sweetwater was also in 1999. The Bulldogs actually defeated Sweetwater in both ‘98 and ‘99, ending the Mustangs' 40-game regular season winning streak in ‘98. This will be the first time Sweetwater has played Brown-wood and Borger since becom-ing a 3A school in 2000.
In 1939, Sweetwater played Brownwood in its first game at Mustang Bowl and the Mustangs won, 14-0. The game will also be played at the Bowl this year as the featured game of the Sammy Baugh Classic.
Sweetwater's last game with Wichita Falls High was in 1995 when the Mustangs won, 36-8, over the Coyotes. The last time that Sweetwater met Big Spring was in 2001, after the teams had ceased to be district rivals. The Steers had defeated Sweetwater three consecutive years, keeping the Mustangs out of the 4A playoffs with victories in ‘98 and ‘99 and then winning, 34-0, after Sweetwater played its first game after dropping to Class 3A status in 2000.
But Sweetwater got revenge in Kent Jackson's first game as head coach with the Mustangs, winning 28-25 after surviving a late Steers rally at the Bowl.
Sweetwater will play Wichita Falls (Sept. 1), Brownwood (Sept. 8), Borger (Oct. 6), Clyde (Oct. 20) and Breckenridge (Nov. 10) at home this year. And just six days after playing Brownwood here, the Mustangs go to Brownwood on Sept. 14 to play Decatur at the Gordon Wood Classic.
That game will be followed by three road games in the next four weeks. The road swing begins Sept. 22 at Canyon and Sept. 29 at Big Spring, followed by the team's homecoming game against Borger on Oct. 6. Sweetwater goes to Comanche the following Friday, Oct. 13, to kick off District 7-3A play.
Sweetwater will be seeking a bit of revenge when it takes on Wylie two weeks later, Oct. 27, in its final road game.
For all of the Mustangs' success in District 4-3A, reaching the quarterfinals in ‘04 and the semifinals in ‘05, they were defeated by Wylie both years.
Copyright © 2006 Sweetwater Reporter
By Ron Howell/Reporter Sports Editor
When it comes to Sweetwater football, you can usually count on a couple of things: the Mustangs will be highly competitive, and their district will get a shakeup every two years following the UIL's realigment.
Sweetwater's new district - 7-3A - will bear some resemblance to its former 4-3A district with Wylie and Clyde still around. But instead of Snyder and Merkel, the Mustangs will be taking on Comanche and Breckenridge in their other two district games.
And while neither of the new schools has enjoyed Snyder's success in recent seasons, their collective records from a year ago suggest that the new district may be even stronger.
During the 2005 regular season, Sny-der (9-1) and Merkel (0-10) combined for a 9-11 record. Meanwhile, Breckenridge - formerly in District 5-3A - had a 7-3 mark and Comanche, for-merly in Dis-trict 8-3A, was 5-5. Both made the Division II playoffs before running into Bridgeport, which defeated Comanche 27-14 in bi-district and eliminated Breckenridge 43-40 in the area play-offs the following week.
Sweetwater barely avoided a playoff date with Bridgeport as the Bulls lost a wild 43-42 thriller in overtime to Monahans at Mustang Bowl. Instead, Sweetwater beat Monahans 35-16 to reach the state semifinals.
The last time Sweetwater and Breckenridge met was in 2001, when the Mustangs won 38-26. In 2000, Sweetwater also won, 27-23. But to find the last time Sweetwater played against Comanche, you have to go back an incredible 90 years to 1916.
That year, Sweetwater faced Comanche in a playoff contest to determine the champion of West Texas and lost, 13-6. That game was held just four years after Sweetwater began playing football in 1912.
While Sweetwater has almost no history with Comanche, the Mustangs' six non-district foes - Wichita Falls, Brownwood, Decatur, Canyon, Big Spring and Borger - have all played them within the past 11 years except for Canyon, which hasn't played Sweetwater since 1987 when the Mustangs claimed a 35-14 win in the Class 4A quarterfinals. Like Comanche, Can-yon and Decatur have never played a regular season game with Sweetwater. But you may recall that Sweetwater played Decatur in the regional playoffs in 2002 at Stephenville, a game Sweetwater won 24-21. In that game, a last-second pass com-pletion was stopped at the 1 to preserve the victory.
Brownwood has one of the state's most storied programs, but Sweetwater beat the Lions three straight years until losing in 1999, the last time the teams met. Borger's last meeting with Sweetwater was also in 1999. The Bulldogs actually defeated Sweetwater in both ‘98 and ‘99, ending the Mustangs' 40-game regular season winning streak in ‘98. This will be the first time Sweetwater has played Brown-wood and Borger since becom-ing a 3A school in 2000.
In 1939, Sweetwater played Brownwood in its first game at Mustang Bowl and the Mustangs won, 14-0. The game will also be played at the Bowl this year as the featured game of the Sammy Baugh Classic.
Sweetwater's last game with Wichita Falls High was in 1995 when the Mustangs won, 36-8, over the Coyotes. The last time that Sweetwater met Big Spring was in 2001, after the teams had ceased to be district rivals. The Steers had defeated Sweetwater three consecutive years, keeping the Mustangs out of the 4A playoffs with victories in ‘98 and ‘99 and then winning, 34-0, after Sweetwater played its first game after dropping to Class 3A status in 2000.
But Sweetwater got revenge in Kent Jackson's first game as head coach with the Mustangs, winning 28-25 after surviving a late Steers rally at the Bowl.
Sweetwater will play Wichita Falls (Sept. 1), Brownwood (Sept. 8), Borger (Oct. 6), Clyde (Oct. 20) and Breckenridge (Nov. 10) at home this year. And just six days after playing Brownwood here, the Mustangs go to Brownwood on Sept. 14 to play Decatur at the Gordon Wood Classic.
That game will be followed by three road games in the next four weeks. The road swing begins Sept. 22 at Canyon and Sept. 29 at Big Spring, followed by the team's homecoming game against Borger on Oct. 6. Sweetwater goes to Comanche the following Friday, Oct. 13, to kick off District 7-3A play.
Sweetwater will be seeking a bit of revenge when it takes on Wylie two weeks later, Oct. 27, in its final road game.
For all of the Mustangs' success in District 4-3A, reaching the quarterfinals in ‘04 and the semifinals in ‘05, they were defeated by Wylie both years.
Copyright © 2006 Sweetwater Reporter