Phantom Stang
10-10-2008, 06:01 PM
SW opens district against struggling Bucks
Written by Ron Howell
Thursday, 09 October 2008
September was very good for Sweetwater, which won all four of its games during the month against high-quality opponents.
How the Mustangs fare in October, of course, remains to be seen. But Coach Kent Jackson's squad, 4-1 overall, will find out starting this Friday after an open date last week as it kicks off District 2-3A action at Breckenridge. And for the first time, Sweetwater enters the game as a big favorite. The Mustangs are facing a Breck-enridge whose record is exactly the opposite (1-4) as Sweetwater's.
Not only that, but the Bucks have been heavily outscored, managing just 43 points and giving up 132.
But Jackson says that those records and point totals are meaningless now.
"You can't go by wins and losses," he said. "Everybody in this district is too good and their traditions too great. Everybody is 0-0 in district, and we're 0-0 right now. We've just got to go out and play these games that matter. That's what we're excited about. It ought to be fun, both for the kids and fans. There are great venues everywhere in this district and communities that take a lot of pride in what they do."
That's pretty obvious when you think about the programs at places like Brownwood, Snyder, Abilene Wylie and even Graham, but not as much at Breckenridge, unless you're an oldtimer who has followed high school football for most of your life.
If so, you may remember that in the 1950s, Breckenridge captured five state championships. And only a few schools have won more titles in their entire history, including Brownwood with seven between the years of 1960 and 1981.
But the Buckaroos have ad-vanced to the postseason just twice this decade, the last time in 2005, and they were 3-7 last year. New coach David Fambrough had a lot of success at his previous stop in Seymour, however, leading the Panthers to the Class A Division I state title game.
The Bucks have yet to score more than 12 points in a game this season, but they lost only 14-7 to Vernon, which beat Sweetwater in the playoffs the last two seasons and three of the past five.
Sweetwater's last game — a 28-7 win over Big Spring here two weeks ago — was keyed, as usual, by a strong ground attack that gained 290 yards and had eight different players running the ball. Steven Fields was the top rusher with 72 yards on eight carries, while Daniel Jackson scored two touchdowns and Zach Birdwell and Rufus McCann one apiece.
In addition, the team showed more of a passing attack with 76 yards on four completions, all of them to Matt Hord.
The Mustangs gave up 275 total yards, but Big Spring scored only one touchdown and it came after Sweetwater had built a 21-0 halftime lead.
Zach Wetsel had two interceptions in the game and Fields recovered a fumble for the Mustangs, who have forced nine turnovers in their last two games. Sweetwater was turn-over-free against Big Spring.
Last Updated ( Friday, 10 October 2008 )
www.sweetwaterreporter.com/content/view/114802/122/
Written by Ron Howell
Thursday, 09 October 2008
September was very good for Sweetwater, which won all four of its games during the month against high-quality opponents.
How the Mustangs fare in October, of course, remains to be seen. But Coach Kent Jackson's squad, 4-1 overall, will find out starting this Friday after an open date last week as it kicks off District 2-3A action at Breckenridge. And for the first time, Sweetwater enters the game as a big favorite. The Mustangs are facing a Breck-enridge whose record is exactly the opposite (1-4) as Sweetwater's.
Not only that, but the Bucks have been heavily outscored, managing just 43 points and giving up 132.
But Jackson says that those records and point totals are meaningless now.
"You can't go by wins and losses," he said. "Everybody in this district is too good and their traditions too great. Everybody is 0-0 in district, and we're 0-0 right now. We've just got to go out and play these games that matter. That's what we're excited about. It ought to be fun, both for the kids and fans. There are great venues everywhere in this district and communities that take a lot of pride in what they do."
That's pretty obvious when you think about the programs at places like Brownwood, Snyder, Abilene Wylie and even Graham, but not as much at Breckenridge, unless you're an oldtimer who has followed high school football for most of your life.
If so, you may remember that in the 1950s, Breckenridge captured five state championships. And only a few schools have won more titles in their entire history, including Brownwood with seven between the years of 1960 and 1981.
But the Buckaroos have ad-vanced to the postseason just twice this decade, the last time in 2005, and they were 3-7 last year. New coach David Fambrough had a lot of success at his previous stop in Seymour, however, leading the Panthers to the Class A Division I state title game.
The Bucks have yet to score more than 12 points in a game this season, but they lost only 14-7 to Vernon, which beat Sweetwater in the playoffs the last two seasons and three of the past five.
Sweetwater's last game — a 28-7 win over Big Spring here two weeks ago — was keyed, as usual, by a strong ground attack that gained 290 yards and had eight different players running the ball. Steven Fields was the top rusher with 72 yards on eight carries, while Daniel Jackson scored two touchdowns and Zach Birdwell and Rufus McCann one apiece.
In addition, the team showed more of a passing attack with 76 yards on four completions, all of them to Matt Hord.
The Mustangs gave up 275 total yards, but Big Spring scored only one touchdown and it came after Sweetwater had built a 21-0 halftime lead.
Zach Wetsel had two interceptions in the game and Fields recovered a fumble for the Mustangs, who have forced nine turnovers in their last two games. Sweetwater was turn-over-free against Big Spring.
Last Updated ( Friday, 10 October 2008 )
www.sweetwaterreporter.com/content/view/114802/122/