Phantom Stang
10-12-2009, 11:39 AM
Mustangs smash Bucks for 1st win
Written by Ron Howell
Monday, 12 October 2009
Not long after finally getting his first win Friday as Sweetwater’s head football coach Friday with a 41-14 victory over Breckenridge, Craig Slaughter received the obvious question.
After an 0-5 start, how does it feel to win?
Slaughter’s response indicated that a lot of the weight of the world had been lifted. “I think that there’s a 50,000-pound gorilla walking around those steps right now,” he said, laughing.
“You don’t really think about the pressure to win that first one after you are hired. But it’s a dang good feeling, no doubt.”
The good feelings at Mustang Bowl were evident right from the opening kickoff, which Ken Norman returned 44 yards to give Sweetwater a huge adrenaline boost and set up the first touchdown.
By the time the game was over, Sweetwater had more points and touchdowns (6) than it had managed in the five games and 20 quarters that preceded it. The Mus-tangs also racked up a sea-son-high 410 yards against Breckenridge (1-5).
After setting up at the Buckaroos’ 33, B.J. Wal-ker carried four consecutive times and scored from 17 yards out to give the Mus-tangs a 6-0 lead with less than two minutes gone. Breckenridge, though, came right back to score a tying touchdown on a 1-yard run by quarterback Colby Simmons that capped an eight-play drive. Angel Garcia’s extra point put the Buckaroos ahead 7-6 with 6:28 left in the quarter.
But the lead lasted less than a minute of game time.Sweetwater answered right back, thanks to a 62-yard run by Walker that set up a 6-yard TD run by Norman. Norman then made it 14-7 when he threw a two-point pass to Larry Daniel after a faked extra point kick.
Sweetwater missed golden opportunities to score on its next two possessions after getting within field goal range both times. But the Mustangs finally got on the board again before halftime with a 13-play, 63-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes. Sweetwater was able to convert twice on fourth down, including on the touchdown which came when Walker took a pitch and scored from the 1. Cole Rhoades’ extra point kick made it 21-7 at halftime.
“We answered their score and got control of the game,” Slaughter said. “Our defense after that was huge. But the intensity of our team all week has been great.”
Sweetwater then put the game away with two more scores while the defense twice stopped Breckenridge on drives that began inside Mustang territory. The real backbreaker came when quarterback T.J. Jones hit Jason Vause on a 78-yard pass play to make it a 27-7 game midway through the third quarter.
A.J. McCoy recovered a fumble at Breckenridge’s 36 to set up a short drive that led to Norman’s second TD on a 2-yard run.
Norman wound up making the 2-point conversion as well after picking the ball up on a muffed kick and getting to the pylon to open a 35-7 advantage.
David Howard scored for Breckenridge on a 5-yard run to cut the lead to 35-14 with 6:37 remaining in the contest, but Sweetwater — and McCoy — weren’t finished. McCoy intercepted a pass and returned it 41 yards for the final touchdown with 1:29 left.
“We needed this,” said Norman, who was also in on 13 tackles and had one of three Mustang sacks. “Our whole week of practice was good and we were confident we would do well tonight.”
Vause, who caught six passes for 111 yards, echoed that sentiment. “A lot of people had a good feeling about this one,” he said. “It has just been clicking well in practice and we’ve gotten to a higher level.”
Sweetwater Reporter (http://www.sweetwaterreporter.com/content/view/170577/122/)
Written by Ron Howell
Monday, 12 October 2009
Not long after finally getting his first win Friday as Sweetwater’s head football coach Friday with a 41-14 victory over Breckenridge, Craig Slaughter received the obvious question.
After an 0-5 start, how does it feel to win?
Slaughter’s response indicated that a lot of the weight of the world had been lifted. “I think that there’s a 50,000-pound gorilla walking around those steps right now,” he said, laughing.
“You don’t really think about the pressure to win that first one after you are hired. But it’s a dang good feeling, no doubt.”
The good feelings at Mustang Bowl were evident right from the opening kickoff, which Ken Norman returned 44 yards to give Sweetwater a huge adrenaline boost and set up the first touchdown.
By the time the game was over, Sweetwater had more points and touchdowns (6) than it had managed in the five games and 20 quarters that preceded it. The Mus-tangs also racked up a sea-son-high 410 yards against Breckenridge (1-5).
After setting up at the Buckaroos’ 33, B.J. Wal-ker carried four consecutive times and scored from 17 yards out to give the Mus-tangs a 6-0 lead with less than two minutes gone. Breckenridge, though, came right back to score a tying touchdown on a 1-yard run by quarterback Colby Simmons that capped an eight-play drive. Angel Garcia’s extra point put the Buckaroos ahead 7-6 with 6:28 left in the quarter.
But the lead lasted less than a minute of game time.Sweetwater answered right back, thanks to a 62-yard run by Walker that set up a 6-yard TD run by Norman. Norman then made it 14-7 when he threw a two-point pass to Larry Daniel after a faked extra point kick.
Sweetwater missed golden opportunities to score on its next two possessions after getting within field goal range both times. But the Mustangs finally got on the board again before halftime with a 13-play, 63-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes. Sweetwater was able to convert twice on fourth down, including on the touchdown which came when Walker took a pitch and scored from the 1. Cole Rhoades’ extra point kick made it 21-7 at halftime.
“We answered their score and got control of the game,” Slaughter said. “Our defense after that was huge. But the intensity of our team all week has been great.”
Sweetwater then put the game away with two more scores while the defense twice stopped Breckenridge on drives that began inside Mustang territory. The real backbreaker came when quarterback T.J. Jones hit Jason Vause on a 78-yard pass play to make it a 27-7 game midway through the third quarter.
A.J. McCoy recovered a fumble at Breckenridge’s 36 to set up a short drive that led to Norman’s second TD on a 2-yard run.
Norman wound up making the 2-point conversion as well after picking the ball up on a muffed kick and getting to the pylon to open a 35-7 advantage.
David Howard scored for Breckenridge on a 5-yard run to cut the lead to 35-14 with 6:37 remaining in the contest, but Sweetwater — and McCoy — weren’t finished. McCoy intercepted a pass and returned it 41 yards for the final touchdown with 1:29 left.
“We needed this,” said Norman, who was also in on 13 tackles and had one of three Mustang sacks. “Our whole week of practice was good and we were confident we would do well tonight.”
Vause, who caught six passes for 111 yards, echoed that sentiment. “A lot of people had a good feeling about this one,” he said. “It has just been clicking well in practice and we’ve gotten to a higher level.”
Sweetwater Reporter (http://www.sweetwaterreporter.com/content/view/170577/122/)