WO-S Set to Defend 21-3A Crown

[Bobcatfan4life]

http://www.orangeleader.com/hssports/local_story_270165540.html

[KFDM COOP]

WO-S set to defend 21-3A crown

Van Wade

The Orange Leader

WEST ORANGE — Having a chance to start defending something that’s been there own the past three seasons, the West Orange-Stark Mustangs will welcome the Hamshire-Fannett Longhorns to Dan R. Hooks Stadium tonight.

The Mustangs (2-1) have yet to drop a game in district since dropping to the 3A ranks in 2004 as the Longhorns (2-1) motor into town.

Without a doubt, the Mustangs held their own in a rugged non-district schedule, that included wins over Dayton and Little Cypress-Mauriceville and a tight loss to Bay City.

This week, WO-S is glad to be the bigger school for a change.

“The kids are excited about playing 3A-caliber opponents and so am I,†said Mustang coach Dan Hooks. “I thought our kids held their own really well against quality 4A competition. That’s a tough schedule but it really gets the kids ready for district.â€

The Mustangs had their bye last week and have been preparing for the Longhorns for nearly two weeks now.

“The bye week, it’s a good thing and a bad thing,†Hooks said. “It does give you time to heal up because we had a few dings and bruises. But you also lose playing that one Friday night and that kinda changes up how you go about things for nearly two weeks. I know one thing, the kids are itching to play.â€

The Longhorns seem to have a much better product hitting the field this season under the guidance of first-year head coach Walt Mangan. The Longhorns return seven offensive starters off last year’s 3-7 squad that fell to the Mustangs 54-0.

H-F downed Splendora 28-6 in its opener and then defeated Liberty 36-18 before falling to District 24-2A power East Chambers 33-19.

“Hamshire has improved tremendously from where they were last year,†Hooks said. “Coach Mangan has went in there and has done an excellent job early on. After watching them, they’re a team that is well-disciplined and don’t make too many mistakes. They’re 2-1, we’re 2-1 and we’re both 0-0 in district.â€

Quarterback Randall Courville leads the Longhorns’ Wing-T power running game and he also has two solid junior running backs in Hagan Daigle and Cameron Burrell to turn to.

As usual, the Longhorns are once again blessed with a big offensive line.

“Their offensive line is huge and they fire off the ball really good,†said Hooks. “They’ve opened up some nice holes for their backs. We would like to get some turnovers because they love to run ball-control. We don’t want to give up those long 12 or 14-play drives that they like to have.â€

The Mustang defense limited their three 4A opponents to just 192.3 yards a game thus far.

Sam Dixon currently leads the Mustangs in tackles with 23, three of them for losses. Carltives Zetar has 20 tackles and leads the team with five sacks. Robert Jiles also has 20 tackles and Jacorey Roberts has claimed five tackles for losses.

“Our little ole’ defense has gotten after it pretty good so far,†Hooks said. “We don’t have a whole lot of size but the kids have been making up for that with pure effort.â€

Offensively, the Mustangs have held their own against stingy defenses, pumping out 271.7 yards a game. Not bad numbers, since the Mustangs have battled injuries along the offensive line plus the addition of new skill people fitting into their roles.

Junior quarterback Ortavious Hypolite has completed 35-of-66 passes for 379 yards and three touchdowns and also leads the squad in rushing with 199 yards and three TDs on 47 carries. The Mustangs also look to get senior running back DePauldrick Garrett, who has 138 yards on 38 totes, loose. Sure-handed receiver Ronnie Dennis has 18 receptions for 178 yards and a TD.

The Mustangs are currently batting 1.000 in the 21-3A ranks, going a perfect 17-for-17, but Coach Hooks knows that many are in the hunt in trying to knock the Mustangs off the catbird seat.

“Our district will be very competitive and you’re going to have to play well over the long haul and be prepared each and every week,†said Hooks. “Kirbyville looks extremely tough right now, kinda like everyone predicted. Jasper is better. Silsbee is always tough. Hamshire is playing hard and Hardin-Jefferson is 2-1 too. It’s going to take awhile for all the dust to settle and hopefully we’re right there at the end again.â€

[KFDM COOP]

Hamshire-Fannett is seeking WO-Stark reversal of fortune

AREA ROUNDUP

By Larry Bodin

The Port Arthur News

HAMSHIRE – While pre-district games are important, it’s play for real time tonight when 2-1 Hamshire-Fannett travels to Orange County to meet 2-1 West Orange-Stark in the district opener for both teams.

Coming off a bye week and with two weeks to heal most of their bumps and bruises, Walt Mangan’s Longhorns are on a mission.

After losing to Dan Hook’s Mustangs, 54-0, a year ago, H-F seeks to break a major mental barrier — simply put, beat WO-S on the football field.

“We’ve got to break down the mental barrier of beating the Mustangs,†first-year head coach Mangan stressed. “Our jayvee and sub-varsity teams have beaten them, but we have not been able to win against those guys on the varsity level. So it’s a big challenge.â€

Since WO-S dropped down from 4A two UIL realignments ago (four years), Longhorn football players have yet to walk off the football field on Friday night with a win against the Mustangs.

While Longhorn returnees may have a hard time forgetting last season’s drubbing at the hands of WO-S, Mangan knows eliminating turnovers tonight will go a long way in “breaking that barrier.â€

“The longer we keep it close and hold our turnovers to a minimum, we have a better chance of coming away with a win,†Mangan added. “They do present matchup problems for us because they have so much team speed on both sides of the line of scrimmage.â€

Eliminating the WO-S big play-capability is one of the keys for H-F to come away with a big district win in the league opener for both schools.

Kelly (4-0) vs. San Augustine (0-4)

BEAUMONT – Mike Long’s biggest concern this week has been keeping his undefeated and high-flying Kelly Bulldogs focused on the task ahead and not looking past winless San Augustine.

Considering the Bulldogs are averaging 39.8 points on offense and are allowing only 12 points a game, taking San Augustine seriously will be difficult.

While Kelly can score almost at will, as evidenced by the fact it has scored 49, 42, and 49 points, respectively, against a pair of 3A and one 4A team the past three weeks, the Bulldogs take on a Class 2A team that averages only 119 yards total offense a game.

“No matter who you play, you still have to execute. You don’t want to ever beat yourself.

We’re feeling pretty good about ourselves right now, but we’ve got to keep up this same work ethic and stay hungry,†said Long.

Read

[WOS92]

OK, look...

Yeah, if WO-S overlooks HF, it could be bad news. I don't think that will happen. At least, I certainly don't think it will.

But this is an awfully misleading story, making it sound like a mental block has been the factor that has kept HF from beating the Mustangs. If that were the case, the games would be close, but they would fold when the chips were down.

Truth be told, WO-S has won by 54, 30, and 29 - a combined total score of 138-25. None of the games have been close. This has nothing to do with a "mental block."

That said, we don't have the superstars to overlook anyone this year. Stay focused, Stangs!

[Gasilla]

“Our jayvee and sub-varsity teams have beaten them, but we have not been able to win against those guys on the varsity level.

I usually follow the WOS subvarsities and I do not ever remember us losing to HF in football.

[td]

I usually follow the WOS subvarsities and I do not ever remember us losing to HF in football.

I saw you at the 8th grade game last night. They have a pretty good QB. The running backs #23 and #20 are going to be good if they can keep up the hard work. They were both very impressive last night.