KFDM COOP Posted August 8, 2008 Report Posted August 8, 2008 Mustangs beat heat with eyes on 21-3A prize Van Wade The Orange Leader WEST ORANGE — For 27 years, West Orange-Stark head coach Dan Hooks has manned the sideline. He’s seen state championship teams, two of them, and two state runnerup squads. He’s watched his Mustangs storm to 15 district titles since 1985. He’s watched great talent come and go as his 251 victories point out. As he hits the field for the 28th time as head coach, Hooks, of course, likes what he sees in the Mustangs. “The kids have come in in decent shape, and you’ve got to love that,†Hooks said. “What I really like is the way they’ve reacted as a ‘team†throughout the summer. They had good workouts throughout the summer and they all bond so well together. That tells you a lot about your senior leadership right there.†The Mustangs return six starters on offense and five off a defense that went 11-2 last season. WO-S advanced to the Class 3A Division II Region III semifinals. Since dropping to the 3A ranks in 2004, the Mustangs have yet to drop a district game, winning 24 straight contests. Quarterback Ortavious Hypolite is a key returning figure after he passed for 1,381 yards and 11 touchdowns last year as a junior. Quintavious Garrett returns to his running back slot, where he gobbled up 709 yards and six TDs on just 80 carries behind his older brother DePauldrick Garrett (1,394 yards, 23 TDs), who became WO-S’ all-time leading rusher. “We’ve got some key guys like Ortavious and Quintavious back that know the system well,†said Hooks. “We’ve got a nice group of kids returning on both sides of the ball that knows what it takes and that’s good to have. We’re also going to depend on some young ones that will definitely get their feet wet in a tough non-district schedule.†The Mustangs have been out beating the heat in two-a-days. They had a reprieve Tuesday with the arrival of Tropical Storm Edouard. Wednesday was somewhat cool but Thursday was a scorcher. “This is by far the hottest day yet,†said Hooks. “The kids will respond okay, they always do.†Friday was the first day that the Mustangs could practice in all-out gear. “You always anticipate that Friday because you can go to all of your contact drills,†Hooks said. “Those first four days are kinda scary because everybody is in shorts and T-shirts and you worry about getting a silly injury.†The Mustangs have two scrimmages lined up before they head to old Rival Nederland in their season opener Aug. 29. WO-S will venture to Dayton Saturday with the freshmen and JV teams playing at 5 p.m. followed by the varsity at 7 p.m. The Mustangs’ second scrimmage will be at Vidor Aug. 22. “We’ve got a couple good scrimmage tests against bigger schools,†said Hooks. “That will be good for us because as always, we’re only going to suit up about 28 to 30 kids. We’ve got a good little non-district schedule (Nederland, Little Cypress-Mauriceville, Kirbyville, Jasper, Brookshire-Royal) that will have us battle-tested when Silsbee rolls in here for district (Oct. 10).†Another nice item for Mustang fans — they’ll have the opportunity to watch six home games for the first time in years. “That’s a great thing,†Hooks said. “It seems like we get maybe four a year for so long and every now and then five. You can thank me for winning the flip against Brookshire-Royal. We were going to possibly play that one in Deer Park.â€
stang4life Posted August 9, 2008 Report Posted August 9, 2008 Saturday or Friday? I'm getting kind of confused... ;D
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