Bears, Mustangs ready for Orange Bowl

[Bobcatfan4life]

Bears, Mustangs ready for Orange Bowl

Van Wade

The Orange Leader

LITTLE CYPRESS — While West Orange-Stark will be staring down their fourth straight Class 4A opponent, counting scrimmages, the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Battlin’ Bears look to shine in their first official game of the season and first-ever under the guidance of new head coach Randy Crouch.

Coach Crouch will face a lot of his old friends and players after serving as offensive coordinator at WO-S from 1998-2008.

The friendship will remain, even during 48 minutes of football at Battlin’ Bear Stadium tonight with the Orange Bowl Trophy on the line again.

“It’s going to be a good test for our football team,†said Crouch. “WO-S has such a great tradition and working with Dan (Hooks) and those guys was great and they treated me well and I always wish them well. After three scrimmages, our kids are ready to play for real and we’ve got a tough one right out of the chute.â€

“It’s a tough deal, having Randy (Crouch) over here for so long, he’s like family,†said Hooks. “We really all wish him well at LC-M and we’re hoping he wins nine games this year. Just watching some of their scrimmages, the Bears look so much better this year. LC-M is a young team, one that’s only going to get better.â€

Crouch is taking over a program that is currently riding a 15-game losing streak with its last win coming over Houston Kashmere in non-district in 2007.

The Bears have had their toughest offseason in years, including full-contact drills in practice. They are young but have been battle-tested in impressive scrimmages against the likes of Texas City, Silsbee and Baytown Lee.

“Three scrimmages gave our kids, especially the younger ones, tremendous experience,†said Crouch. “It also helped us as a staff as for as evaluating goes and we feel we’ve got the kids in the right spots. That’s not to say that some kid might have a great game on the JV level and we bring him up. There’s a lot of areas that we feel pretty good about and there are areas of weakness, that’s to be expected this time of the year.â€

The Mustangs (1-0), ranked No. 4 in the latest Class 3A state poll, have already notched a big win, dismantling 4A Nederland 42-21 last week.

The Mustangs piled up 423 yards of total offense and limited the Bulldogs to just 173 while forcing seven turnovers.

Underclassmen played big roles in that victory.

Junior quarterback Reggie Garrett passed for 210 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore tailback Britton Lindsey rushed for 118 yards and a TD on 20 carries. Junior receiver Mark Roberts had three catches for 111 yards and a TD and sophomore defensive back Justin Thomas had three interceptions.

Throw in seniors Trey Franks and James Haynes, both who have verbally committed to Oklahoma, and the Mustangs are in the “speed†business.

“We were really pleased with the outcome of the Nederland game,†said Hooks. “You never quite know what you’re going to get when those young guys step on that field for that first Friday night test. Reggie (Garrett) played outstanding and our little sophomore tailback (Lindsey) is going to be a keeper.â€

Hooks was extremely pleased with the defense as well.

“We’ve got some young guys that stepped up on that side of the ball too,†said Hooks. “We wanted to force more turnovers this year and creating seven that first week is a pretty good start.â€

Crouch is hoping the Bears can limit WO-S’ touches on offense.

“WO-S has had speed over the years, but this year’s team, from top to bottom, may be their fastest ever,†said Crouch. “They will be the fastest team we’ll see this year. When you look at Franks, Haynes, Roberts, Lindsey, Garrett, it will be tough for anyone to slow down those guys, you just have to try to limit those big plays.â€

Hooks has been impressed with the Bear squad after their scrimmages.

“You can already tell that the work ethic there (LC-M) has changed for the better,†said Hooks. “They’re going full out in practice and getting after one another and that makes you mentally tougher too. Defensively, they’ve looked good in their scrimmages.â€

On offense, the Bears are turning to second-year starting quarterback Hunter Gonzales to lead the way. He has big-play receivers as well in Preston Armstrong and Daniel Harrison and Sam Burton and a tough running back in Tevvin Jones.

“Gonzales is just one of those kids that is tough and I think he plays everything over there,†said Hooks. “He’s got a good arm and is a deceptive runner. They have very good receivers.â€

One thing for sure, Battlin’ Bear Stadium will be packed for this one.

“Both communities definitely look forward to this one,†said Crouch. “It’s going to be a tremendous test for our kids because this WO-S team is probably the best one they’ve had in awhile and believe me, I’ve seen their good ones. Our kids just need to maintain their focus. There will be some good plays and there will be some bad ones. It’s the first game of the year with nine more coming after it.â€

“It’s a tremendous game for the communities,†said Hooks. “The coaching staffs are friends, a lot of the kids are friends. The Bears play so hard against us. Just think back a couple years ago, we escaped out of their with a 6-0 win. It’ll be a packed house and it will be full of excitement.â€