Mustangs hoping to clip Hawks

[Bobcatfan4life]

[b]Mustangs hoping to clip Hawks

Van Wade
The Orange Leader

WEST ORANGE —[/b] Long-time West Orange-Stark head coach Dan Hooks hopes the Mustangs have all their ducks in a row when the Hardin-Jefferson Hawks come rolling into town tonight.

There just may be plenty of ducks swimming around Hooks Stadium after a heavy amount of rain is likely to douse the entire Southeast Texas area.

“I hope it doesn’t become too, too bad,” said Hooks. “By the time the game rolls around, it’s likely to be a quagmire out here. You always hate to play a Mud Bowl.”

The Mustangs (6-2, 2-1) certainly find themselves in a good position and a win over the Hawks (4-4, 2-1) would pretty much seal a playoff spot out of District 21-3A.

“It should be a good little game,” said Hooks. “Hardin-Jefferson, like other teams in our district, have really improved this year. They have several gifted skill people and they’re defense isn’t bad either.”

Both teams are coming off big wins last week with the Mustangs taking down Orange County rival Bridge City 29-15 while the Hawks dumped last-place Hamshire-Fannett 24-8.

The Mustang offense, which chews up 277.4 yards a game, is led by junior quarterback Reggie Garrett. Garrett has passed for 883 yards and eight touchdowns. Receiver Mark Roberts has 22 receptions for 356 yards and two touchdowns.

Tailback Britton Lindsey, despite fighting injuries, leads the ground game with 410 yards and five TDs on 84 carries. James Haynes has 289 yards and four TDs on 21 carries.

Coach Hooks is proud of the way the Mustangs have performed this year. Underclassmen have really stepped up their play and have played a ton of minutes all season with the Mustangs battling the injury bug and sickness.

“Some of our young ones have had to be thrown into the fire a lot this year, probably earlier then what we really wanted wanted them to do,” said Hooks. “They’ve stepped in and have really been impressive. We’ve been banged up all year. It seems like one week we’ll see two kids go down with injuries and one will come back and vice versa. Right now, it looks like we’re getting healthier. That’s going to help us in these last two weeks to build more chemistry.”

The Hawks only have 21-3A’s fifth-ranked defense as they allow 354.8 yards a game.

On offense, the Hawks have a nice two-headed monster in the backfield in quarterback Blake Venable and running back Jacoby Turner.

Venable has rushed for 621 yards and seven TDs on 119 carries and has passed for 697 yards and four TDs. Turner has rumbled for 652 yards and eight TDs on 95 carries for an offense that is averaging 278.5 yards an outing. Receiver James Morrison has 12 catches for 234 yards and a TD.

They will face a young Mustang defense that has stepped up in a big way. WO-S allows just a mere 184.1 yards a game, which is the best among all Southeast Texas football units. Not bad for a group that sometimes starts nine underclassmen.

“Offensively, the Hawks are pretty darn good,” said Hooks. “That Venable kid is tough and physical. He’s gotten so much stronger this season and is a good leader. The Turner kid, we’ve got to keep him in front of us. He’s trouble when he gets in the open field.”

[hj_hawk_60]

Good writeup. Despite what some people say, i think this is going to be a battle.

[Guest ~old_wildcat~]

[quote name="hj_hawk_60" post="689809" timestamp="1256855561"]
Good writeup. Despite what some people say, i think this is going to be a battle.
[/quote]

I Agree HJ Hawk.....If HJ Plays WO-S The Way They Played (us) Kirbyville...They [b]Will[/b] Be In The Ball Game...JMO