Playoff-bound WO-S faces stern Bobcat test

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[b]Playoff-bound WO-S faces stern Bobcat test

Van Wade
The Orange Leader

ORANGEFIELD —[/b] For West Orange-Stark, it’s all about fine-tuning and staying healthy as the playoffs come calling next week.

For the much-improved Orangefield Bobcats, it’s about putting an exclamation point to round out their season.

The two teams collide tonight at Orangefield High School to wrap up the District 21-3A season.

The Mustangs (7-2, 3-1) are heading for the playoffs for the sixth straight season under Dan hooks while the Bobcats (4-5, 1-3) look to close the season with an upset and to grab some momentum heading into next season under first-year coach Brian Huckabay.

“It should be a good ball game,” said Hooks. “Huck (Huckabay) has done such an excellent job with the Orangefield program. They’ve improved tremendously and can flat-out score some points with that offense they’re running.”

“Our kids are looking forward to playing West Orange,” said Bobcat first-year head coach Brian Huckabay. “West Orange has such a tremendous history and the kids are really wanting to compete well. I know its a big game for our seniors. I’ve got a senior (Corey Huckabay) playing tonight and I know how special a feeling it is for the parents. We’ve been sticking to our gameplan and treating WO-S just like any opponent. They have a lot of skill people you need to watch for.”

The Mustangs are coming off a 29-10 win over Hardin-Jefferson last week while the Bobcats dropped a tough 31-30 overtime decision to rival Bridge City.

“I know last week had to be a frustrating deal for Orangefield,” said Hooks. “They had Bridge City down 23-0. Give the Cardinals credit for coming back. Orangefield is not going to lay down for us. One thing about those kids over there, they’re going to get after it for four quarters. Coach Huckabay will have them ready. I know they want to finish their season strong and win over us would make their day.”

The Bobcats check in averaging 372.9 yards a game, almost twice as much as they put up during their 1-8 campaign a year ago.

“The kids have accomplished quite a lot this year and I’m proud of them,” said Huckabay. “Sure, we fell short of some of our goals after dropping a couple tough games in district but they remain strong in practice. Our seniors should be proud of what they’ve accomplished this year. One thing for certain, the kids will show up and play hard Friday night just like they’ve done all year.”

Senior quarterback Corey Huckabay is certainly the engineer. He’s rushed for 868 yards and 12 touchdowns and has passed for 366 yards and three TDs in the run-heavy offensive machine.

He has a slew of backs to aid the cause such as Evan Guidry (539 yards, eight TDs), Derrick Evans (437 yards, four TDs), Quinton Evans (317 yards, eight TDs), Chase Parker (299 yards, two TDs) and Josh Shores (237 yards, one TD).

“The Huckabay kid makes that whole thing go,” said Hooks. “They have several good backs. The Evans kid is a really tremendous athlete. It’s hard to find the ball sometimes with what they like to do. Their offensive line is impressive. I really like that No. 76, that (Ethan) Cowart kid. He’s not someone you would like to line up against all night.”

The Bobcats will face a Mustang defense that leads the whole Golden Triangle. WO-S allows just a mere 189.8 yards a contest.

The Mustangs have found their groove on offense in recent weeks. WO-S, which is averaging 289.9 yards a game, piled up 399 yards in the win over the Hawks last week.

Quarterback Reggie Garrett has passed for 967 yards and nine TDs and has rushed for 273 yards and eight TDs.

Mark Roberts leads all receivers with 25 catches for 445 yards and three TDs while Justin Francis has 16 grabs for 206 yards and a TD.

Running back Darius Mitchell has played well the last few weeks and had 84 yards on 14 carries against H-J.

WO-S will face a Bobcat defense that is allowing 297 yards per game.

The Mustangs will either play Coldspring or Shepherd in the Class 3A Region III bidistrict playoffs next week.