Friendswood Journal - Sports
Friendswood, Magnolia brace for key battle
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| Mustang quarterback Jacob Karam and running back Andrew Cole will need big games to lift Friendswood past resilient Magnolia |
By TED DUNNAM
Steve Van Meter says one need not analyze why the Friendswood Mustangs have reached the Division I Class 4A regional semifinals.
“We’re avoiding turnovers this year that we didn’t avoid last year,” the Mustang head coach said. “We’ve taken much better care of the ball. Defensively, we’ve had our ups and downs, but now we’re on the rise again.
“I don’t think it’s a case where we have the right chemistry, we’re just not making the mistakes we did last year.”
When the Mustangs meet Magnolia in a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday in Aldine’s Thorne Stadium, the teams’ contrasting styles will be readily apparent.
Friendswood will come out guns-a-blazin’ in its no-huddle, spread offense while the Bulldogs will be content to try to overpower the Mustangs with a four-pronged wishbone attack.
“It’s your basic power-oriented wishbone with two tight ends,” Van Meter said of Magnolia. “They’ll run the power, the double-lead, the dive option and throw five or six times a game.
“They’ve got big linemen and they’re getting the job done. Most importantly, they’re finding a way to win.”
Magnolia head coach Andy Sexton, in only his second year at the Bulldog helm, has taken his team the farthest any Magnolia squad has ever advanced in school history.
The last time Friendswood and Magnolia met was in 1972 in a playoff matchup in Alvin, a game the Mustangs won in eventually fashioning a 12-1-1 record and reaching the state semifinals.
Van Meter was a defensive back on that Mustang team, and a member of the state championship squad a year later.
Thirty-six years later, this game takes on a completely different look.
“We’re pretty blessed to be where we are,” Sexton said. “We’ve won a couple of close games, and we know this will be our biggest challenge.
“It’ll be an honor just to be on the same field as coach Van Meter. He’s built such an outstanding program there. They do a good job of balancing their attack.”
Sexton knows his best defense will be the Bulldogs’ offense.
“We have to control the ball on offense,” Sexton said. “We’ll run the wishbone right, then we’ll run it left, then we’ll run it right again.
“We don’t get in that double-slot look like Clear Lake. We’re pretty simple. If we can go out there, and our quarterback can make the right reads, then we could have some success.”
The Bulldogs are led by backs Dennis Dunbar (705 yards, 7 TDs), Arnold Nevarez (625 yards, 5 TDs) and Alex Smith (298 yards, 5 TDs). Quarterback Connor Wehr has completed 15 of 28 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns.
Van Meter says his team’s offense will need to have the same approach as Magnolia.
“If they hold the ball, we’re in trouble,” Van Meter said. “We have to be good on our offensive possessions.
“The only time we played against the bone was in a scrimmage against Clear Brook, and we just played a base defense then. This will be a different problem for us. I actually think their team speed isn’t as fast as ours, which is something new for us.”
The Mustangs are led on offense by quarterback Jacob Karam, who has completed 180 of 294 passes for 2,765 yards and 33 touchdowns. The Texas Tech commitment been intercepted nine times.
Mustang wide receiver Andre Gautreaux has caught 52 passes for 1,133 yards and 17 touchdowns and gets solid support from wideouts Austin Fitzpatrick (21 catches) and Cody Bergeson (15 catches). Andrew Cole has added 729 yards rushing.
Van Meter says Friendswood’s offensive line is as much to credit for the team’s success as any unit.
“Ben Compton at left tackle has really come on and Travis Batts at right tackle has been very steady,” Van Meter said. “Hunter Ratcliff at center has had a nice year for us.”
And that’s not mentioning Colton Yuchnewicz, a 6-4, 330-pound senior, the anchor of the line.
Sexton knows that stopping Friendswood’s offense will be a tall order.
“I’m not sure we can slow it down,” Sexton said. “We’ve played some teams that run the three- and four-wide sets, but those teams didn’t execute like Friendswood does.
“We’re just happy to be playing. We had a bunch of kids that hadn’t played varsity football a year ago, and it took us a while to develop. We’ve gotten better, but us coaches are always looking for that perfect game.
“We’re just a simple little old country team going up against an outstanding program.”
“We’re avoiding turnovers this year that we didn’t avoid last year,” the Mustang head coach said. “We’ve taken much better care of the ball. Defensively, we’ve had our ups and downs, but now we’re on the rise again.
“I don’t think it’s a case where we have the right chemistry, we’re just not making the mistakes we did last year.”
When the Mustangs meet Magnolia in a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday in Aldine’s Thorne Stadium, the teams’ contrasting styles will be readily apparent.
Friendswood will come out guns-a-blazin’ in its no-huddle, spread offense while the Bulldogs will be content to try to overpower the Mustangs with a four-pronged wishbone attack.
“It’s your basic power-oriented wishbone with two tight ends,” Van Meter said of Magnolia. “They’ll run the power, the double-lead, the dive option and throw five or six times a game.
“They’ve got big linemen and they’re getting the job done. Most importantly, they’re finding a way to win.”
Magnolia head coach Andy Sexton, in only his second year at the Bulldog helm, has taken his team the farthest any Magnolia squad has ever advanced in school history.
The last time Friendswood and Magnolia met was in 1972 in a playoff matchup in Alvin, a game the Mustangs won in eventually fashioning a 12-1-1 record and reaching the state semifinals.
Van Meter was a defensive back on that Mustang team, and a member of the state championship squad a year later.
Thirty-six years later, this game takes on a completely different look.
“We’re pretty blessed to be where we are,” Sexton said. “We’ve won a couple of close games, and we know this will be our biggest challenge.
“It’ll be an honor just to be on the same field as coach Van Meter. He’s built such an outstanding program there. They do a good job of balancing their attack.”
Sexton knows his best defense will be the Bulldogs’ offense.
“We have to control the ball on offense,” Sexton said. “We’ll run the wishbone right, then we’ll run it left, then we’ll run it right again.
“We don’t get in that double-slot look like Clear Lake. We’re pretty simple. If we can go out there, and our quarterback can make the right reads, then we could have some success.”
The Bulldogs are led by backs Dennis Dunbar (705 yards, 7 TDs), Arnold Nevarez (625 yards, 5 TDs) and Alex Smith (298 yards, 5 TDs). Quarterback Connor Wehr has completed 15 of 28 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns.
Van Meter says his team’s offense will need to have the same approach as Magnolia.
“If they hold the ball, we’re in trouble,” Van Meter said. “We have to be good on our offensive possessions.
“The only time we played against the bone was in a scrimmage against Clear Brook, and we just played a base defense then. This will be a different problem for us. I actually think their team speed isn’t as fast as ours, which is something new for us.”
The Mustangs are led on offense by quarterback Jacob Karam, who has completed 180 of 294 passes for 2,765 yards and 33 touchdowns. The Texas Tech commitment been intercepted nine times.
Mustang wide receiver Andre Gautreaux has caught 52 passes for 1,133 yards and 17 touchdowns and gets solid support from wideouts Austin Fitzpatrick (21 catches) and Cody Bergeson (15 catches). Andrew Cole has added 729 yards rushing.
Van Meter says Friendswood’s offensive line is as much to credit for the team’s success as any unit.
“Ben Compton at left tackle has really come on and Travis Batts at right tackle has been very steady,” Van Meter said. “Hunter Ratcliff at center has had a nice year for us.”
And that’s not mentioning Colton Yuchnewicz, a 6-4, 330-pound senior, the anchor of the line.
Sexton knows that stopping Friendswood’s offense will be a tall order.
“I’m not sure we can slow it down,” Sexton said. “We’ve played some teams that run the three- and four-wide sets, but those teams didn’t execute like Friendswood does.
“We’re just happy to be playing. We had a bunch of kids that hadn’t played varsity football a year ago, and it took us a while to develop. We’ve gotten better, but us coaches are always looking for that perfect game.
“We’re just a simple little old country team going up against an outstanding program.”
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