Mustangs Rout Greenwood

By Lew
September 11, 2004

Sweetwater gets some revenge in rout of Greenwood


Oscar LeRoy
Midland Reporter-Telegram 09/11/2004



The Sweetwater football team ended its three-game losing streak against Greenwood with authority Friday night.

Too much Mustang firepower and too many mistakes by the young Greenwood offense equaled a 52-25 victory by the Mustangs at J.M. King Memorial Stadium.

Sweetwater coach Kent Jackson deflected any talk of revenge or ending streaks.

"At this time of year, it's just good to get a win," Jackson said. "We have a lot of respect for Greenwood. They're a fine program and they're going to win a lot of ballgames, but to come in and win a game like that, it's just a big honor.'

On the other side of the field, it a much somber mood from a team still searching for its identity early in the 2004 season.

"We just didn't play well," Greenwood coach Bob Purser said. "We gave up some huge plays that should never happen. We played hard for a while but we didn't play hard all night."

The dagger in Greenwood's heart came in the fourth quarter. Sweetwater led 32-18 but the Mustangs put the game away with 20 answered points, highlighted by a 63-yard touchdown interception return by Joseph Banyard, who also added 77 yards rushing and one TD on four carries.

"We just got wore down," Purser said. "We have a lot of things to fix, and most of it is mental. We have to decide if we're going to play football or not this year. We can play a lot better than this, we just have to find out who the players are."

Sweetwater (2-1) was the first to strike with a 64-yard pass play when Mustang quarterback Jeremy Thompson found Michael Williams in front of his defender for a score late in the first quarter.

The Mustangs made it 10-0 when they put together a nine play, 52-yard drive, culminating with a 30-yard field goal by Parker Morrow.

Greenwood (0-2) seemed to move the ball with its running game but the Rangers kept stomping their own foot with six offside penalties in the first half. The Rangers also fumbled on their first possession.

Greenwood was able to get something positive going on offense on its fifth possession when Justin Sebree broke loose for a 55-yard run up the gut of the Sweetwater defense. Two plays later Taylor Himbury scored the first of his four touchdowns on a 16-yard run. The Rangers could not convert on the extra point and the Mustangs held to a 10-6 lead.

After holding Greenwood to a three-and-out, the Mustangs went back to work on offense. After a 10-yard keeper by Thompson, the Mustangs were aided by a 15-yard pass interference penalty, which set the ball on the Greenwood 15. Kendal Carillo, who earlier had a 64-yard kickoff return, scored on a 15-yard run to give the Mustangs a 17-6 edge going into the locker room.

After a defensive first half, there was an offensive outburst from both teams in the third quarter. Banyard had a 23-yard TD run and Skye Green had a 66-yard TD run for Sweetwater. Greenwood had two touchdown runs by Himbury to cut it to 32-18 and keep the Rangers within striking distance.

"That showed their resiliency because we couldn't knock them out," Jackson said. "(On Friday) we were just able to take the next step and make plays when we had to."

Jarrel Brooks finished with 122 yards rushing on 12 carries for Greenwood.


Sweetwater 52, Greenwood 25

Sweetwater 7 10 15 20 -- 52

Greenwood 0 6 12 7 -- 25

First Quarter

SWE -- Michael Williams 64 pass from Jeremy Thompson (Parker Morrow kick), 1:47

Second Quarter

SWE -- Morrow 30 FG, 7:18

GRE -- Taylor Himbury 16 run (run failed), 5:33

SWE -- Kendall Carillo 15 run (Morrow kick), 1:22

Third Quarter

SWE -- Joseph Banyard 23 run (Morrow kick), 6:49

GRE -- Himbury 3 run (run failed), 3:34

SWE -- Skye Green (Green), 3:14

GRE -- Himbury 2 run (run failed), 2:06

Fourth Quarter

SWE -- Carillo 1 run (kick failed), 11:03

SWE -- Banyard 63 interception return (Morrow kick), 8:39

SWE -- Matt Miles 46 run (Morrow kick), 5:56

GRE -- Himbury 1 run (Eric Skaggs kick), 1:39

SweetwaterGreenwood

First downs 14 14

Rushes-yards 33-243 48-294

Passing yards 80 26

Comp.-Att.-Int. 2-4-0 2-6-1

Punts-Avg. 2-47.5 4-31.0

Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-1

Penalties-yards 6-60 10-82

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing -- Sweetwater, Joseph Banyard 4-77, Skye Green 2-75, Kendall Carillo 8-55, Matt Miles 1-46, Jeremy Thompson 7-23, Alan Copeland 8-13, Duone Cunnings 2-1, Justin Clowers 1-(-1). Greenwood, Jarrel Brooks 12-122, Justin Sebree 13-90, Taylor Himbury 8-44, Addison Stewart 4-18, Chad Gann 2-14, Silas Etheredge 1-7, Eric Fruno 2-5, Lane Flowers 3-5, Colton Wilber 2-(-10), Team 1 (-1).

Passing -- Sweetwater, Thompson 2-4-0--80. Greenwood, Addison Stewart 2-3-1--26, Bruno 0-1-0--0, Brooks 0-1-0--0, Wilber 0-1-0--0.

Receiving -- Sweetwater, Michael Williams 1-64, Carillo 1-15. Greenwood, Flowers 1-20, Dallas Golden 1-6.

Missed Field Goals -- Sweetwater, Parker Morrow 41 (WR).

Interceptions -- Sweetwater, Banyard 1-63.

GoFridayNight Team Pages