What Andrews is Saying

By Lew
September 17, 2004

The following is from the Andrews County News:


Sweetwater not lacking in size and speed
(Thursday, September 16, 2004

by RUDY DIAZ
Sports Editor

In the past the annual football wars between Andrews High School and Sweetwater have been billed as the battle for Mustang supremacy.
Both teams have always had excellent programs, but there might not be one other non-district team they would rather beat than the Mustangs of a different uniform color.
The coaches label it as “respect”.
The players are more cut- throat and label it as just not liking each other.


Friday night in Sweetwater, the battle of Mustangs comes to a head once more, and all we can say is “watch out”.
Sweetwater is coming off a solid 52-25 shellacking of an average Greenwood team, and to be as blunt as possible – they looked good.
Said AHS coach Blaine Springston, “They might be one of the best teams I’ve seen at Sweetwater since I’ve been here. They are very, very good.
“Their offense is explosive with a lot of team speed, and their offensive line is just huge. We are excited about playing them, it should be a great high school football game.”
For the last few years anyone that has any kind of high school football knowledge about teams from this area have always mentioned Sweetwater as the team to “watch out for” in the years to come.
The years to come they were talking about were this year, but more so their 2005 ball club.
They pretty much have it all, and the scary part is that they are young.
Their offensive line is simply one of the best in this area. From left to right they go in pounds, 260, 230, 240, 240, 275 and 220, with three of those players being underclassmen.
Their best running back is Joseph Banyard (5’10”, 167), and he is only a sophomore. Their other big threat is Kendal Carrillo, a 6-foot, 180 bruiser, and if the name sounds familiar it is because his brother was their star quarterback of a couple of years ago, Michael Carrillo.
Throw in quarterback Jeremy Thompson, who is an excellent runner, and Sweetwater has the potential to burn the lights out on their side of the scoreboard.
“They are huge, and it appeared to me that they just wore down Greenwood,” said Springston.
“The game was close with 15 minutes to play, and they just exploded. The key for us is to try and stop their inside game and force them to go outside. They have a very strong power game, but at the same time have the explosiveness for the big plays.
“They have a very dangerous backfield with a great team speed and are very athletic.”
Defensively, Sweetwater averages 210 pounds up front, and again they are loaded with team speed. Their linebackers are fast and athletic. Banyard is also considered their best line-backer, with Justin Adams, also a sophomore, patrolling the middle.
The secondary is led by Carrillo at strong safety and junior Parker Marrow at free safety. They have done a good job on pass coverage, but no team has really thrown the ball much against them. Greenwood did hurt them with their power game.
As a unit, Sweetwater starts six underclassmen.
“Carrillo at safety and Banyard at linebacker are very good players,” mentioned Springston.
“Greenwood had some success with their power running game, and we have to control the line of scrimmage. We have to win the battle in the trenches to be able to win this game.
“We’ve had good practices this week and I really think the kids will be ready to play. Sweet-water is a very tough place to play, but it is an exciting place.
“Our boys feel good about themselves after their win over Monahans, and we expect a very tough game from Sweetwater.”
Andrews will still be without the services of linebacker Ray Dunn and lineman Jose Garcia.
Kickoff time is set for 7:30 p.m. at Sweetwater’s much-talked about Mustang Bowl.

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