Mustangs face another big rival

By Lew
October 14, 2004

Mustangs face another big rival

By RON HOWELL/The Reporter Sports Editor
Stop me if you've heard this already -- this Friday, Sweetwater will play one of its biggest rivals in a key matchup that is likely to have major implications on the District 4-3A football race.

Only this time the Mustangs are facing Snyder, not Wylie, and tomorrow's 7:30 p.m. contest will be played at Mustang Bowl instead of Bulldog Stadium.

It will also be a chance for Coach Kent Jackson's team to get its fine season back on track, and keep alive hopes of a third straight district title. Despite a 5-2 overall record, Sweetwater is 0-1 in district after a 13-7 loss at Wylie this past Friday.

Snyder, meanwhile, is living up to its nickname. The Tigers (6-1, 1-0 in district) have roared past most of their competition, including a 45-6 romp over Clyde in their 4-3A opener.

Like Sweetwater, Snyder has done the majority of its damage running the ball. The Tigers are averaging 268 yards rush-ing, and the biggest reason is senior Dee Walker, a transfer from Arizona.

The 185-pound Walker has racked up 1,181 yards on just 147 carries, an 8.0 average, with 11 touchdowns. He cleared the 1,000-yard barrier by gaining 265 yards against Clyde. Walker is also a receiving threat, with two scores and 113 yards on just five catches.

In addition to speed, Walker has great field vision that makes him so hard to bring down, Jackson said. "He has an innate ability to see a window of oppor-tunity and make something big happen," the Mustang coach noted.

Walker and fullback Chad Brown both run behind a big offensive line that aver-ages over 243 pounds.

Snyder also has a capable passing attack. Junior quarterback Matt Reich has completed 36 of 77 passes for 603 yards and six touchdowns, with five picks. His favorite target is wide receiver Lico Cas-tillo, with 15 catches for 361 yards.

The game matches the district's two most productive offenses. Snyder is averaging 33.7 points per game, while Sweet-water has a 29.3 average.

But Jackson is also impressed by the Tigers' defense, which forced two fourth-quarter safeties against Clyde.

"A lot has been made of Dee and what he's done, but when the defense plays as well as it has, it gives the offense a lot of chances," the coach said. "Their line is very aggressive and has been able to get a lot of pressure on people."

While the Sweetwater-Snyder rivalry goes back many years, their game has ac-tually helped decide the district champion in recent years.

In 2002, Snyder won a 26-20 double overtime thriller on its field which gave the Tigers the top seed over Sweetwater entering the playoffs. Last year, the Mus-tangs returned the favor with a 25-13 win at the Bowl, a game that ultimately gave Sweetwater the crown in while Snyder was the runnerup.

Like Sweetwater, Snyder was in Class 4A for many years before dropping to 3A prior to the start of the 2002 season.

The move down has paid immediate dividends. In addition to back-to-back playoff appearances, the Tigers advanced all the way to the Division I quarterfinals in 2003 before losing to Wylie. In addi-tion, Snyder set several school records on offense this past season.

The only blip on the Tigers' record so far in 2004 was a 31-28 loss to Class 4A San Angelo Lake View, a team Sweetwa-ter defeated 14-7.

Snyder played almost the same non-district schedule as Sweetwater. In addition to Lake View, the Tigers met up with Levelland, Lubbock Cooper, Greenwood and Andrews prior to the start of district. Snyder beat Andrews 28-12 two weeks ago and routed Levelland 53-15 to open the season, and had close wins over Cooper (20-14) and Greenwood (29-24).

GoFridayNight Team Pages