Watch out, Mustangs!
By Lew
October 25, 2004
Dear Mustangs,
Be careful next week, be very careful.........
The game against Merkel is a perfect time for them to try for an upset....
They only lost to Snyder by 3 points. And further...check out this story on when they played Wylie...
'Dogs rumble as Badgers drop chances
By Troy Shockley / Reporter-News Staff Writer
October 15, 2004
Merkel — Merkel High School put it on the ground.
Wylie High School put it in the end zone.
Taking advantage of three first half fumbles, Wylie improved to 2-0 in District 4-3A play Friday with a runaway 51-14 win over Merkel at Badger Stadium.
Michael Kiger led the Bulldogs’ offensive assault with three touchdowns on 13 carries and another score on a diving catch in the end zone.
Junior quarterback Case Keenum also had a huge night finishing 14-of-21 passing for 151 yards and three scores. He also led the team in rushing with 117 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries.
The contest — the first between the two teams in three years — begins anew the long-standing rivalry between the two schools, and Wylie coach Hugh Sandifer said the team knew it would be tough coming in.
"It’s always going to be a rivalry," he said. "We knew they would play extremely hard and that’s just what they did. But we’ve been waiting for a game where we’d get hot on offense and defense, and this was it."
Keenum gave much of the credit for the win to the defense.
"They did a great job all game of getting us turnovers and good field position," he said. "They put us in position to do well."
In addition to forcing turnovers, pulling in an interception and generally causing havoc for the Merkel offensive line, the defense also contained quarterback Riley Lambert.
Lambert, who also plays as a defensive back, runs a powerful option offense similar to the one run by Sweetwater High School. His speed makes him dangerous, not only in those situations, but on kick returns as well.
Wylie held Lambert to 61 yards rushing on 15 carries, 12 of 17 for 93 yards passing and didn’t allow him to score on any returns, though he did come close on several occasions.
Sandifer said he was one of the main focuses coming into the game, and his team followed through with the plan to corral him.
"That Lambert kid is such a good competitor," he said. "He’s scary. But our guys did a good job on him tonight."
After an open date last week, the game was Merkel’s district opener. The loss was made more upsetting when, in the third quarter, junior Greg Brooks went down during a Badger punt. Brooks was on the field for a little more than 10 minutes, surrounded by coaches and training staff. It appeared Brooks was cradling his arm, but no information was available on his injury at press time.
"I can’t take anything away from Merkel," Keenum said. "They are a good team and they put up a ton of fight tonight.
"This is a great time for us now, too, heading into the bye. Now we can bring some things back together that have been successful lately and now we’re just looking forward to Snyder."
Wylie 9 29 7 6—51
Merkel 0 14 0 0—14
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