Archive : September 2005

September 30, 2005

What Levelland is saying

I found this in the Lubbock on-line newspaper.





No. 3 Sweetwater at Levelland

7:30 p.m., Lobo Stadium, Levelland

Radio: KLVT-AM 1230 (Levelland); KXOX-AM 1240 (Sweetwater)

Records: Sweetwater 5-0; Levelland 1-4

Last week: Sweetwater beat Pecos 51-14; Levelland lost to Canyon 45-21

Keep an eye on: Sweetwater, RB Skye Green (464 rushing yards and 134 receiving yards this fall); Levelland, WR Justin Turner (13 receptions for 256 yards this season)

Key stats: Sweetwater ranks first among area Class 3A teams with 411.5 yards of total offense per game. Levelland's defense ranks second-to-last, having allowed an average of 319.2 yards per game.

Keys to the game: Sweetwater must be wary of Levelland's passing attack, because Turner and Shelton Taft have combined for 521 receiving yards. Levelland likely will need to start strong to have a chance against the Mustangs, who have outscored opponents 211-34.

Our pick: Sweetwater

Catch me if you can....

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Hello Loboes, my name is Skye Greene, otherwise known as the Roadrunner. Loboes or coyotes, doesn't matter to me...Beep beep!!

Batman Banyard

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"Come to me all ye fullbacks....I am Joseph Banyard, and I am the Batman of the Mustang Defense."

Just a note.....

Dear Mustangs,

I just want to say if any of my nicknames that I call you is offensive, please let me know. My intent is not to hurt anyone's feelings or embarrass anyone. My objective is to just be a little different from newspaper accounts that you can read anyway. With district play about to begin, I want to make sure we have fun in addition to the great games we are about to play. Again, my intent is not to embarrass anyone, but just have some fun.

So if any of the players has a nickname i.e. "Bull" Beckwith, let me know so I can use that material at a later point. Let's have fun on our way to a state championship!

You will notice I used a graphic indicating a chinese fortune cookie on a previous post. It isn't really intended to be mean to Levelland. That is actually a postcard and they have several of these funny pictures on GoFridayNight.com. It isn't meant to be mean....I just thought it would promote the website and just have fun.

Anyway, I felt like I need to explain what I am doing here. I'm sure some folks may have wondered.

Go Stangs!

Lew

September 29, 2005

Dear Levelland,

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Final "tune-up"

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Friday, the Mustangs travel to Levelland (ugh) and take on the Levelland Loboes for their final tune-up before district play next week.

I'm looking forward to listening to the game on my computer as KXOX does a great job of putting the games on the internet. Just wanted to say how neat technology is, and I would have never imagined I would ever be able to hear a Mustang game in Levelland while being in Fort Worth. Computers and technology are wonderful things.

I read in the SWEETWATER REPORTER that Ty Jones and James Beckwith were injured and that Beckwith is probable for this week's game. Kendall Mayes will take over Jones' spot at tackle. Justin Rodriguez will play at Duone Cunnings spot at right cornerback, and J.J. McCoy will start at strong safety in place of Kendal Carrillo.

David Covington was brought up from the JV team to do the punting chores.

Shawn Kincaid is now the Mustang back up quarterback behind Sonny Birdwell.

Joseph (Batman) Banyard has played the previous two games at strong safety, but has been moved back to linebacker this week.

So lot's of adjustments for the Mustangs. That's ok, that's what good teams do. I think the Mustangs are fortunate to have the number of talented athletes to continue the drive to the district games and all should be fine.

When I think about it, this game against Levelland will provide the Mustangs for a final tune-up for the game with Abilene Wylie when they come to town next week. When our injured players do get back in the lineup, we will be that much ahead for playing folks to get some experience. It's a win-win deal.

Lew

Sweetwater, new Power Ranking

From Texas football ratings.com


3A - 4 Sweetwater (5-0) 168.20
212
34
2
165.64
2.56
at Levelland (1-4) 35

Lew

September 25, 2005

Mustangs 52, Pecos 14

0924sweetwaterfootball_e3.bmp
Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News


Congratulations to the Sweetwater Mustangs!

September 24, 2005

Steppin it up, Mustangs slam Pecos 52-14

It's a work of art when a football team can be cruising, and then mash the accelerator in the second half of a game. That's what happened tonight as Sweetwater body-slammed Pecos 52-14.

I give Pecos credit. I give Luis Ortega of Pecos alot of credit. Where has this guy been all year? Did he just move to Pecos? He is a very good player and played his heart out. But that's all Pecos had in the tank to try and play with the the many stars on the Sweetwater side.

Pecos held their own in the first half. But even on fresh legs, they were still down 28-14 based largely on 2 Skye Green runs of 71, and 8 yards. You all remember Skye being on the state runner-up team in track right? He sure showed some speed when he turned on those after burners as he got around the corner for the first score. I think I'll nick name him The Roadrunner..beep beep.

Then in the second half Joseph (Batman) Banyard ran for 53 yards, and Green ran for another 33 yards making the score at the half 28-14 as previously mentioned.

And then it happened. When the Mustangs came out for the third quarter, that's when the team went into the passing gear.
Banyard for 53 yards and a score, Green on a 33 yard run for a score, Banyard again on a 10 yard run for a score. It seemed like Pecos just had to name their poison. Either way, there was some serious speed being done by the Stangs.

The fourth quarter, the 2nd and 3rd teams got some additional playing time, and the team finished the scoring with a 25 yard Parker Morrow kick.

The defense played a good game with Brandon Fangman leading the charge. The offensive line was moving people out, making large holes for the runners. The pass blocking was very good.

Sonny Birdwell engineered a good game for the offense. Overall, it was a good night for the Mustangs. Sweetwater rushed 32 times for 416 yards, which averages out to 13 yards per carry. Pretty impressive. In the passing department, Birdwell was 5 of 6 and no interceptions for 82 yards. The three receivers were Green 2 catches for 29 yards, J.J.McCoy 1 catch for 11 yards, and the big catch of the day was Brittan Pittman 1 catch for 42 yards.

This was a good game for the Mustangs. I really like the sound of those jets taking off too. Way to go men.

Lew

Mustangs 52, Pecos 14

Congrats Mustangs, you did a great job tonight in front of the Homecoming crowd beating Pecos. I am currently working on this story, and intend to post it before going to bed. Check back in a bit please.

Lew

September 23, 2005

Homecoming 2003

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Took this photo from Classmates.

Homecoming 2003

Lew, Aubrey McCain, David Redwine, and Terry Boley (seated)

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Let's Go RED.........

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Ok Mustangs, time to rock and roll!!!!!

Are we ready for some football?????

Go Red!!!! Beat Pecos!!!!!!!

Lew

Homecoming 2005

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Dear Mustangs,

I wanted to take a moment and tell you that I hope everyone that goes home for Homecoming has a safe and enjoyable visit.

Sweetwater is such a good town. I think I was pretty fortunate to grow up there.

From Southeast Elementary in 1963, to Sweetwater High School in 1970, there was a time of learning and growth. It of course was a much simpler time, but it was perfect for a kid in west Texas. Playing baseball at the American League Park in Little League to playing pony league ball at the "big" park was a huge part of my life then. I could spend all day playing baseball. And did so many times. I remember throwing papers for the Sweetwater Reporter, washing dishes at the Ranch House Restaurant, to the best part-time job of working at the Village grocery store sacking groceries. It was all fun and I learned alot.

As we all return to Sweetwater, I hope we all reflect back on the good things that happened in our lives while attending SHS. I hope we have dealt with all our pains and setbacks from an awkward time in our lives. I hope we appreciate what all of our coaches and teachers tried to do for us. Whether we recognize it even now or not. You know, there aren't many guarantees in life. Sure, there are enough problems in the world to make us run to keep ahead of them at times. But I hope our trip back to Sweetwater brings back the good times of our lives and when it wasn't as hectic. Take care, and I wish you all a Happy Homecoming!

Lew

September 22, 2005

Coming Home....

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Dear Mustangs,

It's time for Homecoming. Time to put your best hooves forward. I'll talk a little later on about the ex-students festivities. This is for the football team.

Guys, I think I will speak for the entire ex-student body of Sweetwater High School when I say I am very proud of each and every one of you!

You have put in the work, you have so far this season done everything to be successful in your quest for a championship.
I have done some research, I have tried to show you the numbers. Guys I don't know how to say it, but just keep doing what you have been doing.

To the Senior Class Mustang players:
Seniors, this is your last Homecoming game at Sweetwater High School. This time next year you will be like the rest of us Ex-students.
Please do yourselves a favor. Stay focused, but remember this game. When you see us up in the stands in that Sea of Red, know we are wearing red for you. Know that we are proud of you and we want you to succeed, and go as far as you can. Know we are there for you and we "have your back." Now Pecos is coming to town. Let's take care of business. Remember, no one comes into our house and takes anything from us. Play hard, play tough, and do your best. Sic em!

Lew

Celebrate, celebrate, dance to the music.......

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish one of our avid reader's of the blog and his wife of 60 years, Happy anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Laughlin!!!! Their anniversary is on Friday, the same as Homecoming. J.B. said they wanted to attend the game, but that bad weather that's coming in is going to prevent them for attending. Anyway, Happy anniversary to you two.

By the way, I hate to mention it, but yours truly is having yet another birthday today, 9/22. Seems like those birthdays come around alot more often than they used to.


Lew

Did you know.......

2005 Class 3A Defensive Point Leaders Week 4 - (Includes Team w/2005 Record, Games played, points allowed, and the defensive average - which is the points allowed divided by the number of games played.) Updated Sept. 20, 2005

Class 3A Games Points P. Allowed

CL/Dist Team (2005 Record) Played Allowed Average

1
3A - 2 Muleshoe (4-0) 4
16
4

2
3A - 4 Sweetwater (4-0) 4
20
5

3
3A - 30 Sinton (4-0) 4
21
5

4
3A - 7 Lake Worth (4-0) 4
24
6

5
3A - 32 La Feria (2-1) 3
20
7

6
3A - 16 Tatum (4-0) 4
27
7

7
3A - 19 Giddings (3-0) 3
21
7

8
3A - 26 Hallettsville (3-0) 3
21
7

9
3A - 22 Shepherd (2-2) 4
30
7

10
3A - 28 South San Antonio West (0-3) 3
23
8

And here is another statistic: Margin of Victory Average.

2005 Class 3A Margin of Victory Leaders Week 4 - (Includes Team w/2005 Record, Games played, points scored, points allowed, and the margin of victory - which is the points scored minus the points allowed divided by the number of games played.) Updated Sept. 20, 2005
Class 3A Games Points Points M.O.V.

CL/Dist Team (2005 Record) Played Scored Allowed Average

1
3A - 7 Lake Worth (4-0) 4
203
24
45

2
3A - 19 Giddings (3-0) 3
134
21
38

3
3A - 4 Sweetwater (4-0) 4
160
20
35

4
3A - 16 Tatum (4-0) 4
157
27
32

5
3A - 28 Poteet (4-0) 4
177
49
32

6
3A - 32 Lyford (3-0) 3
131
38
31

7
3A - 19 Hutto (2-1) 3
149
56
31

8
3A - 19 Cameron Yoe (3-0) 3
125
34
30

9
3A - 11 Commerce (3-0) 3
114
25
30

10
3A - 30 Sinton (4-0) 4
140
21
30

11
3A - 23 Barbers Hill (4-0) 4
169
54
29

12
3A - 13 Gilmer (4-0) 4
161
56
26

13
3A - 4 Snyder (4-0) 4
139
35
26

14
3A - 14 Daingerfield (3-0) 3
101
24
26

15
3A - 15 Van (4-0) 4
136
35
25

16
3A - 1 Canyon (3-1) 4
146
48
24

17
3A - 24 Bridge City (3-0) 3
99
26
24

18
3A - 17 Waco Connally (4-0) 4
147
50
24

19
3A - 2 Muleshoe (4-0) 4
111
16
24

20
3A - 26 Cuero (4-0) 4
159
65
23

21
3A - 4 Abilene Wylie (4-0) 4
130
36
23

Source: www.texasfootballratings.com

It's a numbers game

I found a pretty neat site: www.texasfootballratings.com

They have done alot of comparison rankings for all the classes in Texas. Take a look at this link in particular.

http://www.texasfootballratings.com/20053ARegion1&2CompRanks.html

It is pretty neat because they rank each team in Class 3A based on wins-losses, strength of schedule and several other factors.

The reason I'm bringing this article about is the site plugs all these numerical factors like the win/loss record, power rankings, strength of schedule etc. and they come up with a RATING.

The thing I found amazing is you if take the RATING number and lets say in this case Sweetwater has a RATING of 170.53 (number 1 in class 3A by the way) and subtract the RATING of say Midland Greenwood's RATING of 142.39, there is a difference of 28.14. As we all know, Sweetwater won that game 42-14, a difference of 28 points! How cool is that?

OK, let's take another one and see. Lubbock Cooper has a RATING of 141.12. Now take the Mustang's RATING of 170.53 and subtract 141.12 which gives you a difference of 29.41. The score of the Mustang/Cooper game was 40-6. Subtract 40-6=32.

Oh you say there is a difference of 2.55? I can answer that. These Power RATINGS change every week. Sweetwater has gained 4.89 points since the first week when they played Cooper, so technically the website was right on the score of the game. Whew...hope ya'll enjoyed all that math. My calculator is smoking right now.

Wanna know how District 3-4A looks? Check this out.

District 4-3A
Rec Dist PF PA Rating Sch Pop Reg State O'All Next Wk's Opponent Pick

Sweetwater (4-0) (0-0) 160 20 170.53 640 1 2 96 vs Pecos (1-3) 55

Abilene Wylie (4-0) (0-0) 130 36 165.93 854 3 5 146 at Graham (2-2) 21

Snyder (4-0) (0-0) 139 35 160.80 764 5 15 220 vs San Angelo Lake View (0-3) 26

Clyde (1-3) (0-0) 76 95 126.19 510 34 144 742 vs Coahoma (1-3) 19

Merkel (0-4) (0-0) 20 125 120.32 417 37 163 827 vs Breckenridge (2-2) -28

You know, there is an old saying in accounting, numbers don't lie. Let's put this formula to the test shall we? So here is my first installment of Lew's Picks, based strickly on these numbers.

Sweetwater beats Pecos by 55 points.

Abilene Wylie beats Graham by 21 points.

Snyder beats San Angelo Lakeview by 26 points

Clyde beats Coahoma 19 points

and Merkel loses to Breckenridge by 28 points.

I dunno about the 55 point thing, but hey, it is Homecoming for Sweetwater.

Lew




September 21, 2005

Bigger fish to fry

Dear Mustangs,

It appears from sources that Duone Cunnings may be out due to injury for approx. 8 weeks. That's two quarterbacks in two weeks. Ouch. I will mention that Sonny Birdwell is a very good quarterback and will continue to guide the Mustangs in a very able fashion.

Let's take a look at this.

I know this is not what we had hoped for when the season began. But let's look at the positives. This is going to sound weired, but I'm going to be positive by taking the worst case scenerio for a moment.

What is the worst case scenerio? Let's assume for a moment that Abilene Wyle defeats the Mustangs on October 7th. Further, assume Snyder beats the Mustangs the following week on October 14th. Sweetwater then beats Clyde and Merkel to be the 2nd team from Class 3-4A in Division II in the playoffs.

What's the best case scenerio? Sweetwater runs the table the rest of the regular schedule, gets in the playoffs and has 2 quarterbacks back to play with the team in the playoffs.

Abilene Wylie enters the playoffs as the Division I representative. By the way, I'm curious. Is there any way Abilene Wylie can not ever be in the playoffs in this scenerio? I mean, I'm no expert trust me, but what would Abilene Wylie have to do to NOT make the playoffs if they are the only team in Class 4-3A that goes to the playoffs in Division I? Lose to Merkel, Trent, Sweetwater, and Snyder? See, there are no other teams in Class 4-3A except Wylie that are Division I. Now don't get me wrong, I think Abilene Wylie is a good team and doesn't get the respect they deserve, but I wonder if this is the reason sports writers don't give enough credit to Wylie? I don't think I have ever seen a State Champion get snubbed so much as Abilene Wylie. My opinion is, Abilene Wylie should be ranked Number 1 in Class 3A. It just makes sense. They are the reigning Class 3A Division 1 Champions. I don't know about anyone else, but it doesn't make much sense to me to rank Wylie below Sweetwater and Snyder, and 4 other teams in the state but again that's just me.

At any rate, Sweetwater gets a bid to the playoffs as the 2nd representative in Division II, just as Snyder did last year.

My point of all of this is, we have 2 quarterbacks that are injured and won't be back for 6-8 weeks but in time for the playoffs. Now please don't assume the worst case scenerio. All I am saying is, this season is only 4 weeks old. Lots can happen in the race for the district championship. What matters are the playoffs. If you lose a game in the playoffs, you just go home. I think the Mustangs have alot of surprises ahead for the foes that think we are done because of a couple of injuries. Would I rather have Duone Cunnings and Kendal (one L) Carrillo (two L's) playing? Of course I would. Do their injuries mean it's the end of the season for the Stangs? Absolutely not. We are just getting started. And how about the Big Red Defense? What a wrecking crew!

We have much bigger fish to fry.

Thanks J.D.!

Lew

September 20, 2005

Moving on up

Dear Swetwater Mustangs,

The latest AP Poll came out, and it looks like the Sweetwater Mustangs have leap-frogged the Snyder Tigers. Here is the story.

I just want to mention, as I have said many times before, Polls are nice. It's a compliment to be considered the #3 team in the state Class 3A Poll. But that is all it should be. A compliment, nothiing more, and nothing less.

In case anyone forgets, the other two state ranked teams in the AP Poll defeated us last year. I'll say this again folks. Abilene Wylie won the Division 1 Championship last year.

Everyone knows these Polls will take care of themselves especially in our district where we have the opportunity to play each other. But it does serve notice in the state that this district is probably one of the toughest in the state also.

I guess I am trying to get over the loss of the Cowboys game last night to the hated Washington Redskins. Everyone just knew that the Cowboys would win that game. As you know, they didn't.

The Mustangs are a good team. The Mustangs are a hard working team. I know none of this Poll stuff really matters. Again, it's a nice compliment to be considered in the Polls. But the biggest compliment to Sweetwater is just give 100% on the field. That's the only place it matters.

Lew

September 19, 2005

Thanks

Dear Mustangs,

I just wanted to post a note to say thanks for all the feed back and for all the comments. I also want to say thanks for folks e-mailing me useful information. I really appreciate it.

I am now in my Homecoming mode, and trying to think on a good entry for posting a Homecoming entry for this week. If anyone has any animated gif files of horses or mustangs, send them to me at LRPatton@aol.com. Make sure they have a web address as I can not cut and paste on to here like I could last year. If anyone has a regular gif file, you can send that too if you want to see it on here. I am really encouraged we have more viewers here than last year. The word is getting out and that's a good thing.

This is going to be a special week. It's Homecoming!!!!
It was really good to hear from Paul Nash. He is the journalism teacher at SHS. Everytime I go home for homecoming, I always drop by the journalism department to see if Paul will give me a copy of the PONY EXPRESS. I have often wondered if there was a journalism student who wanted to help on this blog. It doesn't pay much but it's alot of fun and can afford some experience. If this sounds like a good idea, e-mail me and introduce yourself.

Speaking of Homecoming, I plan to get into town there Friday in time for some Allen's Chicken. I can't tell ya'll how much I like that place. Then it's off to find some up-to-date Mustang T-shirts to wear to the game and put a couple in storage for collection purposes. Then I guess by the time that's done we will line up on Broadway for the parade. We like to hang out at the old Star's parking lot. I can't think of the name of the Mexican food restaurant that is there now. Last year, Clifford Ashley met us up there and he even brought his trumpet. He even played a little Peruna for us after the parade was over. That was really neat. After the parade, it's a trip to the high school cafeteria to see who all has made it to town. Perhaps I can see my elementary school principal and now good friend Mr. Jerry Smith. What a great man and a great friend he is. We always like to look at the class of 1970 and find a skinny kid with hair there and laugh about how much I have changed.

And then, we get to go to the bowl, get our tickets, and get ready for one of the best things all year. See the Sweetwater Mustangs win another game!!!

Maybe the boys will come down the south ramp this time? Just a thought.

Well, enough about it now......I'll try and write much more this week.

Go Red,

Gig 'em! Sic 'em

Lew

September 17, 2005

Sweetwater trounces Andrews, 38-0

OK, let's all admit it. Driving to Andrews is a pain in the butt. After you turn off of I-20 in Big Spring, you have to barrel down a dark 2 lane road at 75 MPH or get run over, always looking for that stop sign that comes out of no where. No one likes to drive to Andrews, of course unless you are going home to Andrews.

That was the scenerio for this week's game for Sweetwater. Drive to Andrews and play a 4A school that quite frankly, would love to stuff it to Swetwater. Not a very cozy feeling is it?

But the Sweetwater Mustangs traveled to Andrews and played like they owned the entire city of Andrews.

The game started with James Beckwith kicking off to the Andrews team (I hate calling them Mustangs)and they returned the ball to around the 25. The first offensive play for Andrews was comical to say the least. The QB took the snap, spun around to attempt a handoff, but no one was there. In all fairness, can you imagine the fear he must have had? He freaked out so bad, he literally just dropped the ball, the Sweetwater Mustangs recovered the ball, and on the 1st play from scrimmage, the Mustangs scored! 7-0 Sweetwater, and people were still looking for their seats to sit down. Wow.

Andrews was tough though. It wasn't like they just laid down right there and quit. Andrews was going to fight all night regardless. I give Andrews credit, they never quit.

I think there were two instances that changed this game into a Sweetwater victory. With Sweetwater ahead 14-0 in the 2nd quarter, Andrews had a nice drive going and got down to the Sweetwater 3 yard line and turned the ball over on downs. Sweetwater QB Sonny Birdwell took the snap, pitched to Skye Green around left end, and he ran for a 97 yard touchdown. I don't know if Sweetwater or the UIL keeps records on such things, but that had to be the longest run from scrimmage for a Mustang that I can ever remember. The other thing that changed the game was this. Sonny Birdwell is a great kid and a very good quarterback, but with Kendall Carrillo out, someone had to punt the ball. (Correction, it was Duone Cunnigs) Birdwell had punted twice and although his punts were as high as the Southland building in Dallas, the ball only went 10-15 yards. On Sweetwater's 3rd punt, the freshman Rufus McCann of all people punted the ball about 45 yards and got the ball out of Sweetwater's end of the field. That was huge.

Of course, did I mention the defense didn't let Andrews score a single point? That is their 2nd shutout of the season. Do ya'll realize in 4 games, the defense has only allowed 20 points? That's roughly 10 points a game. (Thanks for the math lessons Coach Todd)
Actually, if you divide 20 points by 4 games it comes out to 5 points a game. Sorry Coach Todd. I was actually thinking about the two games divided by two instead of the total 4 games. Don't ya'll love a blog with mistakes??LOLOL

The Mustangs accomplished a ton Friday night. They traveled to Andrews and beat a 4A team, Snyder barely won again, and it's homecoming next week against Pecos. See ya'll in Sweetwater!

Lew

September 15, 2005

On the road again, Andrews


Dear Sweetwater Mustang fans,

I was trying to analyze the Andrews game on Friday, and I have to admit I don't think I'm going to be any good as far as statistics. The Leaderboard here says that Andrews as a team has only rushed for 69 yards on 24 attempts. Maybe Andrews just started sending in their numbers, sounds like it may be for 1 game.

It looks like Sweetwater leads all area teams in 3A in team rushing with 796 yards on 89 attempts for an average of 8.9 yards per carry. That's pretty impressive huh? As best as I can tell, here is the breakdown per player:

K. Carrillo 104 yards on 14 carries
D. Cunnings 86 yards on 8 carries
J. Banyard 62 yards on 8 carries
S. Birdwell 53 yards on 4 carries
J. Limones 38 yards on 8 carries
S. Green 27 yards on 5 carries
J. Adames 12 yards on 2 carries
Rosas 11 yards on 3 carries

Total 393 yards on 52 carries

Well, that doesn't add up either.
Here's what we do know. It looks like Sweetwater has 8 possible ball carriers. Plenty of horses to carry the load. We have 2 very capable quarterbacks that can handle the snaps. I understand Kendall Carrillo will be out a few weeks due to an injury. My point is he will certainly be missed, but it isn't the end of the world, or season.

One of the things that Coach Jackson has built in to this team, is a whole lot of talent at different positions. I understand from a pretty reliable source that some folks were trying to predict how many games Carrillo was going to be out, and he hadn't even had an MRI done yet!

Folks, there is no reason to push the panic button. Sweetwater has a pretty complete team and hopefully, things will continue as scheduled until Carrillo makes it back for the playoffs if not sooner.

Andrews.

I would like to suggest to Coach Jackson that if the team isn't already doing so, put on a nice shirt and tie when you board the bus to Andrews. Why? Because this is a business trip. To the Mustang football team. Just do like you have been trained to do. Take care of business and everything is ok. Stay in the game. You will be fine.
Andrews has alot of things it can improve upon. Be sure and exploit them. Andrews should be considered as a cornered animal. It has no place to go, they might be pretty dangerous. I don't know how they got to schedule 6 games at home, and 4 games away, but they did.

Just stick to what Coach Jackson tells ya, you will be fine. Please remember one thing for me though. YOU ARE ALL STARS!!!!!!!

Sic 'em!!!

Lew

September 13, 2005

Blogs, Part II

Dear Mustangs, Mustang Fans, and Mustang wanna be's,

I was hoping I wasn't going to have to write this type of entry this year, but looking at the comments from the previous post, it appears I'm going to have to post it anyway.

First of all, I love Sweetwater Mustang Football. I attended Sweetwater High School, I still know lots of people in Sweetwater, and I have tremendous respect for anything relating to Sweetwater High School.

That is point number one. The second point is, high school football in Texas is a society all of it's own. If you don't believe me, maybe you should go see the movie, Friday Night Lights.

The third point I want to make is, high school football is a sport I love. In case anyone has forgotten, we have troops overseas fighting a war, we have people from Louisiana coming to Texas and we are helping victims with open arms to help those folks get back on their feet.

I write this blog for absolutely no money. Nada, zilch. Why do I even bring this up? Because I don't know why anyone in their right mind would leave a comment that indicates our good coaches at Sweetwater are not very "intelligent." The more I think about those comments, the more confused I am. You mean a person has nothing better to do, nothing more to contribute to life or our envoirnment than to get on some high school blog and talk about intelligence?

You mean someone had the opportunity (and still does) to start their own blog for THEIR team, but decided to take the cheap shot against MY team and MY coaches? You mean someone got mad at me for stating the facts about a high school football game? C'mon, be serious!

Here's the deal OK?
Now I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but last time I checked, it was kind of bad manners to go somewhere and call someone stupid. In fact, I've heard of people say stupid is as stupid does. I don't mean to be rude myself. All I am is an old fan of Sweetwater. If it offends someone to read my blog, then don't read my blog!

Last year, we had a problem with people writing bad and rude comments to this blog. The GoFriday Night team put measures in place to keep that from happening again. Now I don't want ya'll to think I have a big head about anything, or think I'm better than anyone, cause I'm not. But let me just say it this way. If you have a VALID point to make about the Mustangs, let's hear it. Calling somebody stupid will not get your post on here. Now, before you send alot of comments saying I am filtering just the bad about the Mustangs, don't start. If you have a VALID point without being rude to people, it will get published. But even if you say something GOOD and are rude to people, that won't get it done either. Long story short is this. Be nice to people on blogs. As Ranger Call said in the movie Lonesome Dove, "I won't tolerate rudeness in a man."

Go Mustangs!

Lew

September 11, 2005

Mustangs honor Sammy Baugh, defeat Greenwood

First of all, let me begin this entry by advising everyone I didn't see the Mustangs great game in Mustang Bowl.

I was sitting at my desk just outside of Fort Worth. As some of you may or may not know, I help update the scores for GoFridayNight.com with scores from this area. It's really fun come Friday evening. I have 2 radios on, I have the internet up and going, and this week was my first week to tune in to KXOX on-line and listen to the Mustang game on the internet. All the while I am updating scores for the Abilene site.

Let me just plug KXOX for a moment. The game came in great, the streaming audio was perfect. If anyone lives outside of the regular listening area of Sweetwater, I highly recommend the on-line broadcast.

Let's get to the game.

The Mustangs defeated Midland Greenwood 42-14. The third week in a row that the Big Red machine has scored over 40 points. This game was really good because the Mustangs scored 35 points by halftime.

One thing that stands out for me, the same thing is being said by different broadcasters and that is the Sweetwater Mustangs have so many talented athletes, it's really frustrating for the opposing teams because they can't key on any one or two players.

This game against Greenwood was especially good because Coach Jackson called some passing plays this week. Sweetwater was 6-8 through the air. And for the past two weeks the total passing efficiency is 15 of 18 attempts. I bet there are alot of pro QB's that would like to have an efficiency rating 0f 83%.

I like the fact that the Mustangs have 3 very talented quarterbacks on their team. That is great in several ways. Teams can't really key on any one style of play. Another reason is in case of an injury, there are options to replace a player. And they all three appear very competent. Kendal Carrillo, Sonny Birdwell, and Duone Cunnings are all just awesome and each has their own leadership style. The bottom line is they are all good. The Mustangs had out-gained Greenwood 281 yards to 39 by HALFTIME!

What appears to be another advatage is that Sweetwater then has the ability to play just about every man on the squad. That means experience, real game experience for the under-classmen. That is very important also. I didn't know linebacker Rufus McCann was a freshman. He plays like a senior. The whole defense swarms to put hats on the ball carrier. I could go into alot of statistics here, but the main thing about the game with Greenwood is the Mustangs defeated a very good team. They defeated them convincingly.

Snyder was fortunate to defeat Lubbock Cooper, a team the Mustangs beat pretty good last week.

Things are looking up.

Lew

Blogs

Sorry it's taking me so long to update the Mustang Blog. I'm just trying to write the perfect entry (smile)
In the mean time, here are some of my other blogs.

Enjoy!
OK, I'm losing track of all the blogs I am writing for. I mention this not to brag, but I need to put it down somewhere simply to keep track, so here goes:

http://journals.aol.com/lrpatton/NewOrleansSaints/

I started this one to help the folks from the New Orleans area.

http://journals.aol.com/lrpatton/DallasCowboys/

http://journals.aol.com/lrpatton/KatrinaUSA/

http://blogs.reporter-news.com/abil/Sweetwater/

http://nflopinions.blogspot.com/

http://fwtabc.com/

I don't know how I do it. I really am surprised I have the time to do it, but I can say, it's a labor of love. OK, that's all I can think of.

Lew


September 9, 2005

Time for Midland Greenwood

Good Friday Morning Mustangs,

I don't have much to say this mornng. It seems as though all the newspapers articles have said it all already. Just continue what you have been doing Mustangs, you'll be fine. Just play your game, and don't take anything for granted.

I'll be listening to the game, so ya'll give the Ol Gipper a good one for me will ya?

Lew

September 7, 2005

Sammy Baugh, Sweetwater Native

I thought it would be nice to re-discover Sammy Baugh. My congratulations to Sammy Baugh for being a hero to many people. You have done Sweetwtaer very proud!


Sammy Baugh, QB/DB/punter

TCU, 1934-1936

All the great passing attacks in today's version of college football are functions of quarterbacks who've been groomed since a young age to be able to throw, coaches who are able to construct great formations and patterns and faster, better receivers. Back in 1934, the passing game in college football wasn't just in it's infancy, it was almost non-existent. Quarterbacks were merely advanced running backs and while many threw the ball, no one had ever done it with much skill and accuracy as Sammy Baugh.

Coming out of high school, Baugh was recruited by Leo "Dutch" Meyer to come to TCU to play baseball. After becoming the football coach in 1934, Meyer got Baugh to play for him and the rest is history.

Baugh advanced college football by becoming the first real superstar passing quarterback and is widely considered the greatest passer in Southwest Conference history. As great a quarterback as Baugh was, he was equally skilled as a defensive back and is also considered one of the great punters in college football history.

In 1937 and 1938, Davey O'Brien continued the legend of great TCU quarterbacks, but Baugh is the one who changed the way college football was played carrying TCU into the elite level of college football programs.

The team: Under Baugh and head coach Dutch Meyer, TCU went 8-4. In 1935, TCU won the national title going 12-1 with the only loss coming to SMU losing 20-14 when Baugh was out with an injury. The Horned Frogs went 9-2-2 in 1936 highlighted by a stunning 9-0 win at undefeated and untied Santa Clara as Baugh averaged 43 yards on 17 punts and outpassed and outplayed Santa Clara star QB Nello Falaschi.

The passing stats: Remembering what time period he did this in, Baugh was amazing going 285 of 597 for 3,471 yards and 39 touchdowns for his career. As a punter, he averaged 40.9 yards per kick on 198 punts once kicking one 85 yards.

The bowl games: Decades before the Sugar Bowl was to be moved indoors, it was played on a windy, rainy day in 1936 when TCU faced off against LSU. Baugh was everywhere picking off two passes, averaging 48 yards per kick on 14 kicks and tearing off a 44-yard run on the slippery field in the 3-2 win. In the 1937 Cotton Bowl, it was a battle between two of the nation's best passers when Baugh and TCU faced Buzz Buivid and Marquette. The Frogs won 16-6 as L.B. Meyer scored all 16 points and Baugh played so well that head coach Dutch Meyer sat Baugh for most of the fourth quarter not wanting to rub it in. In his last game, the crowd wanted to see Baugh one last time cheering for him until he came back into the game in the final minutes.

The pro: Baugh began his post-TCU career as third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals and after getting sent to the minors, he decided to play pro football. After practicing for a week with the Washington Redskins, he beat the New York Giants 13-3 going 11 of 16 for 116 yards going on to beat the Chicago Bears for the NFL title that season throwing for three scores in the championship. He'd be a part of several championships including the famous 73-0 loss to Chicago in 1940 and a 14-6 win over the Bears in 1942. In the 1943 title game against Chicago and 1946 games against the Cleveland Rams, Baugh was knocked out and the Redskins lost both games.

In 1943, Baugh was the only player (and will be the only player ever) to lead the league in passing, interceptions and punting. He held every NFL passing record when he retired with 21.886 yards and 187 touchdown passes and is still in the record books with a completion percentage of 70.3 in 1945 and 51.4 yard punting average in 1940.

Honors:

College Football Hall of Fame - 1951
Pro Football Hall of Fame - 1963
All-American - 1936
All-SWC - 1935, 1936
Nine-time NFL All-Pro
No. 45 TCU jersey retired - 1993
Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame - 1999

Free Speech?

Dear Mustangs,

Guess what I found out today? Sweetwater's long-time radio station, KXOX broadcasts the Mustang games over the internet! Here is the link to it:
http://www.kxox.net/sportslive.html

There is only one small detail I forgot to mention. It costs 4.99 per game to listen to it. If you want to save some money, you can get the season pass for 33.99.

I'm feeling a little confused about now. I'm not sure how I feel about it. Last week, I listened to the Mustangs on the internet when they were in San Angelo playing the Chiefs. I listened to the game from a link on the San Angelo newspaper. In some manner, the radio station and newspaper joined forces and got the game on the internet, and it didn't cost me anything. I listen to lots of sports on the internet. I think it's the neatest thing to listen to sports that are available to broadcast on the internet for free. Some of my favorite links to radio stations are,
www.theticket.com
www.kzps.com
www.kvil.com

I guess I shouldn't question KXOX for wanting to charge Mustang fans to listen to games on the internet. I guess it's pretty expensive to set all that technology up to do that. But here is my question: Why doesn't a company sponsor that so fans don't have to pay for it?

For example, what about all those windmills producing electricity out there south of town? Can't they come up with some sponsor money? I mean gee, they are dotting the landscape pretty regularly now right? And isn't part of their payment to Sweetwater supposed to go to the school district? I mean, can we have an agreement with them to build just one more windmill to sponsor the games on the internet?

Heck, look at this GoFridayNight.com website? They can get sponsorships to do play-by-play updates for all three high schools in Abilene. Why is Sweetwater behind the eight ball on this? And I certainly don't intend to be mean about it, but have you read the sports page of the Sweetwater Reporter on-line? I don't know why they use so many dashes in their description of Mustang games. And usually, the Mustangs have to share the space with the other schools in the county and how their teams did on Friday night. I guess I shouldn't complain about the paper, at least it's free to read. If you try to read about the Snyder Tigers in their paper, you have to purchase a membership.

I guess the ultimate question I have is, why can't a newspaper or radio station get sufficient sponsors to pay for a program instead of charging the very people that buy the paper or frequent the radio buying parties?

Just an observation here, but the way things are going Colorado City is going to win the 2A state Championship this year and in my opinion will move up to 3A next year. You get the sense there are alot of good things happening in Colorado City. Business is humming over there. Snyder has alot of good things going on there too, and they aren't even next to an interstate. Maybe the good folks of Sweetwtaer can come up with a good idea to get some new business in Sweetwater, so there will be some growth, so that perhaps more sponsorship money will become available, so I won't have to pay to listen to any Sweetwater games on the internet.

Whew, I had to think a long time to come up with an answer to my question.

Lew

September 6, 2005

District 4-3A, The state's power district.

Dear Mustangs,

Abilene Wylie is ranked in the AP Poll's Top 10. What took the pollsters so long? After all, Abilene Wyle did win the Class 3-A Division one state championship last year. As Danny Reagan put it, name another district in the state of Texas where 3 teams in the same district are ranked in the top 10.

That's pretty impressive alright. I think we can now officially catagorize this district as we did last year, as a fight to the finish.

What is the initial difference in the district this year compared to last year? As they say in the real estate business, "location, location, location."

Last year, Snyder traveled to both Sweetwater and Wylie to play. Sweetwater played at Wylie and was home for Snyder, and Wylie got to stay at home for Sweetwater and Snyder.

This year, Snyder is in the cat bird seat. They get Sweetwtaer and Wylie at home, Sweetwater plays at Snyder and home to Wylie, and Wylie has to take their show on the road against both Sweetwater and Snyder.

Does any of this really matter? I don't know. But in looking at Snyder's schedule, I don't see too many bumps in the road until district play.

Oh they have a game on 9/30 at Class 4A Andrews which Sweetwater will play Andrews there also on 10/14, but other than that, I don't see Snyder having a very big test until district play.

What about Abilene Wylie? They are simply on cruise control until September 30, when they host Decatur who defeated Abilene Wylie last year in Decatur. I would imagine it will be some pay back time when Decatur comes to town.

And what about the Mustangs? Well, both Midland Greenwood and Andrews have good teams. This could be a scary situation for the Mustangs.
Those two teams are out for Class 4-3A teams. Let's just say there could be some incentives if they beat Sweetwater.

All in all, it's gonna come down to the district games themselves. There are only 4 district games in class 4-3A, and three teams are ranked in the AP Top 10 Poll. Something's got to give.

Lew

September 3, 2005

Mustangs spoil Lake View's home opener 40-0

Great job Mustangs!

The Sweetwater Mustangs continue the march to the District 4-3A race with a complete domination of San Angelo Lakeview, 40-0. Here is the story By Nathan Wright / Scripps West Texas Newspapers:

http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/sp_fb_hs_sweetwater/article/0,1874,ABIL_18463_4052818,00.html

I was fortunate I got to actually listen to the game on the internet because one of the San Angelo radio stations, KWFR, broadcasted it.

To sort of summarize the game, Kendall Carrillo completed all 8 pass attempts for 122 yards. That was impressive. He also rushed for 58 yards on 8 carries.

What is also impressive is the Mustang defense held Lakeview to 42 yards of offense, very impressive, including a sack by James Beck.

Sky Green and Joseph Banyard, the "Batman and Robin" of Sweetwater, got into the act as well with a touchdown each before the 1st half ended.

That was all that was needed for Coach Jackson to call off the horses and in the second half was able to play some players to get game experience and to prevent any unecessary injuries.

And what I was impressed with also is Sweetwater and Coach Jackson showed a lot of class when in the final minutes of the game, with the Mustangs within the 5 yard line of the Chiefs goal line, took 2 knees to keep from running up the score. That is class. I like Coach Jackson's thinking. It was evident Lakeview was a beaten team, there was no sense in humiliation.

Were the Mustangs perfect? Pretty close, but there were a couple of mistakes, and I'm sure they will be taken care of. Let's not take anything away from Lakeview either. This was their first home game of the season and they were pumped too.

All in all, it was a very good game for Sweetwater to win in the manner in which they did. Going on the road, taking care of business is always a good thing.

Now, let me bring everyone back to reality.
I totally missed my prediction that Lubbock Estacado would give Snyder a challenge. They didn't. Snyder manhandled Estacado 43-6 or some such.
You all remember Snyder right?
Abilene Wylie, the defending state class 3A Division 1 champs won in pretty convincing fashion also. Not to look too far ahead, but I mention this just to remind us all that these tune-up games are great. It's good we have a good season underway. But there are some very good teams down the road. I am confident when the time comes, it's going to be an all-out shoot out. I'll take our chances.

Lew

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