Mustangs honor Sammy Baugh, defeat Greenwood

By Lew
September 11, 2005

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

Comments

kelly andrus
September 13, 2005 1:02 AM

what is sweetwater going to do now since they lost their starting qarterback. the sweetwater coach's aren't that smart to have their starting backfield still playing in the 3rd quarter with a 35 point lead. how far can the mustangs go when coach's aren't smart enough to pull their star players?

Lew
September 13, 2005 3:21 AM

Dear Kelly,
Thanks for your comments, but i do take exception and want to mention I don't know that Carrillo is hurt. If he is hurt, I don't know how long he will be hurt.

In response to your comment about the Sweetwater coaches being smart ....Let me assure you they work very hard and are very intelligent about football. What you fail to realize is the entire Mustang football team are "star" players. So just because one player goes down, if indeed that is the case, there are other "star" players that will play the game and be successful.

So Sweetwater has been blessed with an abundance of talent, so whomever is playing in the 3rd quarter will be "stars". I hope this answers your question, and let me assure you I debated on publishing your comments. Any further attempt to question any coach's "intelligence" will not be allowed on this board going further.

Lew

Mustang-fan
September 13, 2005 4:04 PM

Carrillo has a torn MCL...meaning he will rehab and be back within 4-5 weeks. What do you mean "starting quarterback"? We have 3 starting quarterbacks.

Thanks, Lew, for "policing" the board.

Lew
September 13, 2005 7:14 PM

Thanks for the update Mustang Fan.

I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

In the mean time, I think the Mustangs are in quite capable hands and will continue to work hard and carry out the mission of 2005. Thanks again for the update.

Lew

amy
September 15, 2005 2:21 AM

I am not a Sweetwater fan, actually a Wylie fan, but only for a few years since my nephew started playing there. But, Lew, I appreciate your comments about negativity. I am not a coach by profession, but I have volunteered to coach girls summer basketball off and on for the past 15 years, and I have witnessed first-hand how much negativity goes on (including from the parents, fans, athletes themselves and coaches) and how badly negative attitudes can hamper team unity. I think more potentially great teams have been hampered by negativity than any one other single thing. Nobody really wants to give Wylie any credit for winning the state championship last season. Oh, the bracket was watered down by early losses by teams the so-called experts said were going to win. Or, Division I bracket is always weak. Whatever. They did beat a No. 1-ranked team and a No. 2-ranked team on the way to that title. The facts are, that coaching staff over there is the main reason Wylie wins every year, not it's bevy of athletes. How many collegiate stars came from Wylie? Not that many. It's the team unity and the way the coaches don't treat anybody more special than anybody else in that program. It's a team effort all the way. That's why kids like Chad Copeland, Michael Kiger, Case Keenum and a whole list of others don't get the postseason recognition they deserve, even after winning state. Instead of keeping starters in the game to run up stats during a blowout, those Wylie coaches figure out a way to get as many people in the game as possible so that as many kids as possible get some playing experience and are not blown away the first time they have to get in a game in a tight situation. So those running backs and quarterbacks at Wylie don't have good enough stats to make all-state, or to earn serious attention by lots of football programs. They have a gold ring that says state champion. There are thousands of great athletes in the world who never won a championship. I bet their parents are still griping about how bad their coaches were or how somebody cheated them out of the glory. Thanks, Lew, keep up the good work and keep writing positive things about the Mustangs and the entire District 4-3A. This could be a real banner year for the district. What about two state champs?

Lew
September 15, 2005 2:48 AM

Amy,
What a breath of fresh air you bring to the blog. Thanks so very much for your comments. I truly appreciate what you said.

Now, let me bring you up-to-speed on the behind the scenes that I have initiated. First of all, I think Abilene Wylie and Snyder, and heck the entire District 4-3A have some of the best folks (athletes, coaches, and fans) in the state. I wrote the high school sports editor for the Dallas Morning News bragging on Wylie, Snyder and Sweetwater and asked him why he couldn't vote for Wylie since they are the reigning state champs. His response was in reference to a team getting beat by a higher ranked team. I have noticed he now votes for Wylie in the AP Polls. I don't know if I had anything to do with it, (probably not) but at least he knows folks in west Texas are watching how he votes.
I have kept up as much as I can with Abilene Wylie and Snyder. I have to (smile). I can tell you from everything I hear, everything I read, I am proud Sweetwater is grouped in the same district as ya'll. I have always respected Wylie. In fact, I think one of my earliest posts this season was a tribute to Wylie being the 2004 State Champs. I agree, Wylie has not gotten their fair share of credit being handed out. Not having Wylie in the Top 10 poll at the start of this season was a slap in the face in my opinion.
It's sort of funny how I think about district 4-3A as sort of like family. In other words, I might call my sister fat, but YOU better not call her fat..LOL
The meaning of that is, I think we all respect each other in this district. And if an "outsider" can't understand how good our district is, we'll kindly let them know. Thanks again for your post. I appreciate it. Please know you are always welcome here, and it further prooves fans of different high schools can certainly get along.

Lew

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