The winning streak has been extended to 30 straight games, but it was not easy for the West Orange-Stark Mustangs who rallied in the fourth quarter to capture the victory over Silsbee. It was a good win and more important there were no serious injuries for the Mustangs.
Coach Cornel Thompson has his attention turned now to the very good Kennedale Wildcats and their running game. They use the Wing T which is a cousin to the more familiar Slot T employed by several teams in southeast Texas. Kennedale is a power football team. Thompson points out, “They’re a running football team with a big strong offensive line who averages about 280, 290.”
The right guard in the O-line is Andrew Flanigan at close to 300 pounds. He leads the way for fullback Jaden Knowles, halfback De’shaun Kirven, and quarterback Evan Jowers. All three were thousand-yard rushers last season.
On defense the Wildcats are very athletic according to Thompson. Kennedale uses an even man front and lines up in a 4-2-5 alignment, but does a lot of stunting. They are a pressure defense which employs man-to-man and will rush the passer with great pressure in every gap.
Ector Rivera has moved from safety to be the Wildcats’ middle linebacker. Rivera stunts quite a bit just like he did when he was the safety, he is very active. Taking his place at safety is Kade Stephenson. The coach believes Stephenson is a very intelligent kid who gets the Wildcats lined up correctly on defense. “Those are the key players on the defensive side of the ball,” Thompson stated.
The Mustangs and the Wildcats will be the marque game in Class 4-A Friday. Both are ranked in the top ten in the state. Coach Thompson gives the keys for West Orange-Stark to keep that winning streak alive. Most important is improvement in the kicking game for the Mustangs. Missed extra points, not fielding punts, and allowing Silsbee’s Kalon Barnes to return a kickoff for a touchdown all have Thompson concerned.
Running games could determine the winner Friday night. West Orange-Stark wants to control the game with its running game. Defensively, the Mustangs must avoid the Wildcats getting the big play and instead make them bleed slowly. Kennedale loves to run the inside trap, and the Wildcats run it very well. Thompson reminds, “Knowles scores multiple touchdowns on that play every week.”
Coach Thompson said this will be one of the most important games of the season for the Mustangs. West Orange-Stark needs to avoid any season ending injuries, but Thompson believes he will get a true barometer on where the Mustangs are as a football team from Friday night’s game. “It will put us in the district so we’ll gain more out of this contest than we will any contest that we’ve played this year or may play the remainder of the year. I’m looking forward to it,” Thompson concluded.
The West Orange-Stark Mustangs play the Kennedale Wildcats Friday night at 7:30 in Nacogdoches. The game will be carried live on KOGT Friday night with a replay of the game Saturday morning at 7:00.
Here is the address and driving directions for Dragon Stadium in Nacogdoches. WOS is the Home team.
4310 Appleby Sand Rd.,
Nacogdoches, TX 75965
Dragon Stadium – Nacogdoches, Tx
- Take TX-62 N to US-96 N in Buna
- Follow US-96 N and TX-21 W to NE Stallings Dr in Nacogdoches
- Merge onto NE Stallings Dr/TX 224 Loop
- Turn Left onto Appleby Sand Rd.
- Stadium on left
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