West Orange-Stark has advanced to the state championship game for the fourth consecutive season. The Mustangs will play for their third straight championship against the Pleasant Grove Hawks on Friday afternoon in Arlington.
The Mustangs made it to their fourth straight title game with a lot of hard work according to Coach Cornel Thompson. West Orange-Stark was very inexperienced going into the 2017 season. Then Tropical Storm Harvey disrupted workouts and practices for about two weeks. Nobody believed West Orange-Stark could make it back to another title game except the Mustangs’ coaches and players. They have needed to take it one game at a time. Thompson explained, “What it has taken is hard work and commitment.”
To this climatic point in the season West Orange-Stark has been fortunate so far as injuries have been at a minimum. Thompson provided an update on injuries for the Mustangs going into the championship game indicating physically the Mustangs are in good shape other than the normal bumps and bruises that come with 13 football games. “We’re in pretty good shape overall,” Thompson commented.
This is the eighth appearance for West Orange-Stark in the championship game overall. Pleasant Grove is making its first appearance in the title game. Coach Thompson analyzed the Hawks offense. They are a Wing T football team much like Kennedale earlier in the season. Pleasant Grove is very close to Kennedale in their athletic ability.
The Hawks use a trio of backs to run the football. Their bell cow is fullback T. J. Cole. He carries the ball out of the backfield, but can also catch passes downfield. Chauncey Martin at halfback and Josh Roberts at wingback are both capable of getting on the edge to pick up big yardage for Pleasant Grove.
The difference for the Hawks is quarterback Ben Harmon’s ability to throw the football from the Wing T. His favorite target is wideout Carson Cox. Thompson pointed out, “They can throw out of their offensive set probably better than anybody we’ve faced this year out of a Wing T or a Slot T.”
Defense wins championships, and Thompson testifies the Hawks have a strong defense just like the Mustangs do. Four-year letterman Xavier Benson at outside linebacker has already committed to Texas Tech and will be a problem to block. The real stalwart of the Hawk’s defense is middle linebacker Caleb Porchia at over 200 pounds, and he can run down opposing ball carriers. Freshman Landon Jackson plays on the opposite end of the line from Benson and is not to be underrated because of his youth. There are also a couple of big 300-pounders, Austin Toler and Nick Gavriel, that anchor the middle of the Pleasant Grove defensive line.
Pleasant Grove has a swarming, get after you type defense much like West Orange-Stark. Thompson stated, “You’re going to be looking at the top two defenses in class four-A, division two in the state of Texas.”
The win streak is at 40 games for West Orange-Stark. Just like last week the coach is preaching to the players that they must prepare themselves Monday through Thursday in order to have a chance to win the game on Friday. Thompson anticipates lots of peaks and valleys in this title game, and predicts it may be decided by an extra point or a field goal or who makes the last play.
Coach Thompson gave the keys for the Mustangs to win their forty-first straight game and third consecutive state championship. As always West Orange-Stark must execute on offense, defense, and the kicking game to the best of the Mustangs’ ability. “There’s no tomorrow, we’ve got to go sell it out, so we’ve got to perform in all three phases,” Thompson concluded.
The championship game between West Orange-Stark and Pleasant Grove will be Friday at 3:00 PM in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium. The contest between the Mustangs and the Hawks will be carried live on KOGT with Gary, John and Allen beginning with pregame at 2:45pm. There will be a rebroadcast of the game at 7:00 AM on Saturday morning.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
Social Media