West Orange-Stark won another tight one last week with Liberty. The Mustangs clinched at least a share of the district championship. The final game of the regular season is this Friday, and Coach Cornel Thompson should have a full corral of Mustangs to use to close out the district undefeated. Thompson observed, “We’re looking forward to finishing up the district season, and we win this we’ll be the outright district champs.”
Hamshire-Fannett is the opponent Friday, and Thompson points out the Longhorns have a new coach that has got them into the playoffs for the first time in several years. Mark Waggoner has moved from Robinson outside of Waco and has brought the Spread Formation with him. He has got a lot more kids involved in playing football at Hamshire-Fannett.
Running the Longhorns’ Spread is quarterback Marcus Morris. He is a good thrower of the football and can run or scramble with the ball as well. Thompson feels Hamshire-Fannett has developed a little bit of a swagger and the Longhorns are believing in their selves with the success this season. This will be the first season in four or five years that they will make the playoffs. “You’re not just going to show up in Hamshire-Fannett and win the game, you’re going to have to go play,” Thompson confirmed.
The Longhorns are much improved on defense this year. Coach Thompson said the Mustangs will have to play physically tough to match Hamshire-Fannett. The ‘Horns use a 50-Defense which is a mirror of the Mustangs’ defense. They play man coverage in the secondary. Thompson stated, “We have to go in and play, mentally and physically get after them.”
A big noseguard in Colton Savoie anchors the defense and is very active. Coach Waggoner’s son Blaine Waggoner started two years at Robinson and will be a starter at linebacker for Hamshire-Fannett. He will be seen on the field near the ball quite a bit. The Longhorns are tough kids, and they run to the ball well according to Thompson.
The game with Hamshire-Fannett is the final tune-up for West Orange-Stark in preparation for the playoffs. Thompson told what he expects from the Mustangs on Friday is improvement in all phases, leadership from his seniors, and better play from the other players. He admits he has been disappointed all season including last week in the win over Liberty with the lack of leadership shown by the West Orange-Stark seniors.
The playoffs are just around the corner. Thompson and the Mustangs have been there before, and the coach reminded that no team especially West Orange-Stark wants to end the regular season with a loss and go into the playoffs on a bad note. “We’re looking for a complete football game offense, defense, and kicking game for this last contest,” Thompson concluded.
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