Bangs looks to bounce back on the road against pesky Hamilton

October 27, 2022 at 7:20 am Derrick Stuckly

High School Football

Skylar Minshew (5) and the Dragons are producing 31 points and 346 yards per game heads into the ninth game of the season.

BANGS – The Bangs Dragons, coming off their first defeat since Sept. 2, will look to return to the win column as they hit the road to battle the Hamilton Bulldogs in a critical District 5-2A Division I encounter Friday night.

Kickoff between Bangs (5-3, 3-1) and Hamilton (4-4, 2-2) is slated for 7 p.m.

Bangs’ five-game win streak ended with a 57-0 loss to undefeated league front-runner Tolar, and the Dragons can now finish anywhere from second to fourth in the 5-2A Division I standings prior to heading into the playoffs. A victory over Hamilton Friday night would set up the Dragons with a home game against Coleman next week for the right to secure the district’s No. 2 playoff seed. A loss, and Bangs could find itself as the No. 4 seed going into the postseason.

Most importantly, however, the Dragons must put last week’s performance behind them, which fifth-year head coach Kyle Maxfield feels has been accomplished during practice this week.

“We’ve had a good week,” Maxfield said. “The kids have put it past us. This is a big game. That’s the maturity of this team and they’ll show that this Friday. They know it’s a big challenge, but they’ve been good about getting over it and going on to the next one.”

Briefly reflecting on the Tolar contest, Maxfield said, “We played really solid in the first quarter, it was 0-0. They got a couple of scores on us in the second quarter and that’s been a nemesis of ours. We gave up 29 points that second quarter and couldn’t get anything going in the second half. Tolar is the real deal.”

Regarding positive takeaways from last week’s performance, Maxfield said, “Despite what the score ended up they played hard, they played their hearts out. We just had some unfortunate turnovers that made it lopsided toward the end. We moved the ball as good as any team has against Tolar, we just couldn’t finish some drives. With our depth, we’re a little banged up but this time of year everyone’s in the same boat. We just have to try and stay healthy, and our other guys have to be ready to go.”

Hamilton enters Friday’s contest fresh off a 35-20 district victory over De Leon. The Bulldogs also won their district opener against San Saba, 40-28, and fell to Tolar, 56-7, and Coleman, 42-7, in their other two league outings.

The Bulldogs are averaging 20 points and allowing 33 per contest, and even in last week’s win Hamilton was outgained 321 to 350 in total yardage.

“They’ve got some size up front and their D-line plays tough,” Maxfield said. “Offensively, they don’t just have one guy, they rotate a bunch in and out. Their quarterback can run and throw. We’ve had a bend but don’t break mentality on defense and we have to keep that philosophy in this game, too. We also have to do a lot better job of taking care of the ball. We had those crazy turnovers against Tolar. We had been doing a good job of that and we have to get back on track. We also have to get the run game on track and get our play action going.”

Bangs is averaging 31 points and 346 yards – 254 rushing and 92 passing – per game, with nine turnovers as three occurred last week.

Guy Powell has been the offensive spark plug all season with 1,468 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns, while quarterback Kenny Cole has connected on 53 of 121 passes for 734 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions, while rushing for 281 yards and four scores.

Other weapons on offense include receivers Guy Funk (14-126, 3 TDs), Hunter Newton (12-193, 2 TDs), Nate Stoffer (10-139, TD), and Skylar Minshew (10-107, TD), along with Keygan Pitts (119 rushing yards, TD) out of the backfield.

Defensively, the Dragons surrender 26 points and 391 yards – 268 rushing and 123 passing – per game while forcing 15 turnovers.

Standouts include Powell (89 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries), Stoffer (83 tackles, 1 for loss, 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries), Pitts (81 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 fumble recovery), Ethan Ethridge (55 tackles, 1 interception), Sergio Lopez (35 tackles, 2 for loss), Braydon Fields (33 tackles, 1 interception), Weston Jundt (24 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception), Minshew (23 tackles), David Herrera (21 tackles), Newton (15 tackles), Zack Ferguson (13 tackles, 1 interception), and Noah Pin (12 tackles).

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is a 13-point favorite.

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Bangs Dragons 2022 Football Season Stats

Through 8 Games (5-3, 3-1)

TEAM OFFENSE

31.3 points per game (250)

346.0 yards per game (2,768)

254.3 rushing yards per game (2,034)

91.7 passing yards per game (734)

PASSING

* Kenny Cole

53 of 121 for 734 yards, 8 TDs, 5 INTs

RUSHING

* Guy Powell

1,468 yards on 129 carries, 19 TDs

* Kenny Cole

281 yards on 66 carries, 4 TDs

* Keygan Pitts

119 yards on 14 carries, 1 TD

* Hunter Newton

57 yards on 6 carries, 1 TD

* Skylar Minshew

46 yards on 5 carries

* Ethan Ethridge

34 yards on 6 carries

* Guy Funk

24 yards on 2 carries

* Nate Stoffer

5 yards on 1 carry

RECEIVING

* Guy Funk

14 catches, 126 yards, 3 TDs

* Hunter Newton

12 catches, 193 yards, 2 TDs

* Nate Stoffer

10 catches, 139 yards, 1 TD

* Skylar Minshew

10 catches, 107 yards, 1 TD

* Guy Powell

4 catches, 45 yards, 1 TD

* Keygan Pitts

1 catch, 19 yards

* Zack Ferguson

1 catch, 3 yards

* Kade Minshew

1 catch, 3 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

26.0 points per game (208)

391.4 yards per game (3,131)

268.1 rushing yards per game (2,145)

123.3 passing yards per game (986)

TACKLES

* Guy Powell

89 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries

* Nate Stoffer

83 tackles, 1 for loss, 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries

* Keygan Pitts

81 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 fumble recovery

* Ethan Ethridge

55 tackles, 1 interception

* Sergio Lopez

35 tackles, 2 for loss

* Braydon Fields

33 tackles, 1 interception

* Weston Jundt

24 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception

* Skylar Minshew

23 tackles

* David Herrera

21 tackles

* Hunter Newton

15 tackles

* Zack Ferguson

13 tackles, 1 interception

* Noah Pin

12 tackles

* Kade Minshew

8 tackles

* Brody Newton

8 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack

* Guy Funk

7 tackles, 3 interceptions

* Isaiah Serrato

7 tackles

* Chris Valdez

3 tackles

* Donovan Ruiz

2 tackles

* Caedmon Tidwell

2 tackles

* Noah Castillo

2 tackles

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TURNOVER MARGIN (+6)

* Bangs: 9 (4 fumbles, 5 interceptions)

* Opponents: 15 (5 fumbles, 8 interceptions)