Short-handed Dragons succumb to No. 2 Tolar, 61-6

October 21, 2023 at 10:40 am Derrick Stuckly

Skylar Minshew (5) threw a touchdown as he was forced into quarterback duty for Bangs (2-6, 1-3), which hosts Hamilton (4-4, 1-3) next week in a key District 5-2A Division I battle. [File photo courtesy of Dee Hail – Be Okay Photography]

***

TOLAR – Playing short-handed due to injuries, the Bangs Dragons were dealt a 61-6 loss Friday night by the District 5-2A Division I front-running and second-ranked Tolar Rattlers.

Tolar (7-1, 4-0) led 27-0 after one quarter, 44-0 at halftime and 54-0 through three periods.

Bangs (2-6, 1-3) mustered just 122 yards of total offense playing without quarterback Kenny Cole as Skylar Minshew stepped in and completed 4 of 9 passes for 74 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while also rushing for a team-best 24 yards.

The Dragons were also without leading rusher Ethan Ethridge as Hunter Hudnall contributed 19 yards on the ground while Brayden Gatlin and Hunter Withers rushed for 3 and 2 yards, respectively.

Kade Minshew caught a team-high three passes for 66 yards and a touchdown and Aden Jones finished with two grabs for 8 yards. Leading receiver Hunter Newton was also unavailable Friday night.

Defensively for Bangs, Weston Scantling tallied a team-high nine tackles followed by Hunter Crowell with eight, and Kade Minshew and Noah Pin finished with two each and Cason Tidwell added 1.5 takedowns. Hudnall recovered a fumble for the lone Tolar turnover.

Despite the loss, the Dragons remain the playoff hunt with games remaining at home next week against Hamilton (4-4, 1-3) – which defeated De Leon (6-3, 3-2) Friday night – and Nov. 3 at Coleman (6-2, 3-1), which had its district bye Friday.