BANGS – The Bangs Dragons head into the start of District 5-2A Division I action with a 2-3 record that is just a few plays away from being 4-1, but the mistakes that cost them victories early must be avoided going forward if a playoff berth is in the future.

Following a bye last week, the Dragons dive into district action against a much-improved Ballinger Bearcats squad, under the direction of former Brownwood assistant Ty Lang, and the league slate only gets tougher. Kickoff between Bangs and Ballinger (3-2) is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium.

“These games matter,” said Bangs first-year head coach Colton Buzzard. “The first five games were to get us ready for this game, this week. From here on out every game matters if we want to keep playing when the season’s over. The kids have bought into that mentality. The stakes are a little higher, but I told them there’s no more ‘Sorry, Coach’, the mentality has to be ‘I’m going to get it done, Coach.’”

Buzzard also acknowledged the Dragons need to start district on the right foot as, after facing Ballinger, games against Hico, De Leon, No. 10 Hamilton and preseason district favorite Coleman are on the horizon.

“You definitely need to win that first one to get some momentum moving in the right direction,” Buzzard said. “Our district, it’s no secret it gets harder as we get further into district. We know who the front-runners are and who we have to beat in this district in order to make it to the playoffs. You can’t make the playoffs if you don’t win one, so we have to get that first one under belt.”

The Dragons’ last outing was a 37-36 homecoming loss to Colorado City, as a failed two-point conversion late and stopped drive in the closing seconds cost Bangs. The Dragons also suffered a 38-27 loss at Grape Creek earlier, a game Bangs led 27-0 at halftime but imploded in the second half with self-inflicted mistakes.

Buzzard stated Bangs used last week’s bye to refresh, regroup and put the past behind them.

“We took the first couple of days to recover a little bit, critique ourselves, watch some film and then Wednesday we got back in pads and got back to sharpening our sword,” Buzzard said. “I like how the week ended last week and I’m pretty excited about this week.”

The Dragons head into the district opener averaging 33 points and 322 yards – 247 rushing and 75 passing – per game, but with a dozen turnovers. Quarterback Skylar Minshew has completed 32 of 54 passes for 350 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions while also rushing for 243 yards and three scores. Other weapons in the backfield include Brayden Gatlin (264 rushing yards, 5 TDs), Eliseo Rivas (253 rushing yards, 2 TDs), Jackson Edmiston (232 rushing yards, TD), and Aden Jones (217 rushing yards, 2 TDs), while Cason Tidwell (16-192, 4 TDs) and Rex Guerrero (6-66, TD) have emerged as primary receiving threats.

Defensively, Bangs is yielding 26 points and 248 yards – 144 on the ground and 104 through the air – with six takeaways. Standouts include Hunter Crowell (35 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), Rivas (28 tackles, 6 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), Tidwell (22 tackles, 3 for loss), Chris Valdez (17 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack), Conner Bible (17 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 INT), Nevaeh Menefield (14.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks), Guerrero (13.5 tackles), Kian Kelly (11.5 tackles), and Noah Castillo (10 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries).

Ballinger – which defeated Merkel (28-10), Christoval (21-0), and San Angelo TLCA (61-6) to start the season and has since fallen to Brady (20-0) and Stanton (25-21) – averages 26 points per game and allows just 12 per outing.

Two quarterbacks have seen action in Cade Strube (38 of 59 for 460 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 233 rushing yards, 3 TDs) and Kyson Burleson (14 of 33 for 233 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 136 rushing yards, 1 TD), while the ground game is anchored by Aiden Pena (555 rushing yards, 5 TDs) and Braden Belk (75 rushing yards, 3 TDs), and top receivers are Bryce Lopez (25-311, 3 TDs), Jaylen Hernandez (13-161), and Hunter Kresta (12-182, 3 TDs).

“Offensively they’re physical and big and like to run the football, but don’t let that trick you because they can throw the ball as well,” Buzzard said. “They’re a quick game scheme and a power scheme. They’ll run some RPO stuff, but I think we have a good game plan to be in the right position and to stop what they want to do, but at the end of the day you have to make the plays. I think our kids have bought into the game plan and what we need to do to stop them. Defensively we have to get our eyes where they need to be – be disciplined with our eyes, defeat blocks and tackle.”

Ballinger’s defense has recorded eight sacks and nine takeaways and is led by Strube (39 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT, 1 FR), Pena (36 tackles, 3 for loss), Hernandez (32 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 FR), Manny Gonzalez (32 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 INT) , Drew Knickerbocker (23 tackles, 2 for loss), and Aven Ochoa (14 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 INT).

“Their defense swarms to the football,” Buzzard said. “They do a really a good job of flying to football so we have to capitalize off that and make sure we have a counter to them over-pursuing. Offensively we just need to take care of the football. Every game we’ve just given the ball back to to the opposing team. And it’s not necessarily them hitting us and us fumbling, it’s us doing it to ourselves with botched snaps or bad hand-offs. If we take care of the football offensively, we move the ball pretty well.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is a 7-point underdog.

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Bangs Dragons 2024 Football Season Stats

Through 5 Games (2-3)

TEAM OFFENSE

33.2 points per game (166)

322.0 yards per game (1,610)

246.8 rushing yards per game (1,234)

75.2 passing yards per game (376)

PASSING

* Skylar Minshew

32 of 54 for 350 yards, 5 TDs, 3 INTs

* Hunter Withers

3 of 8 for 26 yards, 1 TD

RUSHING

* Brayden Gatlin

264 yards on 47 carries, 5 TDs

* Eliseo Rivas

253 yards on 28 carries, 2 TDs

* Skylar Minshew

243 yards on 38 carries, 3 TDs

* Jackson Edmiston

232 yards on 34 carries, 1 TD

* Aden Jones

217 yards on 32 carries, 2 TDs

* Navaeh Menefield

19 yards on 6 carries, 2 TDs

* Connor Bible

8 yards on 1 carry

* Hunter Withers

-2 yards on 4 carries

RECEIVING

* Cason Tidwell

16 catches, 192 yards, 4 TDs

* Rex Guerrero

6 catches, 66 yards, 1 TD

* Noah Castillo

4 catches, 17 yards

* Connor Bible

3 catches, 27 yards

* Braxton Wommack

2 catches, 23 yards, 1 TD

* Brayden Gatlin

1 catch, 27 yards

* Hunter Crowell

1 catch, 16 yards

* Michael Parrott

1 catch, 6 yards

* Aden Jones

1 catch, 2 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

25.6 points per game (128)

248.4 yards per game (1,242)

144.4 rushing yards per game (722)

104.0 passing yards per game (520)

TACKLES

* Hunter Crowell

35 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

* Eliseo Rivas

28 tackles, 6 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

* Cason Tidwell

22 tackles, 3 for loss

* Chris Valdez

17 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack

* Conner Bible

17 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 INT

* Nevaeh Menefield

14.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks

* Rex Guerrero

13.5 tackles

* Kian Kelly

11.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack

* Noah Castillo

10 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries

* Skylar Minshew

9.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack

* Kristopher Kelly

9 tackles, 3 for loss

* Michael Parrott

8 tackles

* Aden Jones

7 tackles

* Brayden Gatlin

6.5 tackles, 1 for loss

* Jaxon Duncan

4.5 tackles, 1 for loss

* Jackson Edmiston

4.5 tackles

* John Paul Rangel

4 tackles, 2 for loss

* Mason Minshew

3 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack

* Kason Klutts

3 tackles, 1 for loss

* Hunter Withers

3 tackles, 1 fumble recovery

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TURNOVER MARGIN (-6)

* Bangs: 12 (9 fumbles, 3 interceptions)

* Opponents: 6 (5 fumbles, 1 interception)