Bangs eyes bounce back performance as Hico visits in second district outing

October 17, 2024 at 8:05 am Derrick Stuckly

The Bangs Dragons (2-4, 0-1) look to improve upon their 27 points allowed per game as they prepare for their second straight district home game {Photo courtesy of Lori Ethridge}

BANGS – Midway through their District 5-2A Division I opener, the Bangs Dragons held the advantage before Ballinger stormed back for a 33-12 victory.

The Dragons are again at home this week, seeking their first league victory before the toughest portion of the schedule hits, as the Hico Tigers come calling.

Kickoff between Bangs (2-4, 0-1) and Hico (4-2, 0-1) is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium.

In last week’s loss to Ballinger, the Dragons finished with just 179 yards of total offense and allowed 369, with 271 coming on the ground.

“It was a closer game than the score shows,” said Bangs first-year head coach Colton Buzzard. “We were up 12-7 at halftime and the second half got away from us. I have to do a better job at getting us more prepared to come out in the second half ready to go. The kids played hard, fought hard, Ballinger just moved the ball 4-5 yards a pop and we couldn’t stall them out. The one time we did they fumbled the snap on a punt and we had containment on him and then we lost containment and that was the nail in the coffin. It was 20-12 at that point and we were about to get the ball back. They held possession of the football the majority of the second half. I felt like we were hardly on offense the second half. We had four possessions and didn’t capitalize. But it’s time to move forward and move on to the next week.”

Regarding the bright spots from last week’s effort, Buzzard said, “The first half alone, we played real physical, we tackled real well, we executed really well on some plays and showed why we run those plays. The offensive line played pretty good in the first half. The second half we had some mistakes and shot ourselves in the foot. We just have to move on and keep getting better each week.”

Hico, which opened the season with four straight wins, has lost its last two, including a 56-0 thrashing at the hands of De Leon in last week’s league opener.

In the loss to De Leon, Hico finished with just 115 yards, including 104 rushing, while giving up 512 yards – 295 on the ground and 217 through the air.

In the Tigers’ most recent win, 46-28 over Itasca on Sept. 20, Buck Powell ran for 176 yards and a touchdown while Price Mullin added 109 yards and a score. Kalder Halbrook also eclipsed triple figures with 101 rushing yards and a touchdown to go with five catches for 58 yards and another trip to the end zone. Quarterback Tyler Jackson ran for 80 yards and three touchdowns while completing all five of his passes for 58 yards to Halbrook with another score.

“Hico is about 90 percent run, 10 percent pass,” Buzzard said. “They’re going to run the football and they want you to try and stop them. They use the tight end, three backs, we just have to be physical, tackle and control the line of scrimmage. If we do that we’ll have success. It’s going to be a smash mouth football game, a physical football game, we’re going to prepare and get the things ready and we’ll see what happens.”

The Dragons enter Friday’s game averaging 30 points and 298 yards – 224 rushing and 74 passing – per contest, with 13 turnovers.

Bangs’ rushing attack is anchored by Brayden Gatlin (289 rushing yards, 5 TDs), Skylar Minshew (269 rushing yards, 3 TDs), Eliseo Rivas (263 rushing yards, 2 TDs), Jackson Edmiston (258 rushing yards, 1 TD ) and Aden Jones (237 rushing yards, 3 TDs). Through the air, Minshew has completed 37 of 64 passes for 413 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. Top receiving threats are Cason Tidwell (17-201, 5 TDs), Rex Guerrero (8-90, TD), Noah Castillo (4-17), Hunter Crowell (3-44), and Connor Bible (3-27).

On defense, the Dragons yield 27 points and 268 yards – 165 on the ground and 103 through the air – per outing, with eight takeaways.

Standouts include Crowell (47 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), Rivas (39 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), Tidwell (31 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack), Bible (22.5 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 INT), Chris Valdez (20 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack), Nevaeh Menefield (17 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks) and Kian Kelly (15.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack).

As for what it will take for the Dragons to emerge victorious, Buzzard said, “We just have to put four quarters together, that’s been our kryptonite all year long. We’ve played two or even three quarters of really good football and we’ll have that one quarter where we just don’t quite play at our caliber. If we can play for four quarters, we’ll have a successful outcome to the football game.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is a 14-point underdog.

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Bangs Dragons 2024 Football Season Stats

Through 6 Games (2-4, 0-1)

TEAM OFFENSE

29.6 points per game (178)

298.1 yards per game (1,789)

224.0 rushing yards per game (1,344)

74.1 passing yards per game (445)

PASSING

* Skylar Minshew

37 of 64 for 413 yards, 6 TDs, 3 INTs

* Hunter Withers

4 of 12 for 32 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

RUSHING

* Brayden Gatlin

289 yards on 55 carries, 5 TDs

* Skylar Minshew

269 yards on 48 carries, 3 TDs

* Eliseo Rivas

263 yards on 32 carries, 2 TDs

* Jackson Edmiston

258 yards on 37 carries, 1 TD

* Aden Jones

237 yards on 36 carries, 3 TDs

* Navaeh Menefield

19 yards on 6 carries, 2 TDs

* Connor Bible

8 yards on 1 carry

* Hunter Withers

1 yard on 5 carries

RECEIVING

* Cason Tidwell

17 catches, 201 yards, 5 TDs

* Rex Guerrero

8 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD

* Noah Castillo

4 catches, 17 yards

* Hunter Crowell

3 catches, 44 yards

* Connor Bible

3 catches, 27 yards

* Braxton Wommack

2 catches, 23 yards, 1 TD

* Michael Parrott

2 catches, 14 yards

* Brayden Gatlin

1 catch, 27 yards

* Aden Jones

1 catch, 2 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

26.8 points per game (161)

268.5 yards per game (1,611)

165.5 rushing yards per game (993)

103.0 passing yards per game (618)

TACKLES

* Hunter Crowell

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

* Eliseo Rivas

39 tackles, 6 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery

* Cason Tidwell

31 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack

* Conner Bible

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

* Chris Valdez

20 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack

* Nevaeh Menefield

17 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks

* Kian Kelly

15.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack

* Rex Guerrero

13.5 tackles

* Aden Jones

13.5 tackles

* Skylar Minshew

12.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack

* Noah Castillo

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

* Kristopher Kelly

10 tackles, 3 for loss

* Michael Parrott

8.5 tackles

* Brayden Gatlin

7 tackles, 1 for loss

* John Paul Rangel

6 tackles, 2 for loss

* Jackson Edmiston

5.5 tackles

* Jaxon Duncan

4.5 tackles, 1 for loss

* Mason Minshew

4 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

* Kason Klutts

3 tackles, 1 for loss

* Hunter Withers

3 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery

* Braxton Wommack

1 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN (-5)

* Bangs: 13 (9 fumbles, 4 interceptions)

* Opponents: 8 (6 fumbles, 2 interceptions)