Jul 30, 2010
Mustangs show a lot of class to advance to region semifinals
November 24, 2009
FRIENDSWOOD — Friendswood head coach Steve Van Meter was notified last Friday that the Mustangs would play Houston Waltrip instead of Houston Wheatley in the area round of the Class 4A Region III Division I playoffs. The reason for the switch was that Wheatley notified the UIL on Friday morning that they had used an ineligible player in their 20-14 win over Waltrip. The UIL ruled that Waltrip, who had already checked in their football gear, would face the Mustangs.
Not to put down Waltrip, but even if the Rams had adequate time to prepare, they really weren't going to be a match for the Mustangs. But with that said -- the Waltrip players were excited to be able to play one more game and they did so with great character and effort.
But Van Meter and his players - who were also put in a difficult situation - accepted the challenge in a graceful way and did what they had to do to win, but did so without embarrassing the Rams and their fans.
“This was a tough situation, so I really liked how we came out right away and set the tone,” Van Meter said. “We got down to business, and that’s what I wanted. Then we got to play some backups and JV, who really haven’t gotten to play this year.”
More importantly, it showed the class that Van Meter and his coaching staff have exhibited throughout his 25-plus years at Friendswood. Mustang fans also responded by giving the Waltrip band a standing ovation after their halftime program and were very supportive throughout the entire contest.
"It was a win-win situation for us," Van Meter said. "Our fans are the greatest and I was so proud to see them understand the difficulty that Waltrip was facing and to hear them cheer when they (Waltrip) made some good plays against us. It was a testimony of great sportsmanship from the entire Friendswood community."
The Mustangs (9-3) will play Beaumont Central (9-3) in the regional semifinals Saturday, November 28 at Stallworth Stadium in Baytown at 2:00 p.m.. The two teams played last year for the 4A Region III Division I championship that Friendswood won 20-19 to send the Mustangs to the 4A state semifinals.
Friendswood scored on their opening drive in only 58 seconds as Andrew Cole completed the four-play, 80-yard drive with a 17-yard scoring run. The drive was sparked by a 40 yard screen pass from Peter Maetzold to Jonathan Johnson to the Waltrip 17. Zach Hardy added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 11:02 left in the first quarter.
The Mustangs added a second touchdown following a pass interception by Robert Smith who returned the ball 28 yard to the Friendswood 38. Two plays later, Matt Kennemer was on the receiving end of a 50-yard bomb from Maetzold. Johnson added the 2-point conversion for a 15-0 advantage with 4:40 left in the first period.
Brant Luifau scored Friendswood's next touchdown when he stepped inside of the Waltrip receiver on a screen play. Luifau raced 29 yards for the score to increase the Friendswood lead to 22-0 with 3:02 still left in the first quarter.
Hardy added a 40-yard field goal at the 11:47 mark of the second quarter to increase the lead to 25-0.
Friendswood added one more score on a 5-yard run by Cole with 3:19 left in the second period to make the halftime score 32-0.
The second half saw mostly reserves and junior varsity players asquarterback Tyler O'Brien scored on a 14-yard run in the third period and Justin Battle added another score on a 1-yard run with 10:14 left in the final frame for a 46-0 lead.
Waltrip finally got on the scoreboard with a safety at the 4:30 mark of the fourth to make the final score 46-2.
Friendswood's offense reeled off 393 yards and 23 first downs while the defense held Waltrip to only 147 total yards.
Robert Smith intercepted two passes for the Mustangs. Friendswood recovered 2-of-4 fumbles by the Rams.
Friendswood will face Beaumont Central on Saturday, November 28 at 2:00 p.m. at Baytown's Stallworth Stadium.
The Mustangs and the Jaguars have one common opponent this season.
Central beat Nederland 35-14 while Friendswood beat Nederland 42-7.
The Jaguars don't look to be as good as they were last year.
Quarterback Donte Wilkerson has thrown for 979 yards and 12 TDs with 5 INTs. Running backs Keith O'Neal had 181 carries for 1,014 yards and 12 TDs while Nijel Daw has 117 totes for 638 yards and six scores. Damon Heard had 54 carries for 515 yards and six touchdowns.
Wide receiver Brenan Jackson has 20 catches for 371 yards and three scores. Keenan Holman has 23 grabs for 264 yards. Daw also has 165 yards on 16 catches.
Friendswood's vaunted offense should give the Jaguars fits as Maetzold enters the game with 2,459 yards passing for 26 TDs while hitting 60 percent of his passes.
Despite missing a couple of games - Cole has 908 rushing yards and 10 TDs. Johnson leads the receiving Corps with 553 yards on 37 catches for six touchdowns. Cole also has 320 yards receiving and two TDs.
Matt Kennemer (10 catches - 312 yards, 4 TDs) and Keith Canada (17 catches - 280 yards, 2 TDs) have stepped up as clutch receivers for Maetzold.
Last year - the Central offense kept the ball away from Friendswood with a ground-oriented attack. But the Mustangs should get more touches the second time around.
Friendswood fans need to get out to the game in full force to support the Mustangs who have a great shot at returning to the state semifinals again this season.