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Gilmer vs. Diboll at a site and time to be determined.

I could see why you would think that, and that's okay. It's tough to gauge just how good a team is going to match up with a team from a different region, though. I've been surprised too many times to count to buy into the "different level" type of stuff. There's a lot of very good programs with good coaches and loads of talent around this big state.

Gilmer is a whole other animal than Liberty. You didn't see the same team in the championship game in 2014 as I did that whole season. I'm not making excuses for them, but that team was much better than what you saw that day. Saying that WO-S would "blow out" Gilmer is probably a stretch. I could be wrong, but ... , so could you for that matter. Gilmer's offense is very good, and I seriously think they would be extremely tough to stop for anybody, including the Mustangs. I would love for us to have the opportunity to prove it, but there's a lot of football between now and then.

Hold up...! I read everything you posted, and I agree with it for the most part. The thing is, though, a win is a win no matter how it happens. That's the only point I was trying to make. It doesn't matter if there is an exposed perceived "weakness" in a team's defense if that "weakness" is offset by an unstoppable offense. That "weakness" only resulted in 7 points. What a team does between the goal lines makes no real difference if they don't score. Now, with that said, there are other teams that will try to exploit that later on, or any other "weakness" they perceive. It's called game-planning. When the playoffs start, and the Mustangs start facing some really good teams, all bets are off. That's not likely to happen until the 3rd or 4th round. The example I gave about my little brother's team is a prime example of the only thing that matters is what numbers are on the scoreboard.

When my little brother was a senior in high school, I saw his team lose to a team in bi-district they had no business losing to. The defense held the other team to 68 total yards for the game. My brother's team had over 300 yards. Two punt returns for TDs did them in, along with 2 TOs, and they lost 12-8. I wonder which team advanced? Hmmm....

Nope! Ain't happening. We will dance with what brung us...

Moral victories don't count on the scoreboard..., do they? It doesn't matter how you win, whether it's pretty, or ugly. A win is a win, and that's all that really matters. I've seen teams have double the yardage, triple the time of possession, triple the numbers of offensive plays, have a plus 2 in turnovers, and still lose a game. I've seen teams with a whole lot more talent lose games to teams with pedestrian players. As long as the number is bigger on your side of the scoreboard than your opponent, it's still a win. No? I don't think WO-S will play anybody remotely close to their level until they meet Cuero, although Navarro looks pretty good at this point.

I think the suspension is in effect for the rest of the football season. It might even spill over into all athletics. That's my take when they say he "was immediately suspended from the team". I'm pretty sure that's what Coach Elliott had in mind.

A thug is a thug no matter the "color" of his skin. What he did was be a cowardly thug. The kid needs to be suspended for sure, own up to his behavior in public, and make a public apology at the very least. It will speak volumes as to what actions the coaching staff and the parents of this kid take. If it were my kid, he would've had to have done all of what I mentioned, plus he'd have a whooping of all whoopings at home. I would wear his butt out with a belt.

Aaron "Poppy" Brown (Jr.) stats so far through 5 games this season: 136 completions out of 204 attempts for 2,027 yards, 21 TDs, 3 INTs

For what it's worth, Poppy Brown has not really been much of a surprise in Gilmer. Everybody knew this kid was special since his first start in the 7th grade. Coach Jeff Traylor was high on him several years ago, and said Poppy was going to be something special. Our new head coach last year, Matt Turner, wanted to give him another year to mature (I guess), or he likely would've started last season. Poppy beat out Brett Rice for the starting position this year. Most people around Gilmer also thought that Rice would've been the better option last season over Zac Spears if they had to choose between those two. Personally, I think we should've brought Poppy up as the starter last season. I'm not the coach, so I will go along with his decisions for whatever reasons he has, or had.

Whoa! Whoa! Hold up a minute! $6 tickets???

I think Gladewater should probably be in the top 4, maybe 5, in 4A-D2, but what do I know?

Not much better, but a lot of these teams have played each other which kinda skews the numbers. 4A-D2 Region 2 has a combined record of 60-52.

In times past I likely would've agreed with your friend that "all the talent is on offense". I don't think that's the case, and hasn't been the last few years. Our most talented players play many downs on both offense and on defense. As a matter of fact, there are so many players being rotated in and out on a regular basis on both sides of the ball that it is hard to tell who the starters are for sure. We've never been a defensive minded team, and for an old school guy like me, that has always bothered me. We haven't had a "great" defense in the last 15 years, but we have had some danged good ones. On the other hand, our offense is one of the best around, and has been during that same time frame. There would NO beating us at all if we had both a shut-down defense, and this offense.

I guess I should've said that the top two teams of our district will meet again in the playoffs, in my opinion. The winner of that game will represent Region 2 in all likelihood.

But, of course. They are in district 7 with us, along with Atlanta. Presently, I'm not sure who is better, Gilmer or Gladewater. I would be willing to bet that the winner of our district will represent R2, though.

And Gilmer has quietly given up 202 points in five games..., yet they are still 4-1... Wouldn't it be sad if that safety that WO-S gave up was the only points they gave up all year?

Ditto that. Gladewater looks like the real deal this season.

Kennedale's offense plays right into the strength of the Mustang defense. It will be tough for Kennedale to get anything going offensively if they can't get some completed passes off, and be consistent. This year's Kennedale team is a shadow of the past couple of seasons when they were really good. I look for the Mustangs to have another lopsided win. Maybe not quite as bad as the past few, but an easy win nonetheless.

A punt that never reaches the line of scrimmage CAN be advanced by the punting team. I've seen it happen a couple of times. By the way, BOTH of those times that I can remember resulted in TDs against us.

Just to clarify, I know you have only seen the L-E and Carthage games, but we did stretch the field several times against L-E and was very successful. We stretched the field against Center and Liberty Christian several times as well. It wasn't going to work very well against Carthage because they took the long ball away from us with their over the top coverage. I still wish we would've taken more shots. Ryen Lawhorn (#14) is a speed burner but is not used as much as I would like. Lawhorn, Lemarcus Morton (#13 - D1 commit to OK St.), and Qua Heath (#6) are all very good options for getting behind the defense, or jump ball situations. I've seen all three make some SICK catches this season. I would also like to see Kameryn Cueves (#7) get more PT at the slot in the 4 receiver set, and more PT in general. I agree we should take more shots down the field, but we have been successful in the short to mid-range passing game. Our offense is definitely not the Buckeyes' weakness. It's the other side of the ball where work is needed. Hopefully we can gel there. If not, we will just be a very good team, not a great team.

I agree. Our best option at RB is not getting the carries he should be getting, in my opinion. Rashaad Ward (#33) is a beast. FWIW, our offense is definitely not our weakness this season. Our defense just hasn't gelled, and until that is fixed we'll just be a very "good" team, not a "great" team, by Buckeye standards anyway.

The game is now on Youtube for those that are interested. The picture quality is not there this time, though. [Hidden Content] As for the holding non-calls? There was a bunch of holding on both teams that never got called. I guess it depends on whose vantage point you look from. Some of those "non-calls" resulted in big plays for Carthage, and in critical situations, too, so I guess they evened out somewhat. It doesn't really matter. The better team won the game. I've seen a pattern this year in all the games I've attended. The refs are not calling holding nearly as much, and it seems tilted toward our opponents' advantage, although I've seen it many times not called against us, too.

No lead is truly "safe" when there's a lot of time on the clock when you play Gilmer. That's the mark of a good program. The young men don't quit, period. I've seen many games where Gilmer was overmatched, or certainly "looked" overmatched, but they came back to win.