griff

The newness of this experience is causing their fans' heads to swell beyond reason. They would be wise to study their opponent and not assume WO-S is like every other team in front of them. Our fans have been there and experienced a loss before, so we can't take anything for granted. Our players are certainly preparing for them with total focus. It's like bootcamp lockdown for the Mustang team this week. Coach Thompson will not let our players lose focus.

One of those people was someone named 89falcon. He is conveniently no longer here. That username has been quiet since 2014. Coincidence?

A long lost poster. "Haven't heard from you in a while.

Lol...crying? Is every legitimate complaint crying to you? By your logic, everything you've said has been crying, as well. We don't want to be world beaters, but we're flattered that you want to hold us to that standard. We just want to win the next game.

I liked Coach Thompson's comment about the lack of holding calls. It is a constant problem in high school football. The way WO-S' defensive front plays so aggressive that holding occurs a lot against us. So much of it happens in the middle of the line of scrimmage, but it's almost never called. We were still able to keep the Salado offense to only 77 yards rushing, but obvious holding penalties should be called when it happens.

Wimberley did not have a Cinderella season. They made it a few rounds deep last year and had much of this year's roster returning, including their stud QB. Weeks is probably the best QB in class 4A. I have no rooting interest, but I think Wimberley wins this game.

Nothing wrong with that. Go ahead and wear your Newton gear so we will notice and give you some thanks and WO-S appreciation.

It's easier if they just BREAK wind and hope for the best.

It's always funny to watch newbies from teams outside setx pop in during playoff weeks. "earl Campbell"...please...you're scaring us with this information. We really did not need to know that the Salado coach would be scouting us (WO-S). We're not sure what to do now. Maybe our best bet is to call the Bellville coach and ask him how to slow down Salado like their team did. The Salado coach is too savvy to ever try that strategy, but we need all the help we can get.

These lessons never leave you, do they? Hundreds still recall these to this day. The program and Coach T himself have made a lifelong impact on boys as they became men. I know you are one among them.

I saw Bellville against Orangefield. It's good to see your team add some diversity to the offense. I would take full advantage of your QB keeps and some passing. That will sting Salado.

True. I made the trip to Bryan to watch the Liberty vs. Salado game. Hardly any video is available online about Salado's 2017 team, so I wanted to see for myself. Greg Tepper picked this team as the sleeper in 4AD2 Region 3. I am not a coach, but here are a few notes about them... 1) Slot-T offense. They like to break the huddle and hurry up to the line of scrimmage for a quick snap every time. 2) Two smallish tailbacks with some quickness. 3) The QB never keeps the ball (always hands off). 4) They showed an interest in passing the ball a little more than most slot-T teams. 5) Not much size. Their O-line was mostly lean guys (maybe 200 - 210 pounders). I did not have a game program to know for sure, but this is how they looked to me. 6) Defense was average. Liberty does not help themselves with the type of meat grinder offense they run, but an offense with some speed and using space can hurt Salado. They looked a little soft up the middle with average speed. Their offense is clearly better than their defense. 7) Excellent kicker. He will mix up kickoffs - sometimes he'll pooch it, squib kick, or boom it deep. Every time they kicked off to Liberty, it was a different look. Salado reminded me of the 2015 Hardin Jefferson team. They run the same offense and play at about the same level of competition. Also, this team likes to taunt. They got caught only once. Don't let them bait your players into retaliating.

We love the guy. You can't have him.

The two fumbles were costly. One at the 4 yard line and the other at the 25. Both drives should have ended in TDs. Sibley will be fine. I think our over-simplified play calling was a bigger reason for the sub par showing. This is not a slam on the OC, but for this game it was disappointing. This made it easier for Mexia's defense.

True, the game was never in doubt. But... Our boys did not play inspired and were not focused. It seems most years we have seen this same issue during Thanksgiving week. We looked flat just like the game against HJ. The defense missed a few tackles, but still held Mexia to a little over 100 yards. Overall a good showing by the Chaingang. Chad Dallas was excellent on kickoffs and punts. He kept Mexia pinned on their end of the field all night. That was the most vanilla our offense has played all year. 'Nothing but bare basic running plays. Chaka's running was missed. I think he had only two carries for the night (one for a TD). He is dangerous running the ball, but he wasn't utilized. I hope this is our only hiccup of the playoffs. Madisonville is no slouch. The games get tougher from here forward.

I'm interested to hear MadMustang's thoughts on this game.

I see it like this... I am super confident in the coaching staff and players. They will be ready and I expect a good showing from the Mustangs. I also see it like this... ALWAYS respect your opponent.

Correct. They run the same offense as WO-S. Mexia has sufficient size and speed with a couple of good playmakers. Their QB can get loose and make big runs. They will take shots with downfield passes. No slot-T or wing-T plodding offense to defend Friday night. This team is not to be taken lightly. They are as good of a second round opponent as we have seen in the last several years. Mustang fans...don't be spoiled over the success we've enjoyed the last three seasons. We have to earn every win. The Mexia head coach has a resume that includes a state championship at Cedar Park in 2015. It's been a solid turnaround for Mexia this year because of him. Everyone should expect a competitive game tomorrow night.

It could be a different time and location. We won't know for certain until after the Mexia vs. Gonzalez game tomorrow night.

Gotcha. Out of the teams I named, I am quite familiar with Bellville, Caldwell, and Lorena. The others...not so much.

You know what...I KNEW you would chime in when I mentioned "Bellville". Lol...

You have no idea what you're saying. When Madisonville has a list of around 30 schools who decline an invitation to play (as WO-S has), leaving you no choice but to either have an extra bye week or play anyone (KIPP), then you will understand.

Look, it's obvious Madisonville had a terrific season. I'm not disputing that, but the schedule? On your list, you included Lorena (4-6), Bellville (5-5), Crockett (2-8), Caldwell (4-5). Yes, those are weak teams...weak schedule. On the flip side, Madisonville beat Teague (8-2), Shepherd (6-3), Woodville (8-1), and their only loss was to Rusk (8-2). That looks good on their resume. What doesn't look good is giving up 36 points to Lorena, 45 to Rusk, 32 to Caldwell. So, when you factor in all of this, it brings me to the conclusion of uncertainty about how good they really are. They are much improved...yes, but allowing that many points in three games creates doubt.

I've seen both. HJ is much improved from the last two years. I'm more familiar with HJ and not completely certain on how good Madisonville is. Most of their opponents are weak teams. I expect HJ will give them a good game. If Madisonville wins by more than seven...oh, well. No sweat off my back. I have no rooting interest here. The Madisonville team is on my radar because they may have a future date against my team (WO-S).

Madisonville is an intriguing opponent. In recent history, they have consistently lost more games than they've won. Their last winning season was in 2007. Their offense is the spread, but they favor the rush (351 avg) over the pass (70 avg). This is a respectable team, but they've won against several weak opponents. It's hard to get a true gauge on how good they are. Even so, I see a victory margin of seven points or less going either way.