WEST ORANGE — Another Thanksgiving week is upon us and something else traditional is here as well.

That’s right, the West Orange-Stark Mustangs are still playing some football during “turkey week.”

It will mark the eighth straight year that they have done so come Friday afternoon when the District 10-4A Division II champions face the Sweeny Bulldogs in the Class 4A Region III Division II area round of the playoffs at 1:30 p.m. at Texan Drive Stadium.

The Mustangs (7-4) have made at least the Region III Finals in the last seven years under the guidance of coach Cornel Thompson (98-16), who is not far away from his 100^th win as WO-S head coach. That includes state titles in 2015 and 2016 and state runnerups in both 2014 and 2017.

The Mustangs zipped through the bidistrict round with a 76-3 thrashing of the Huntington Red Devils at Texan Drive last Friday to improve their all-time playoff record to 70-25.

However, this week, the boys in blue and silver will have a much formidable foe in the forms of the Bulldogs.

Sweeny (10-1), the runnerups out of District 11-4A, have been on a roll all season for coach Randy Lynch.

The Bulldogs have outscored opponents by the tune of 452-85 and have been so stingy on defense, pitching three shutouts and allowing just single digits in four other contests.

Their lone loss came at the hands of 11-4A champion Wharton on the road 17-15. Sweeny did have its mettle tested in the bidistrict round as they jumped out on La Grange early and then held on for a 21-14 victory.

Sweeny expected a good season with 12 starters back from a unit that went 8-4 last season and advanced to the regional semifinals.

The Bulldogs will try to get the ball moving against the Mustangs’ “Chain Gang Defense” behind an explosive running game.

Sweeny has churned out 401.8 yards a contest, 311.7 of it coming via the ground attack.

Sweeny tailback Cameron Adams is what Coach Thompson would call the “bellcow” behind a stout Bulldog offensive line.

Adams has darted for 1,255 yards and 11 touchdowns for the season on just 115 totes as he is averaging 10.9 yards a carry. He shredded La Grange for 177 yards and a TD on 15 carries last week.

Adams is far from alone in the Bulldog backfield. Fellow senior back Quinton Martin has zipped for 809 yards and eight TDs on 91 carries. Junior back Jame’son Rebector has also found the end zone eight times and had 430 yards on just 46 carries.

The Bulldogs also have a “sneaky” but solid passing game that has kept defenses on its toes. Sweeny senior quarterback Joe Effenberger completed 5-of-10 passes for 102 yards against La Grange, two of them going for TD tosses. He has completed 46-of-87 passes for 847 yards and 13 TDs with just two interceptions.

Effenberger’s two main targets are Justice Clemons (18-399-8), who had three catches for 51 yards and a TD against La Grange and Courtlyn Davidson (16-287-3).

The Bulldogs will face a stout Mustang defensive unit that has allowed just 238.1 yards a game, 167.5 on the ground and 70.6 in the air.

The Mustangs had by far their best offensive output of the season against the woeful Red Devils last week, totaling 601 yards, 498 of it via the ground game.

WO-S will check into the Sweeny matchup averaging 325.4 yards a game for the season, 186.5 on the ground and 138.9 in the air.

Mustang quarterback Tyrone Wilson has completed 74-of-139 passes for 1,039 yards and five scores while Jerren Terrell has completed 28-of-58 for 437 yards and six scores.

Due to some injuries, the Mustangs have spread the wealth with their ground game. Senior Kavyn Cooper leads the way with 629 yards and six TDs on 103 carries. Freshman Elijah Gales (32-329-5), Justin Sibley (53-317-4), Ja’Marcus Ross (46-302-4) and Wilson (72-294-6) all figure heavily as well.

Jay’zn Robinson (25-353-1), Brettlin Wiley (22-438-4) and Deiond’re Hawthorne (13-211-2) are the Mustangs’ go-to receivers.

One thing for certain, the Mustang offensive line will be playing special attention against a stern Bulldog defense, especially defensive end Josh Ellis and inside linebacker Trevin Parson.

Ellis has collected 68 tackles, including 11 sacks while Parsons leads the team with 88 tackles and has seven sacks.

It should be an intriguing matchup. Sweeny had a much easier non-district slate compared to the Mustangs. The Mustangs’ four losses came at the hands of Nederland (10-1), Newton (11-0), Jasper (11-0) and Crosby (7-3), who have a combined 39-4 record.

The winner of the WO-S-Sweeny game will face either Jasper (11-0) or Bellville (7-4) in the regional semifinals next week. Jasper belted Hamshire-Fannett 49-14 in bidistrict while Bellville toppled La Marque 27-19.

The tickets for the WO-S-Sweeny game must be purchased at the gate Friday afternoon and tickets are $8.

 

WO-S MUSTANGS (7-4)

Nederland 19, WO-S 18

WO-S 47, LC-M 0

Newton 21, WO-S 7

Crosby 35, WO-S 24

WO-S 21, Bridge City 0

Jasper 34, WO-S 24

WO-S 24, Silsbee 21

WO-S 35, Hardin-Jefferson 14

WO-S 33, Liberty 24

WO-S 34, Hamshire-Fannett 10

WO-S 76, Huntington 3

 

SWEENY BULLDOGS (10-1)

Sweeny 58, KIPP Sunnyside 0

Sweeny 31, Brazosport 6

Sweeny 35, Columbia 7

Sweeny 51, Fulshear 14

Sweeny 28, Bellville 14

Sweeny 26, La Marque 0

Wharton 17, Sweeny 15

Sweeny 69, Scarborough 0

Sweeny 63, Kashmere 6

Sweeny 55, Washington 0

Sweeny 21, La Grange 14