WEST ORANGE — Nothing like a good old-fashioned rivalry to get the juices flowing this week as the West Orange-Stark Mustangs will battle the Jasper Bulldogs in the Class 4A Region III Division II regional semifinals.

The two will battle one another Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Lamar University’s Provost Umphrey Stadium.

The perfect 9-4A champion Bulldogs (12-0) held off the Mustangs 34-24 in non-district action back on Oct. 5 at Bulldog Stadium behind the legs of running back Montavien Hunt.

The Mustangs (8-4), winners of six straight, have looked sharp in the postseason, downing Huntington 76-3 in bidistrict and Sweeny 21-3 in the area round. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have dispatched Hamshire-Fannett 49-14 and blanked Bellville 13-0 last week.

The 10-4A champion Mustangs have dominated the playoff series all-time, leading the series 6-1 with their latest victory a 18-16 win in 2013.

In this year’s first meeting, Hunt ran all over the Mustang defense, going for 362 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries as the Bulldogs had 440 total yards.

The Mustangs moved the ball well against Jasper as well, getting 389 yards as WO-S quarterback Tyrone Wilson passed for 251 yards and back Kavyn Cooper had 86 yards and three TDs.

Questions have certainly been up in the air on the status of both Hunt and Wilson in this week’s big battle.

Hunt has sat out the last two games for the Bulldogs due to an ankle injury while Wilson suffered a rough helmet-to-helmet tackles against Sweeny last week as he left that one woozy.

Hunt, a junior, has ran through opposing defenses. The 175-pound back has zipped for 1,523 yards and 19 TDs on just 116 carries. He has not played a lot late in games due to the Bulldogs’ wide margin of victory. Jasper has outscored opponents 557-133 for the season.

However, the Bulldogs have enough talent and have proven that they are not just a “one-trick pony.”

They have a solid senior leader in quarterback Colton Womack and a full stable of backs and a solid offensive line that has helped produce 443.5 yards a game, 331.4 of it via the ground game.

Womack has been effective throwing the ball, completing 65-of-108 passes for 1,296 yards with 16 TDs and just one interception.

Carl Limbrick has produced 588 yards and 10 TDs on the ground on just 46 carries. Reggie Shaw has darted for 562 yards and two TDs on 104 carries. Limbrick and Shaw combined for 166 yards on 25 carries in the win against Bellville. De’Andre Limbrick (43-345-4) and Charles Burnett (30-329-2) could also see some touches.

When Womack throws it, he will be looking for receivers Nolan Smith (16-301-5), La’javien Jackson (15-252-5), Bryce Barbay (14-370-5) and Shaw (13-245-1).

The Bulldogs will go up against a Mustang defense that has yielded just 233.3 yards a game. The Mustangs held a very formidable Sweeny ground attack to just 181 total yards last week.

The Mustang will look to remain balanced against a hard-charging Jasper defensive unit.

WO-S will check in averaging 320.4 yards a game.

Wilson has completed 79-of-146 passes for 1,117 yards with five TDs and four interceptions. Sophomore backup Jerren Terrell has completed 28-of-59 passes for 437 yards with six TDs and four interceptions.

Cooper continues to lead the Mustang ground game with 746 yards and seven TDs on 123 totes while Wilson has 352 yards and six TDs on 86 carries. The Mustangs can also turn to backs Elijah Gales (32-329-5), Justin Sibley (54-329-5) and Ja’Marcus Ross (46-302-4).

Jay’zyn Robinson leads the Mustangs with 26 catches for 356 yards and a TD. Big-play Brettlin Wiley, who hauled in a vital 57-yard catch against Sweeny, now has 23 catches for 495 yards and four TDs while Deiondre Hawthorne has 15 grabs for 220 yards and two scores.

WO-S coach Cornel Thompson (99-16) will be seeking his 100^th victory as head coach of the Mustangs against the Bulldogs. A win by WO-S would put the Mustangs into the Region III Finals for the eighth straight year.

The WO-S-Jasper winner will face either Silsbee (8-4) or Giddings (11-1) in the regional finals next week.

Giddings downed Liberty 21-13 last week while Silsbee dismantled 11-4A champion Wharton 56-14.

Tickets for the game will be on sale in the WO-S Athletic Office the following days:

Thursday, November 29 from 9-12 and 1-3pm

Friday, November 30 from 9-12pm only

Ticket prices are $8 for Adults and $6 for students. Tickets at the gate will be $10 for Adults and $8 for students.

 

 

WO-S MUSTANGS (8-4)

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

WO-S 21, Sweeny 3

 

JASPER (12-0)

Jasper 31, Lumberton 14

Jasper 45, Bridge City 7

Jasper 46, LC-M 6

Jasper 71, Livingston 10

Jasper 41, La Marque 6

Jasper 34, WO-S 24

Jasper 55, Shepherd 3

Jasper 64, Huntington 0

Jasper 54, Tarkington 24

Jasper 54, Center 25

Jasper 49, Hamshire-Fannett 14

Jasper 13, Bellville 0

 

PLAYOFF SERIES

1986: WO-S 21, Jasper 15

1988: WO-S 38, Jasper 15

1993: WO-S 41, Jasper 7

1994: Jasper 17, WO-S 6

1997: WO-S 27, Jasper 12

2000: WO-S 23, Jasper 0

2013: WO-S 18, Jasper 16