Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

CUTLINE 1: LC-M’s De’Marion Morris scored three touchdowns against Hamshire-Fannett last week.

 

t was a crazy kind of night for the West Orange-Stark Mustangs and the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears last week when they opened their football campaigns Friday night as neither team got to finish their games due to weather.

The Bears (1-0) snagged their first win for first-year coach Eric Peevey as they were leading Hamshire-Fannett 26-6 very early in the fourth quarter before that one was called off. The Mustangs (0-1) trailed Nederland 14-6 with 1:27 left in the third quarter before that contest was called off as well and WO-S head coach Cornel Thompson had to sit that one out due to Covid-19 protocol as he was recovering at home.

This week both teams will be chomping at the bit as the Mustangs will play host to the Bears in the Orange Bowl.

The Bears played well on both sides of the ball against the Longhorns.

They picked up 174 yards on the ground. De’Marion Morris zipped for 81 yards on 11 carries and scored three touchdowns. Quarterback Ashton Landry rushed for 88 yards on 11 totes and passed for 73 yards as the Bears had 247 yards of total offense.

Hamshire-Fannett finished with 273 total yards but the LC-M defense bowed up at crucial times, stopping the Longhorns on fourth down deep in LC-M territory on several occasions. LC-M’s Nicholas Granger had a huge 74-yard fumble return for a touchdown as well. H-F quarterback Kheagian Heckaman tried to keep the Longhrns in hit, completing 20-of-37 passes for 154 yards while rushing for 96 yards on 12 carries.

The Mustangs will look to get their offense going again this week. WO-S’ biggest play against Nederland came on the opening kickoff when Dakarion Judge scooted 96 yards on the opening kickoff.

WO-S was held to 130 total yards by the Bulldog defense, 118 on the ground and 18 in the air.

Mustang senior back Elijah Gales had 55 yards on just six carries while backfield mate Jamaal Shaw had 50 yards on six totes. Quarterback Landon Heath completed 4-of-10 passes for 12 yards.

The Mustang defense held strong for much of the night but Nederland managed a few big pass plays to get on the board twice, one on a 55-yard option pass to receiver Kyndon Fuselier. Fuselier had five catches for 137 yards and both of Nederland’s scores and he also had an interception.

 

ORANGEFIELD AT WOODVILLE

Flying high on all cylinders in their opener against Anahuac, the Orangefield Bobcats will look to keep on a winning track when they visit an always tough Woodville unit Friday.

The Bobcats (1-0) dominated Anahuac in every phase of the game last week, crushing the Panthers in the trenches on their way to a 46-13 win.

Orangefield piled up 517 yards of total offense, 482 of it coming on the ground as the Slot-T was humming.

The Bobcats had three backs go over 100 yards in the onslaught.

Cameron Dischler darted for 157 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries. Gavin Perry-Koci zipped for 140 yards and a TD on 10 carries and fullback Hunter Ashworth had 105 yards and two TDs on 17 carries. First-year starting quarterback Brayden Parker completed 2-of-3 passes for 35 yards and operated the offense smoothly.

The Bobcat defense held Anahuac to 221 total yards, most of that coming late as Orangefield had the game in hand.

Woodville will certainly be hungry after the Eagles (0-1) absorbed a tough 46-26 loss at state-ranked Newton in their opener. The Eagles struggled in trying to control Newton’s rushing attack, which could bode well for the Bobcat rushing arsenal.

The Bobcats and Eagles are certainly familiar with one another after competing in the same district two seasons ago in the 3A ranks.

The Eagles return eight starters on offense and nine on defense from last year’s 8-3 playoff unit.

They are sparked by quarterback Jack Fowler, who passed for 1,971 yards and 17 TDs last season. His favorite target is receiver Lloyd Evans, who hauled in 41 catches for 616 yards and six TDs.

 

TARKINGTON AT BRIDGE CITY

It was a tremendous debut for first-year head coach Cody McGuire and the Bridge City Cardinals last week as they went on the road and downed the Buna Cougars 27-14.

The Cardinals (1-0) will look to continue their winning ways this week when they welcome in the Tarkington Longhorns (0-1) into Ward Stadium.

Bridge City made big plays on both sides of the leather against the Cougars.

The Cardinals spread the wealth around, getting two scores on offense and two scores on defense.

Braylen Collins and Rayburn Hebert both had long interception returns for scores.

Quarterback Ethan Oceguera led the Cardinals on a few nice drives. He scored on a 16-yard scramble and set up another score with a 44-yard pass to receiver Joey Murty. JS Bearden had the Cardinals’ fourth score, scooting in from 10 yards out.

Buna quarterback Dylan Graffagnino sparked both Buna scores with a 23-yard strike to Logan Moss for one of them and then he scored on a run for the other.

It was a rough outing for Tarkington in its opener as they fell to Shepherd 44-14.

The Longhorns are coming off a 3-6 season in Class 3A Division I and return five starters on each side of the ball.

Sophomore quarterback Stephen Pavlat along with running backs Monty Wells and Trace Shirley will look to get the Tarkington offense on track. All-District linebacker Kevin McCarther will look to get the Longhorn defense back in gear after a tough outing against the Pirates last week.