(Story courtesy of Mike Lee)
BANGS – It didn’t take long for the Bangs Dragons’ new pass-and-catch combination of Ethan Cortez to Brayton Wedeman to make an impact on the football field.
Bangs finally wore down its Class 3A Brown County rival, the Early Longhorns, 28-0 Friday night as Cortez, the new Dragons’ quarterback, threw touchdown passes of 48 and 33 yards Wedeman, the former quarterback-turned receiver.
Wedeman started at quarterback last year and helped Bangs end a four-year playoff absence. But with the arrival of Ethan Cortez, a two-time Class 4A all-district quarterback whose dad Tony Cortez is the Dragons’ new defensive coordinator, Wedeman moved to receiver for his senior season.
“Brayton is a very unselfish player. He understands that it takes 11 players to win on a football field,” said Kyle Maxfield, the Dragons’ third-year head coach. “His contributions tonight were a result of his being an unselfish player.”
On the 48-yard touchdown pass that staked Bangs to a 7-0 second-quarter lead, Cortez rolled left and lofted a deep pass down the sideline. Although not an experienced receiver, Wedeman never game up on the play. He kept running and eventually caught Cortez’s strike for the long-range score.
“That was just his natural athletic instincts coming out,” Maxfield said of Wedeman. “Cortez showed his experience at quarterback on that play, moving around in the pocket and extending the play.”
Their 33-yard touchdown gave Bangs a 21-0 fourth-quarter lead and came on third-and-30 after back-to-back holding penalties and a fumbled snap led to 28 yards in losses. Cortez threw high and deep toward the back of the end zone, and the 6-foot-1 Wedeman outmaneuvered and outjumped a shorter defensive back who had the play covered.
“Cortez gave Wedeman a ball he could go up and make a play on,” Maxfield said.
Meanwhile, the loss spoiled the Early head coaching debut of Daniel Price, but the Longhorns’ former defensive coordinator was pleased with his team’s effort. Taking the field with a young, rebuilding team that had its preseason scrimmage canceled over COVID-19 concerns, Early entered Friday’s game a considerable underdog. But the Longhorns’ defense limited the deficit to a manageable 14-0 until the final 10 minutes.
“I’m very proud of our team. I thought they did a great job under challenging circumstances,” said Price, who also lost two 2019 starters that transferred to Brownwood. “We counted eight or nine players that had played for us on Friday night. If it hadn’t been for a couple of mistakes, it would have been a seven-point game in the fourth quarter.”
But the 61st meeting between Bangs and Early belonged to the Dragons. Ethan Cortez finished an efficient 7-of-10 passing, and the senior made his seven completions count for 131 yards and the two TDs to Wedeman.
On the ground, veteran teammate Ethan Sanchez scored on runs of 7 and 28 yards. He had 100-plus yards overall until losing 6 on his final three carries and settling for 96 yards on 17 carries. Slippery Guy Powell added 59 yards rushing for the Dragons while Cortez had 41 yards on the ground.
Bangs made plays in crucial situations. In addition to Cortez’s 33-yard scoring pass to Wedeman on third-and-30, Sanchez scored the Dragons’ second touchdown on fourth-and-4 from the Longhorns’ 7-yard line. On that play, Cortez ran the option left, but was met and wrapped up by a Longhorn defender. Cortez, though, managed to get off a lateral to Sanchez, who ran for the score.
The opportunistic Dragons also converted a high punt snap by Early into a 13-yard scoring drive, and Bangs also converted the Longhorns’ only fumble into Sanchez’s 28-yard touchdown.
Defensively, Tony Cortez’s unit pitched a shutout in his Bangs coaching debut, limiting Early to 130 total yards and forcing three turnovers. Wedeman and Evan Belez intercepted passes for the Bangs defense, which also kept the Longhorns from scoring after a 15-play drive in the first half.
“Our defensive staff preaches a bend-but-don’t-break philosophy,” Maxfield said. “Our secondary (Wedeman, Powell, Belez and Trevor Bowers) plays a big role in our defense. They’re good tacklers, and they’re also big playmakers.”
On its first offensive possession, Early hogged the ball for the final 8:34 of the first quarter and the opening 10 seconds of the second quarter. But the 59-yard drive, which included no gain of more than 9 yards, ended at the Dragons’ 29 after Belez intercepted Early quarterback Jaxyn Price on a deep throw into the end zone.
“We had a couple of negative plays that we couldn’t overcome,” Coach Price said of the opening drive. “We slowed the game down and ate the clock on that drive, but we couldn’t finish it. That’s where not having a scrimmage and no live action before tonight came into play.”
Alex Jacobs rushed for 45 yards for Early while Caleb McCullough had five catches for 39 yards. Jaxyn Price was 9-of-19 passing for 66 yards and two interceptions.
Bangs 28, Early 0
Score by Quarters:
Early 0 0 0 0 — 0
Bangs 0 14 0 14 — 28
Second Quarter
B — Brayton Wedeman 48 pass from Ethan Cortez (Braxton Melling kick), 7:41
B — Ethan Sanchez 7 run (Melling kick), 4:13
Fourth Quarter
B — Wedeman 33 pass from Cortez (Melling kick), 9:26
B — Sanchez 28 run (Melling kick), 4:46
Early Bangs
First Downs 10 18
Rushes-Yards 24-64 45-188
Passing Yards 66 131
Total Yards 130 319
Comp-Att-Int 9-19-2 7-10-0
Punts 1-12 1-40
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 3-20 6-50
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Early – Alex Jacobs 9-45, Jaxyn Price 10-31, Tre Beam 3-9, Caleb McCullough 1-0, Team 1-(-)21. Bangs – Ethan Sanchez 17-96, Guy Powell 12-59, Ethan Cortez 10-41, Damien Santillanes 2-11, Team 4-(-)19.
PASSING: Early – Price 9-19-2 for 66. Bangs – Cortez 7-10-0 for 131.
RECEIVING: Early – McCullough 5-39, Tyson Tyler 2-18, Hayden Schroeder 1-6, Jacobs 1-3. Bangs – Brayton Wedeman 3-88, Powell 2-34, Santillanes 2-9.
