BANGS – The Bangs Dragons face their toughest task to date as they wrap up their pre-district schedule at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Class 2A Division I No. 7 Hawley Bearcats.

Thus far, Bangs (0-3) has dropped decisions to Early (48-12), Florence (45-14), and Hamilton (62-21), while Hawley has defeated Roscoe (34-14), Hamlin (62-0), Merkel (41-7), and Winters (49-0).

In their last two outings, the Dragons have been plagued by a total of 10 turnovers – five in each contest.

“That’s the No. 1 issue that we have to get fixed is taking care of the ball on offense,” said Bangs fourth-year head coach Kyle Maxfield. “We’re not equipped right now to overcome those turnovers.”

Giveaways resulted in a 34-0 deficit for Bangs after one quarter last week in Hamilton, a deficit too great for even the most experienced of teams.

“At the beginning of the game in the first quarter, Hamilton took it and ran with it and started steamrolling us and we couldn’t stop the bleeding,” Maxfield said. “In the second quarter, and really the rest of the game, it was pretty even. But that first quarter was a nightmare that didn’t seem like it was going to ever end.”

Despite the ragged start, the Dragons finished with 398 yards of total offense, including 318 rushing, as Guy Powell led the charge with 204 yards and two touchdowns. Skylar Minshew saw his first time of the season at quarterback and completed 5 of 7 passes for 73 yards and a score and also rushed for 54 yards.

“With Guy and some of our players we still have big play possibilities, which we showed on and off,” Maxfield said. “You pinpoint three things on offense that are big key factors and they would be take care of the ball, play faster and execute. We have so many guys that just need more snaps, they have to get more comfortable playing underneath the Friday night lights. But we’ve got to be more consistent in moving the chains and keeping our defense off the field as much as possible.”

Skylar Minshew and Kade Minshew are both expected to see time at quarterback going forward, according to Maxfield.

“Kade has done a pretty good job operating the offense, but Skylar brings a little more dynamics that might help,” Maxfield said. “Skylar’s a freshman, Kade’s a sophomore but they’re both in about the same boat as far as experience goes. They both have really gotten better, it’s just going to take a lot of reps.”

Heading into Friday’s contest the Dragons average 16 points and 309 yards – 217 rushing and 92 passing – per contest, with 11 turnovers.

Powell leads the ground game with 476 yards and four touchdowns while Kade Minshew has completed 22 of 37 passes for 179 yards with one touchdown and six interceptions and Skylar Minshew is 5 of 7 for 73 yards with one scoring toss. Leading receivers include Damien Santillanes (8-45), Zack Ferguson (5-100), Powell (4-26), Guy Funk (3-29 TD) and Ian Cortez caught his first pass last week, a 15-yard scoring reception.

Defensively, Bangs is allowing 52 points and 429 yards – 256 on the ground and 173 through the air.

Standouts include Nate Stoffer (14 tackles), Azreal Escobedo (13.5 tackles), Keygan Pitts (13 tackles), Santillanes (11.5 tackles), Powell (11 tackles), Ethan Ethridge (9 tackles, 1 for loss), Hunter Bernal (9 tackles), and David Herrera (8.5 tackles).

Hawley counters with an an offense that generates 47 points and 379 yards per game – 204 rushing and 175 passing.

Quarterback Rodey Hooper (695 passing yards, 12 TDs, 1 INT), running back Austin Cumpton (331 rushing yards, TD), and receivers Aeneas Segura (14-201, 4 TDs) and Kason O’Shields (13-202, 4 TDs) lead the charge for the Bearcats.

Players to watch on the Hawley defense include Will Scott (38 tackles, 6 for loss), Kyle Nichols (30 tackles, 11 for loss), and Hez Parker (29 tackles, 4 for loss).

“Hawley just reloads and they keep it going,” Maxfield said. “They’ve been good since we’ve started playing them, but this may be the best team they’ve had at this point in the season that they’ve had. When you watch them on film, offense and defense both, they just don’t have any weaknesses. They can do a little bit of everything. They’re plenty strong and they’ve added some quickness and athleticism that stand out.

“We’re not waving the white flag this Friday by any means, but we know it’s a big challenge for us. We want to get better and execute and just improve, improve on our blocking, improve on our tackling, and just keep fighting the fight.”

There is no line for this game according to Harris Ratings Weekly, but Hawley is ranked 62 points higher than Bangs this week.

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Bangs Dragons 2021 Football Stats

Through 3 Games (0-3)

TEAM OFFENSE
15.7 points per game (47)
308.7 yards per game (926)

216.7 rushing yards per game (650)
92.0 passing yards per game (276)

PASSING
‒ Kade Minshew
22 of 37 for 179 yards, 1 TD, 6 INTs

‒ Skylar Minshew
5 of 7 for 73 yards, 1 TD

‒ Guy Powell
1 of 2 for 24 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

RUSHING

‒ Guy Powell
476 yards on 66 carries, 4 TDs

‒ Skylar Minshew

54 yards on 12 carries

‒ Damien Santillanes
48 yards on 11 carries

‒ Kade Minshew

38 yards on 21 carries

‒ Hunter Newton
27 yards on 1 carry

‒ Zack Ferguson

6 yards on 1 carry

‒ Ian Cortez

1 yard on 4 carries

RECEIVING
‒ Damien Santillanes
8 catches for 45 yards

‒ Zack Ferguson
5 catches for 100 yards

‒ Guy Powell
4 catches for 26 yards

‒ Guy Funk
3 catches for 29 yards, TD

‒ Braxton Melling
2 catches for 29 yards

‒ Ian Cortez
1 catch for 15 yards, TD

‒ Nate Stoffer
1 catch for 7 yards

‒ Ethan Ethridge
1 catch for 2 yards

‒ Keygan Pitts
1 catch for 2 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

51.7 points per game (155)

429.3 yards per game (1,288)
256.3 rushing yards per game (769)
173.0 passing yards per game (519)

TACKLES

‒ Nate Stoffer
14 tackles

‒ Azreal Escobedo
13.5 tackles

‒ Keygan Pitts
13 tackles

‒ Damien Santillanes
11.5 tackles

‒ Guy Powell
11 tackles

‒ Ethan Ethridge
9 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Hunter Bernal
9 tackles

‒ David Herrera
8.5 tackles

‒ Zack Ferguson
6 tackles

‒ Ian Cortez
5 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Hunter Newton
5 tackles

‒ Warren Theriaque
4.5 tackles, 2 for loss

‒ Guy Funk

4.5 tackles, 1 INT

‒ Sergio Lopez
4 tackles

‒ Noah Pin
3.5 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Isaiah Seratto
3.5 tackles

‒ Donovan Ruiz
3 tackles

‒ Skylar Minshew
2.5 tackles

‒ Caedmon Tidwell
2.5 tackles

‒ Braxton Melling
1.5 tackle

‒ Brody Newton
1 tackle

‒ Weston Jundt
1 tackle

‒ Cody Carpenter
0.5 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN: (-9)
Bangs 11 — 7 INTs, 4 fumbles

Opponents 2 — 1 INT, 1 fumble