BANGS – The Bangs Dragons are coming off their first victory of the season, a resounding 53-6 triumph over Grape Creek, and look to even their overall record with a second straight win Friday night against the Merkel Badgers.

Kickoff between the Dragons (1-2) and Badgers (1-2) is slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday in Merkel.

After losses to Early (34-20) and Comanche (42-18) to start their campaign, the Dragons mauled Grape Creek. Bangs finished with 487 yards of total offense – 246 rushing and 141 passing – and allowed just 233 yards of total offense – all rushing – and forced one turnover.

“We came out and from the first play to the last we dominated,” said Bangs fifth-year head coach Kyle Maxfield. “We scored on the first offensive play and the pick six on the last play of the game to end it. I’ve never had a game when we scored on the first play of the first possession and the last play of the game, but it happened Friday, so credit to our boys.”

Following a pair of setbacks to start the season, the effort at Grape Creek is exactly what Bangs needed, according to Maxfield.

“It was big because our kids have put a lot of time and effort into trying to get better,” Maxfield said. “Just to see it pay off with a W, there’s nothing like that. Even second and third team guys, guys who give us a scout team look in most practices, they got put into action, so it was a good team victory, good for everybody to enjoy.”

If there was a negative takeaway from the contest, Maxfield said, it would have been the amount of time in which Grape Creek possessed the pigskin.

“We executed pretty well in all phases, but they had an 11-minute drive on us in the third quarter that ended in a touchdown,” Maxfield said. “After that, we regrouped but we only had 24 offensive plays. We wanted to work on some stuff, we just didn’t get enough snaps to do it.”

Merkel has alternated outcomes through the first three games of the season, opening with a 20-12 loss to Clifton, a 15-0 triumph over Stanton and last week’s 41-21 defeat at the hands of Clyde.

The Badgers are producing 16 points per game while allowing 20, and through the first two games Merkel averaged 292.5 total yards – 152.5 rushing and 140 passing.

Also through the first two games, quarterback Joey Zink had connected on 19 of 25 passes for 280 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, while rushing for 121 rushing yards. Elijah Olivarez had chipped in 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns while catching three passes for 59 yards and another score. Jase Ellison is also a weapon on the ground with 71 rushing yards and one touchdown to go along with three catches for 15 yards. Top receiving threats through two games were Maddox O’Malley (5-81, TD) and Aiden Jackson (3-37).

“Their quarterback is really athletic, he scrambles around and makes a lot of plays,” Maxfield said. “He’ll take off and run, he’s pretty dangerous, so we have to be able to contain the quarterback and keep tackling the way we’ve been tackling.”

Bangs’ defense enters the contest allowing 27 points and 394 yards – 297 rushing and 107 passing – per contest, with five takeaways.

Standouts include Nate Stoffer (29 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 interceptions) – who returned an interception 100 yards last week on the final play of the game for a touchdown – Keygan Pitts (29 tackles, 1 for loss), Guy Powell (26 tackles 1 fumble recovery), Ethan Ethridge (11 tackles), Braydon Fields (8 tackles, 1 interception), David Herrera (7 tackles), Sergio Lopez (6 tackles), Weston Jundt (5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery), Zack Ferguson (5 tackles) and Noah Pin (5 tackles).

Meanwhile, the Bangs offense is generating 30 points and 307 yards on average, with 235 coming on the ground and 72 via the air.

Powell (506 rushing yards, 6 TDs) is Bangs’ most explosive weapon, while quarterback Kenny Cole (14 of 44 for 218 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs; 101 rushing yards, 2 TDs) is coming off his best performance of the young season. Other offensive weapons include Hunter Newton (35 rushing yards, 1 TD; 3-47, TD receiving); Guy Funk (3-85 receiving); and Skylar Minshew (2-7 receiving, 4 yards rushing).

The Merkel defense, which registered just one sack and one interception through the first two games, is led by Olivarez (26 tackles, 6 for loss), Jack Travis (14 tackles, 1 for loss) and Bryant Jones (12 tackles, 2 for loss).

“Defensively, they don’t have one or two guys that stand out and really scare you, but they’re solid as a unit with no weaknesses,” Maxfield said. “Offensively we just need to build on what we did last week, hopefully get Guy going and then open the offense up. We may have to do it reverse order, open the offense up to let Guy get going, but just execute the way we did Friday.”

The Bangs-Merkel game is not listed on the Harris Ratings Weekly prediction list this week. Bangs has 198 points in the Harris Ratings system, compared to 190 points for Merkel, which would normally translate into the Dragons being an 8-point favorite.

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Bangs Dragons 2022 Football Season Stats

Through 3 Games (1-2)

TEAM OFFENSE

30.3 points per game (91)

307.3 yards per game (922)

234.7 rushing yards per game (704)

72.6 passing yards per game (218)

PASSING

* Kenny Cole

14 of 44 for 218 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs

RUSHING

* Guy Powell

506 yards on 44 carries, 6 TDs

* Kenny Cole

101 yards on 24 carries, 2 TDs

* Hunter Newton

35 yards on 4 carries, 1 TD

* Ethan Ethridge

33 yards on 5 carries

* Keygan Pitts

25 yards on 2 carries

* Skylar Minshew

4 yards on 1 carry

RECEIVING

* Nate Stoffer

4 catches, 77 yards, 1 TD

* Guy Funk

3 catches, 85 yards

* Hunter Newton

3 catches, 47 yards, 1 TD

* Skylar Minshew

2 catches, 7 yards

* Kade Minshew

1 catch, 3 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

27.3 points per game (82)

394.0 yards per game (1,182)

287.0 rushing yards per game (861)

107.0 passing yards per game (321)

TACKLES

* Nate Stoffer

29 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 interceptions

* Keygan Pitts

29 tackles, 1 for loss

* Guy Powell

26 tackles 1 fumble recovery

* Ethan Ethridge

11 tackles

* Braydon Fields

8 tackles, 1 interception

* David Herrera

7 tackles

* Sergio Lopez

6 tackles

* Weston Jundt

5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery

* Zack Ferguson

5 tackles

* Noah Pin

5 tackles

* Skylar Minshew

4 tackles

* Isaiah Serrato

3 tackles

* Brody Newton

3 tackles

* Hunter Newton

2 tackles

* Chris Valdez

2 tackles

* Caedmon Tidwell

2 tackles

* Noah Castillo

2 tackles

* Guy Funk

1 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN (+1)

* Bangs: 4 (1 fumbles, 3 interceptions)

* Opponents: 5 (2 fumbles, 3 interceptions)