BANGS – A campaign that began with most prognosticators expecting Bangs to miss the postseason could result in the No. 2 seed from District 5-2A Division I for the playoff-bound Dragons, if they are able upend the No. 9 Coleman Bluecats in the regular season finale.

The renewed rivalry between Bangs (6-3, 4-1) and Coleman (7-2, 4-1) will now take place Thursday at 7 p.m. in Bangs due to the threat of potential severe thunderstorms Friday night.

Bangs is coming off a 34-27 come-from-behind win at Hamilton last week which ensured the Dragons can finish no worse than third place in District 5. But fifth-year head coach Kyle Maxfield stated the Dragons will be facing perhaps the most talented team they have seen all season.

“Coleman and Tolar have been the top of the district the whole year and we know it’s a huge challenge for us,” Maxfield said. “We’re going to play hard but it’s going to take us getting a lot of breaks and Coleman having some miscues, but that’s what why we play the game.”

Maxfield added the Dragons’ confidence is as high as its been all season due to rallying at Hamilton last week, and fighting off San Saba earlier in the district campaign.

“We have a great attitude and the two wins over San Saba and Hamilton really showed what our kids are made of,” Maxfield. “You want to have all the momentum you can going into the playoffs, so we’re looking forward to the postseason and finishing up district against a really good, well-coached Coleman team.”

Coleman enters the contest fresh off a 50-0 victory over De Leon a week ago.

The Bluecats generated 332 yards of total offense – 250 rushing and 82 passing – and yielded 115 yards – 59 through the air and 56 on the ground.

Quarterback Jadin Jackson rushed for 114 yards and a 69-yard touchdown, while Ryland Gentry chipped in 96 yards on the ground and scored once from 14 yards out.

Through the air, Jackson connected on 7 of 8 passes for 82 yards and three touchdowns – 30 yards to Hagen Cavanaugh, 16 yards to Braxton Smith, and 7 yards to Keaton Beets. Hogan Johnson led all Bluecats with three catches for 20 yards.

Coleman forced three turnovers and scored on defense, as well as special teams, as Smith returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown, and Cavanaugh took a punt back 46 yards for six points.

“Their guys up front I think are the best we’ve played all year and Tolar is right there with them,” Maxfield said. “Coleman’s quarterback can run and throw the ball, he’s a really dynamic player. They’ve got a receiver that can take the top off things, and their tailback is as big as most of our linemen. This is the most balanced offense I think that Coach (John) Elder has had, and they do a great job and that’s by design. They used to just line up in the I and now they’re a lot more multiple.

“Defensively, they’re really tough. You can tell they are tough kids but our kids are, too. In a lot of ways their defense is as strong, if not stronger, than Tolar, and Tolar blanked us but we did move the ball some on them. If we can go toe to toe with Coleman we can go toe to toe with anybody in the state.”

Bangs heads into the game averaging 32 points and 346 yards – 251 rushing and 95 passing – per game, with 10 turnovers on the season.

Guy Powell has rushed for 1,616 yards and 22 touchdowns and caught seven passes for 116 yards and three scores. Quarterback Kenny Cole has completed 59 of 133 passes for 853 yards with 10 touchdowns and six picks, to go along with 332 rushing yards and four trips to the end zone. Other key contributors include receivers Guy Funk (14-126, 3 TDs), Hunter Newton (12-193, 2 TDs), Skylar Minshew (12-125, TD) and Nate Stoffer (10-139, TD), along with running back Keygan Pitts (141 yards, TD).

“One thing that really hurt us is the turnovers against good teams,” Maxfield said. Maxfield said. “We have to learn how to take care of the ball. We have to secure the ball when we’re running with it against bigger, stronger opponents. We also have to realize big plays aren’t always going to be there. We have to be patient with the offense, even with Guy Powell, because Coleman is really good in the back end. Their secondary is as good as we’ve faced, so we’re not going to have as many explosive plays.”

Defensively, the Dragons surrender 26 points and 383 yards – 269 rushing and 114 passing – per outing, with 15 takeaways on the year.

Leading the charge are Powell (101 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries), Pitts (94 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 fumble recovery), Stoffer (91 tackles, 1 for loss, 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries), and Ethan Ethridge (62 tackles, 1 interception).

“Defensively, we’ve been able to tackle real well all year, and I don’t know if it was the sloppy conditions last week, but we missed a lot of open tackles and we can’t have that this week,” Maxfield said. “We also need to create more turnovers. Coleman is going to test us on our tackling and we worked on that this week. We went back to the basics. Coleman may not have a player as hard to tackle as the running back from Tolar, but as a whole team they have more players that will be hard to tackle.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is a 28-point underdog.

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Bangs Dragons 2022 Football Season Stats

Through 9 Games (6-3, 4-1)

TEAM OFFENSE

31.5 points per game (284)

346.0 yards per game (3,114)

251.2 rushing yards per game (2,261)

94.8 passing yards per game (853)

PASSING

* Kenny Cole

59 of 133 for 853 yards, 10 TDs, 6 INTs

RUSHING

* Guy Powell

1,616 yards on 155 carries, 22 TDs

* Kenny Cole

332 yards on 79 carries, 4 TDs

* Keygan Pitts

141 yards on 16 carries, 1 TD

* Hunter Newton

57 yards on 6 carries, 1 TD

* Skylar Minshew

52 yards on 6 carries

* Ethan Ethridge

34 yards on 6 carries

* Guy Funk

24 yards on 2 carries

* Nate Stoffer

5 yards on 1 carry

RECEIVING

* Guy Funk

14 catches, 126 yards, 3 TDs

* Hunter Newton

12 catches, 193 yards, 2 TDs

* Skylar Minshew

12 catches, 125 yards, 1 TD

* Nate Stoffer

10 catches, 139 yards, 1 TD

* Guy Powell

7 catches, 116 yards, 3 TDs

* Keygan Pitts

2 catches, 49 yards

* Zack Ferguson

1 catch, 3 yards

* Kade Minshew

1 catch, 3 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

26.1 points per game (235)

383.3 yards per game (3,450)

269.4 rushing yards per game (2,425)

113.9 passing yards per game (1,025)

TACKLES

* Guy Powell

101 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries

* Keygan Pitts

94 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 fumble recovery

* Nate Stoffer

91 tackles, 1 for loss, 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries

* Ethan Ethridge

62 tackles, 1 interception

* Sergio Lopez

35 tackles, 2 for loss

* Brayden Fields

33 tackles, 1 interception

* Weston Jundt

24 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception

* Skylar Minshew

23 tackles

* David Herrera

21 tackles

* Hunter Newton

15 tackles

* Zack Ferguson

13 tackles, 1 interception

* Noah Pin

12 tackles

* Kade Minshew

8 tackles

* Brody Newton

8 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack

* Guy Funk

7 tackles, 3 interceptions

* Isaiah Serrato

7 tackles

* Chris Valdez

3 tackles

* Donovan Ruiz

2 tackles

* Caedmon Tidwell

2 tackles

* Noah Castillo

2 tackles

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TURNOVER MARGIN (+5)

* Bangs: 10 (4 fumbles, 6 interceptions)

* Opponents: 15 (5 fumbles, 8 interceptions)