BANGS – A dominant offensive effort and a bend-but-don’t-break defensive approach carried the Bangs Dragons to a bi-district victory a week ago, and now a team very similar to fifth-year head coach Kyle Maxfield’s squad awaits in the Class 2A Division I Region II area round – the Riesel Indians.
Kickoff between District 5 fourth seed Bangs (7-4) and District 8 fourth seed Riesel (6-5) is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday in Burleson.
Bangs enters the contest ranked No. 28 in Class 2A Division I by the Padilla Poll, while Riesel is No. 30.
“They’ve had a tough district schedule just like we have, some of the toughest teams in the state,” Maxfield said, referring to a league that includes Crawford, Marlin and Rosebud-Lott. “Their record is similar to ours, but they’re playing the best ball they have all year and are peaking at the right time.”
The Dragons are coming off a 61-21 bi-district triumph over Nocona in which Bangs jumped out to a 41-0 halftime lead and owned a 473-389 edge in total yards, with 375 coming on the ground – thanks in part to 236 yards and five touchdowns from Guy Powell.
“We took advantage of some early turnovers and punched them in and got rolling pretty fast,” Maxfield said. “They were able to move the ball on us in the middle of the field, but then our defense did what they’ve done most of the year and kept them out of the end zone in the first half. The longer we were able to keep them out, the more success our offense seemed to have and things snowballed on them.”
Riesel handed District 7 champion Cayuga a 28-7 loss in the first round of the playoffs as the Indians finished with 343 yards of total offense – including 317 rushing.
Gavin Oliver ran for touchdowns of 6 and 33 yards in the fourth quarter and finished with 151 yards rushing; Mason Heath chipped in 96 yards on the ground; Peyton Hoelscher ran for a 1-yard score in the second quarter, and 19 yards overall, with a 26-yard completion to Santana Cisneros; and Bryson May rushed for a 15-yard score with two minutes remaining, and tallied 44 yards rushing.
Riesel’s defense allowed just 153 yards – 134 rushing and 19 passing – forced three turnovers, and did not allow a point until the final minute of the contest.
“The first thing you notice is just how big they are, by far the biggest team we’ve played all year,” Maxfield said. “They have big linemen and a big quarterback that runs a lot. They’ll definitely have the size advantage and hopefully we’ll have the speed and quickness advantage.
“They’re not a passing team. They’ll take some shots a couple of times a game but they’re going to make you stop the run. The biggest fear when you’re explosive on offense like we can be is time of possession. Keeping their offense off the field so we can get some snaps on offense will be important.”
Bangs enters the contest averaging 31 points and 333 yards – 245 rushing and 88 passing – per outing, with 13 turnovers.
Powell continues to be the spark plug out of the backfield with 1,894 yards and 27 touchdowns, to go along with eight catches for 118 yards and three more scores. Quarterback Kenny Cole has completed 71 of 155 passes for 971 yards with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. Receiving threats include Guy Funk (19-202, 4 TDs), Skylar Minshew (15-158, TD), Hunter Newton (12-193, 2 TDs), and Nate Stoffer (11-152, TD).
“We have to take care of the ball,” Maxfield said of the offensive keys. “Our goal is to not have negative plays, be balanced like we’ve been because they’re going to load to try and stop our run game, so we have to take advantage of that with the pass. We’ve made improvements but we still have a lot improving to do, and that’s what we’re focusing on this week.”
On the defensive end, Bangs yields 27 points and 390 yards – 265 rushing and 125 passing – per contest, with 20 takeaways on the season.
Stalwarts include Powell (125 tackles, 2 for loss, 3 fumble recoveries), Keygan Pitts (117 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 fumble recovery), Stoffer (105 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 interceptions, 4 fumble recoveries), and Ethan Ethridge (75 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception).
“First downs are going to be big,” Maxfield said of the defensive goals. “If they have second-and-5 or less it’s going to be tough to hold them back. We can’t get blown off the ball, we have to play with low pads. If you play high against them they’re going to make some holes, but we’ve done a pretty good job swarming to the ball with all 11 guys and that’s what it’s going to take. Our defense has done a great job creating turnovers, so if they can do that again that sure would help us a lot.”
Friday’s winner will face either Coleman (9-2) or Crawford (11-0) in the Region II semifinals next week.
Bangs is a 7-point favorite according to Harris Ratings Weekly and Riesel is a 4-point favorite according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
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Bangs Dragons 2022 Football Season Stats
Through 11 Games (7-4, 4-2)
TEAM OFFENSE
31.4 points per game (345)
333.1 yards per game (3,664)
244.8 rushing yards per game (2,693)
88.3 passing yards per game (971)
PASSING
* Kenny Cole
71 of 155 for 971 yards, 11 TDs, 6 INTs
RUSHING
* Guy Powell
1,894 yards on 182 carries, 27 TDs
* Kenny Cole
430 yards on 89 carries, 5 TDs
* Keygan Pitts
145 yards on 21 carries, 2 TDs
* Skylar Minshew
88 yards on 14 carries
* Hunter Newton
57 yards on 6 carries, 1 TD
* Ethan Ethridge
34 yards on 6 carries
* Guy Funk
24 yards on 2 carries
* Brayden Fields
16 yards on 3 carries
* Nate Stoffer
5 yards on 1 carry
RECEIVING
* Guy Funk
19 catches, 202 yards, 4 TDs
* Skylar Minshew
15 catches, 158 yards, 1 TD
* Hunter Newton
12 catches, 193 yards, 2 TDs
* Nate Stoffer
11 catches, 152 yards, 1 TD
* Guy Powell
8 catches, 118 yards, 3 TDs
* Keygan Pitts
2 catches, 49 yards
* Zack Ferguson
1 catch, 3 yards
* Kade Minshew
1 catch, 3 yards
* Weston Jundt
2 catches, -6 yards
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TEAM DEFENSE
27.5 points per game (303)
390.4 yards per game (4,294)
264.9 rushing yards per game (2,914)
125.5 passing yards per game (1,380)
TACKLES
* Guy Powell
125 tackles, 2 for loss, 3 fumble recoveries
* Keygan Pitts
117 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 fumble recovery
* Nate Stoffer
105 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 interceptions, 4 fumble recoveries
* Ethan Ethridge
75 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 interception
* Sergio Lopez
39 tackles, 3 for loss
* Brayden Fields
34 tackles, 1 interception
* Skylar Minshew
29 tackles
* Weston Jundt
28 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception
* David Herrera
23 tackles
* Hunter Newton
21 tackles
* Noah Pin
14 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
* Zack Ferguson
13 tackles, 1 interception
* Brody Newton
11 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
* Isaiah Serrato
9 tackles
* Kade Minshew
8 tackles
* Guy Funk
8 tackles, 3 interceptions
* Chris Valdez
3 tackles
* Donovan Ruiz
2 tackles
* Caedmon Tidwell
2 tackles
* Noah Castillo
2 tackles
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TURNOVER MARGIN (+7)
* Bangs: 13 (7 fumbles, 6 interceptions)
* Opponents: 20 (11 fumbles, 9 interceptions)