BANGS – After a rough start to the season, the Bangs Dragons are hoping their first home game – and 2023 homecoming contest – yields more positive results as the Grape Creek Eagles visit Memorial Stadium.
Both the Dragons (0-2) and Eagles (0-2) will be targeting their first victory of the season at 7 p.m. Friday.
Bangs, in playing against a pair of Class 3A Division II schools, has dropped both of its contests by a combined score of 122-10, including last week’s 70-0 defeat against No. 9 Comanche.
“We didn’t match up very well at all with Comanche,” said Bangs first-year head coach Jason Cole. “They’ve got a bunch of college talent on their team and we had a few injuries coming in. It was tough on us, but our boys played really hard. It’s not always a lot of fun to play games like that, but we got better as the game progressed. When we watched the film we saw our kids hustling their tails off and trying to be physical with them, so we’ll take that and grow from it. It’ll make us physically tougher and mentally tougher.
Grape Creek, another 3A Division II school that has faced lesser competition than Bangs thus far, has come up short against Stanton, 42-6, in the opener, and Class 2A Division I Christoval, 14-8, last week.
“They play really hard,” Cole said of the Eagles. “They’re very athletic and it’s going to be quite a challenge. We’re really excited to get to play at home for homecoming against a team we hopefully match up better with.”
Against Christoval last week, Grape Creek finished with just 145 total yards – 111 rushing and 34 passing – and scored a touchdown on a 19-yard pass. The Eagles turned the ball over twice and forced two takeaways, but yielded 152 yards rushing and one touchdown to Christoval’s Manuel Riojas and 107 passing yards and another score to Stanton McGlothlin.
“Their offense can nickel and dime you,” Cole said of Grape Creek. “They run mostly and have an odd offense, a lot of power run and misdirection so they can get 4 or 5 yards a carry sometimes and control the ball the whole quarter. They did that to us a couple of years ago and beat us with that strategy, so we want to stop them and get our defense off the field.
“Defensively, they just hustle so hard. We’re going to really have to move our feet and work hard because they will hustle. They held the last team they played to 14 points so they’re going to be a challenge on both sides.”
Bangs enters Friday’s contest averaging just 5 points and 210 yards – 115 through the air and 95 on the ground – per contest. Quarterback Kenny Cole has completed 14 of 37 passes for 230 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, while rushing for a team-best 75 yards. Ethan Ethridge has contributed 40 yards on the ground and Skylar Minshew has added 33, while leading receivers include
Hunter Newton (4-74), Kade Minshew (2-80), Ethridge (2-24), Ethan Hagler (2-19) and Aden Jones (36-yard touchdown reception).
“We have to do a better job on special teams and offense with turnovers,” Cole said. “Last week we turned the ball over on kickoff returns immediately before we even touched the ball on offense. When we’re on offense and handling the football we have to do a better job not turning it over. We want to continue to hustle and get tougher and get smarter and we’re seeing that in practice this week. Our kids are working hard to improve and they’re very dedicated.”
Defensively, the Dragons are surrendering 61 points and 503 yards – 300 rushing and 203 passing – on average. Leading tacklers include Ethridge (14 tackles, 1 for loss), Hunter Crowell (10 tackles), Cason Tidwell (7 tackles, 1 PBU), Newton (5 tackles, 2 PBUs), Jones (5 tackles), and Kade Minshew (2 tackles, 1 INT).
The Dragons are expected to be closer to full strength Friday night.
“We’re getting a little better,” Cole said. “We’re getting two kids back this week, two of our skill kids so that really helps a lot. It’s a battle for us right now because we’re not super deep but we have guys stepping up and jumping in. We’re being forced to develop new help, and that’s a good thing.”
As for the importance of securing a victory Friday night and turning the season around, Cole said, “We need to get some wins. The next five games we really have a good chance in all of them. We want to try and pick up as many wins as we can, be excited and enjoy it.”
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is a 24-point favorite.
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Bangs Dragons 2023 Football Season Stats
Through 2 Games (0-2)
TEAM OFFENSE
5.0 points per game (10)
210.0 yards per game (420)
95.0 rushing yards per game (190)
115.0 passing yards per game (230)
PASSING
* Kenny Cole
14 of 37 for 230 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
RUSHING
* Kenny Cole
75 yards on 22 carries
* Ethan Ethridge
40 yards on 16 carries
* Skylar Minshew
33 yards on 19 carries
* Hunter Hudnall
17 yards on 3 carries
* Navaeh Menefield
10 yards on 2 carries
* Billy Gatlin
2 yards on 1 carry
RECEIVING
* Hunter Newton
4 catches, 74 yards
* Kade Minshew
2 catch, 80 yards
* Ethan Ethridge
2 catches, 24 yards
* Ethan Hagler
2 catches, 19 yards
* Billy Gatlin
2 catches, -2 yards
* Aden Jones
1 catch, 36 yards, 1 TD
* Weston Scantling
1 catch, 4 yards
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TEAM DEFENSE
61.0 points per game (122)
503.0 yards per game (1,006)
300.5 rushing yards per game (601)
202.5 passing yards per game (405)
TACKLES
* Ethan Ethridge
14 tackles, 1 for loss
* Hunter Crowell
10 tackles
* Cason Tidwell
7 tackles, 1 PBU
* Hunter Newton
5 tackles, 2 PBUs
* Aden Jones
5 tackles
* Kade Minshew
2 tackles, 1 INT
* Skylar Minshew
2 tackles
* Cody Brooks
2 tackles
* Quade Angel
2 tackles
* Hunter Hudnall
2 tackles
* Brody Newton
2 tackles
* Ethan Hager
1 tackle
* Noah Pin
1 tackle
* Billy Gatlin
1 tackle
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TURNOVER MARGIN (-4)
* Bangs: 6 (4 fumbles, 2 interceptions)
* Opponents: 2 (1 fumble, 1 interception)