Now, first-year head coach Jason Cole sets his sights on a win streak as the Dragons (1-2) welcome the Class 3A Division II Merkel Badgers (2-1) – fresh off their first defeat – at 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium.
“We’ve been showing improvement, it just hasn’t been reflected in our scores until last week,” Cole said. “Our kids have been working really hard. Our blocking is getting better and our defensive assignments are getting better. We’ve been showing out in practice a little. Kenny Cole, Hunter Newton and Ethan Ethridge have been looking awesome in practice and I was just waiting for it to happen on a Friday night and it did this last week. We were excited to play well for the fans and the parents.”
Against Grape Creek, the Dragons produced 368 yards of total offense – 201 passing and 167 rushing – while allowing 239 yards – 140 through the air and 99 on the ground – with two takeaways.
Ethridge rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries and caught three passes for 107 yards and another score to pace the Bangs offense. Cole finished 8 of 12 for 201 yards with three scoring tosses and Newton grabbed three receptions for 53 yards with two trips to the end zone.
“He’s a heck of a player and he made two or three runs where he shouldn’t have scored,” Cole said of Ethridge. “He made good cuts and good moves and stiff arms to get free. Then a couple of times the safety had the angle and somehow he outran them. After the game I told him I didn’t know he was that fast and he said he didn’t either. He’s also an excellent inside linebacker for us and one of our leaders on defense.”
Regarding the defense’s best performance of the season, Cole said, “Our boys played hard. Hunter Crowell and Ethan Ethridge at the inside backers and Skylar Minshew on the outside sets the edge for us, and our D-line as a whole played really well, their best game of the year. They played good assignment football and we were just really proud. They scored by moving the ball on one trick play, but overall our defense played really great.”
Merkel heads to town after suffering a 69-57 loss to Clyde last week, which comes on the heels of victories of 26-14 over Clifton and 34-7 over Stanton.
Last week against Clyde, Merkel quarterback Maddox O’Malley finished with 255 yards passing, 97 yards rushing and five touchdowns. Running back Connor Willyerd added 192 rushing yards and five receptions for 128 yards and reached the end zone four times.
For the season, O’Malley has completed 30 of 54 passes for 695 yards with five touchdowns and one interception, while rushing for 203 yards and five more scores. Willyerd leads the team with 350 rushing yards and four scores, along with nine grabs for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Other receiving threats are Kaden Blubaugh (12-213, 3 TDs), CJ Walcott (4-140, TD), and Bryant Jones (4-120, TD).
Bangs counters with a defense that yields 43 points and 415 yards – 247 rushing and 168 passing – per game on average. Standouts include Ethridge (23 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack), Crowell (20 tackles), Cason Tidwell (11 tackles) and Newton (8 tackles, 1 fumble recovery).
The Dragons offense is generating 17 points and 263 yards – 144 through the air and 119 on the ground – per contest. Cole has completed 22 of 49 passes for 431 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions, while Ethridge has rushed for 176 yards and two scores and caught five passes for 131 yards with a trip to the end zone. Newton leads the way with seven grabs for 127 yards and two touchdowns and Kade Minshew has three receptions for 87 yards.
The defense for Merkel – which allows 25 points and 459 yards, 252 passing and 207 rushing, per game – is anchored by Elijah Olivarez (37 tackles, 3 for loss), Adrian Rocha (16 tackles, 4 for loss), Seth Bryant (15 tackles), Jones (15 tackles), Walcott (15 tackles), and Jonathan Calderon (15 tackles)
“They’re really good, Cole said of Merkel. “They have a really tall, athletic quarterback that just runs around and makes plays. Their receivers run a lot of motion and crossing patterns, so their offense is going to be quite a challenge. Their defense is fast and athletic. It’s going to be quite challenge for us but we’re really looking forward to it.”
As for the importance of last week’s victory on the Dragons’ confidence level going forward, Cole said, “You could see our confidence growing as the game went on. I told the boys now that you have the confidence, it doesn’t come and go, you should have it again next week. That’s what we’re going to try and do against a good Merkel team this week. We’re going to try and maintain that confidence and aggressiveness and go do that each week.
“One thing we did a lot better this past week was win the turnover battle. We didn’t have any turnovers on offense and we got a couple of turnovers. One of the main things is to try and win the turnover battle each week. Our boys were confident Friday night and we have to keep that confidence and keep growing.”
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is an 11-point underdog.
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Bangs Dragons 2023 Football Season Stats
Through 3 Games (1-2)
TEAM OFFENSE
17.3 points per game (52)
262.7 yards per game (788)
119.0 rushing yards per game (357)
143.7 passing yards per game (431)
PASSING
* Kenny Cole
22 of 49 for 431 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs
RUSHING
* Ethan Ethridge
176 yards on 25 carries, 2 TDs
* Kenny Cole
82 yards on 25 carries
* Skylar Minshew
33 yards on 19 carries
* Hunter Hudnall
27 yards on 4 carries
* Navaeh Menefield
24 yards on 5 carries, TD
* Brayden Gatlin
2 yards on 1 carry
RECEIVING
* Hunter Newton
7 catches, 127 yards, 2 TDs
* Ethan Ethridge
5 catches, 131 yards, TD
* Kade Minshew
3 catches, 87 yards
* Ethan Hagler
2 catches, 19 yards
* Brayden Gatlin
2 catches, -2 yards
* Aden Jones
1 catch, 36 yards, 1 TD
* Skylar Minshew
1 catch, 34 yards
* Weston Scantling
1 catch, 4 yards
###
TEAM DEFENSE
42.7 points per game (128)
415.0 yards per game (1,245)
247.0 rushing yards per game (741)
168.0 passing yards per game (504)
TACKLES
* Ethan Ethridge
23 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack
* Hunter Crowell
20 tackles
* Cason Tidwell
11 tackles
* Hunter Newton
8 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
* Skylar Minshew
6 tackles
* Weston Scantling
5 tackles
* Quade Angel
5 tackles
* Hunter Hudnall
5 tackles
* Aden Jones
5 tackles
* Kade Minshew
4 tackles, 1 INT
* Ethan Hager
4 tackles
* Brayden Gatlin
3 tackles
* Hunter Withers
2 tackles
* Brody Newton
2 tackles
* Cody Brooks
2 tackles
* Sergio Lopez
1 tackle, 1 for loss
* Navaeh Menefield
1 tackle
* Damian Hudspeth
1 tackle
* Dwayne Lyon
1 tackle
* Chris Valdez
1 tackle
* Noah Pin
1 tackle
###
TURNOVER MARGIN (-2)
* Bangs: 6 (4 fumbles, 2 interceptions)
* Opponents: 4 (2 fumbles, 2 interceptions)