BANGS – The Bangs Dragons erased the nightmare of a 27-point lost lead in Week 3 with a 71-6 thrashing of Abilene TLCA in Week 4, and look to wrap up pre-district action on a win streak as they host the Colorado City Wolves for homecoming.

Kickoff between the Dragons (2-2) and Wolves (1-3) is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium.

Reflecting on the win over TLCA, Bangs first-year head coach Colton Buzzard said, “We came out in the first half and really executed on all our plays offensively and defensively. We went in at halftime with a 45-0 lead and my challenge this week was that it was 0-0 at halftime and we needed to go win the second half. We came out and did just that.”

Bangs finished with 502 yards of total offense – 385 rushing and 117 passing – as quarterback Skylar Minshew accounted for six touchdowns, rushing for three and passing for three more, as he was one of three Dragons to eclipse 100 yards rushing.

Minshew connected on 8 of 10 passes for 113 yards with three scoring strikes – all to Cason Tidwell, who tallied six receptions for 75 yards to go along with his three trips to the end zone. Braxton Wommack added a 19-yard touchdown grab as well. On the ground, Minshew tallied 128 yards, Jackson Edmiston added 121 yards and one score, and Eliseo Rivas tacked on 117 yards and a trip to the end zone.

“We expect big things out of Skylar, he’s our best player on the field,” Buzzard said. “He needs to take that role and put the team on his shoulders and he did that Friday. And having three 100-yard rushers is just a testament to our offensive line. On Friday, they were hitting on all cylinders. Every play was real sharp, they were stepping with the right foot. They’re stating to get in sync with each other in regard to who’s doing what depending on what the defensive front is, so that’s good to see. And our running backs ran hard.”

Defensively, Bangs surrendered just 69 yards, all on the ground.

“The defense played really sound, really hard, and tackled well,” Buzzard said. “My biggest challenge to them was eye disciple and we had really great eye discipline all game.”

Colorado City, meanwhile, is coming off a 34-28 victory over Grape Creek – its first win of the season. Grape Creek is the team that climbed out of a 27-0 halftime hole to defeat Bangs, 38-27, two weeks ago.

“Colorado City is not a bad football team, don’t let their record fool you,” Buzzard said. “They’re 1-3 but they’re starting to figure out their identity as well and you can see that on film. They have the ability to make the big play, and they beat Grape Creek this past week and we lost to Grape Creek.”

Regarding what can be taken from the two teams’ games against Grape Creek, Buzzard said, “We’re different teams with different styles and it’s different match-ups. We see how they lined up against Grape Creek, compared to how we lined up, but it’s going to be completely different. You can look at skill to skill and toe to toe match-ups, but it’s going to be a different ball game defensively for us based on what they do, and we’re going to do things differently offensively than we did against Grape Creek.”

Colorado City enters the contest averaging 37 points and 298 yards – 202 rushing and 96 passing – passing per game, while giving up 44 points per outing.

Quarterback Ryland Senter has completed 36 of 72 passes for 385 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions, while rushing for 287 yards and two more scores. Jeremiah Green has rushed for 223 yards and two touchdowns and caught 11 passes for 142 yards; Gabe Garza has added 171 yards on the ground; Nate Wooddell has nabbed 11 catches for 115 yards; and Zane Grimes has grabbed four receptions for 102 yards and scored twice.

The Dragons counter with a defense that allows 23 points and 221 yards – 113 passing and 108 rushing – per game, led by Hunter Crowell (28 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), Eliseo Rivas (24.5 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), Cason Tidwell (17 tackles, 2 for loss), Conner Bible (13 tackles, 3 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 INT), Rex Guerrero (12.5 tackles), Chris Valdez (11.5 tackles, 3 for loss), Nevaeh Menefield (11 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks), and Kian Kelly (10 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack).

On the flip side of the ball, the Wolves have created seven takeaways, including six by interception, and are led by Aidan Phillips (31 tackles, 1 for loss), Ivan Valdez (24 tackles), Mikell Martinez (23 tackles,1 for loss,2 INTs), and Garcia (20 tackles ).

The Bangs offense is generating 32 points and 300 yards – 226 on the ground and 74 through the air – per contest. Minshew has completed 23 of 43 passes for 269 yards with five touchdowns and a pair of interceptions, while rushing for a team-high 213 yards and three more scores. Other weapons in the backfield include Eliseo Rivas (202 rushing yards, 2 TDs), Jackson Edmiston (166 rushing yard, 1 TD), Aden Jones (160 rushing yards, 1 TD), and Brayden Gatlin (139 rushing yards, 2 TDs), while receiving threats are Cason Tidwell (10-142, 4 TDs), Rex Guerrero (5-53,1 TD), Noah Castillo (4-17), Connor Bible (3-27), and Braxton Wommack (2-23, 1 TD).

Regarding the goals for Friday night, Buzzard said, “I want us to play four quarters, play sound football, take care of the football, and create turnovers. We have to play a whole four-quarter game.”

According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is a 6-point favorite.

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Bangs Dragons 2024 Football Season Stats

Through 4 Games (2-2)

TEAM OFFENSE

32.5 points per game (130)

300.0 yards per game (1,200)

226.3 rushing yards per game (905)

73.7 passing yards per game (295)

PASSING

* Skylar Minshew

23 of 43 for 269 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs

* Hunter Withers

3 of 8 for 26 yards, 1 TD

RUSHING

* Skylar Minshew

213 yards on 29 carries, 3 TDs

* Eliseo Rivas

202 yards on 20 carries, 2 TDs

* Jackson Edmiston

166 yards on 27 carries, 1 TD

* Aden Jones

160 yards on 25 carries, 1 TD

* Brayden Gatlin

139 yards on 26 carries, 2 TDs

* Navaeh Menefield

19 yards on 6 carries, 2 TDs

* Connor Bible

8 yards on 1 carry

* Hunter Withers

-2 yards on 4 carries

RECEIVING

* Cason Tidwell

10 catches, 142 yards, 4 TDs

* Rex Guerrero

5 catches, 53 yards, 1 TD

* Noah Castillo

4 catches, 17 yards

* Connor Bible

3 catches, 27 yards

* Braxton Wommack

2 catches, 23 yards, 1 TD

* Brayden Gatlin

1 catch, 27 yards

* Michael Parrott

1 catch, 6 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

22.8 points per game (91)

221.3 yards per game (885)

108.0 rushing yards per game (432)

113.3 passing yards per game (453)

TACKLES

* Hunter Crowell

28 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

* Eliseo Rivas

24.5 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

* Cason Tidwell

17 tackles, 2 for loss

* Conner Bible

13 tackles, 3 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 INT

* Rex Guerrero

12.5 tackles

* Chris Valdez

11.5 tackles, 3 for loss

* Nevaeh Menefield

11 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks

* Kian Kelly

10 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack

* Michael Parrott

7.5 tackles

* Skylar Minshew

7 tackles

* Kristopher Kelly

6.5 tackles, 2 for loss

* Brayden Gatlin

6.5 tackles, 1 for loss

* Noah Castillo

5.5 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries

* Jaxon Duncan

4.5 tackles, 1 for loss

* Jackson Edmiston

4.5 tackles

* John Paul Rangel

4 tackles, 2 for loss

* Mason Minshew

3 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack

* Kason Klutts

3 tackles, 1 for loss

* Hunter Withers

2 tackles, 1 fumble recovery

* Aden Jones

2 tackles

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TURNOVER MARGIN (-1)

* Bangs: 8 (6 fumbles, 2 interceptions)

* Opponents: 7 (6 fumbles, 1 interception)