BANGS – The Bangs Dragons find themselves in a unique situation as they prepare for their second District 2-3A Division II football contest at Ingram Tom Moore Friday night.

In order to keep their postseason hopes alive the Dragons (0-5, 0-1) must defeat the Warriors (2-4, 0-1), which would mark a first this season for Bangs following last week’s narrow loss to Grape Creek.

“We’re still trying to get that first win and it’s been a lot harder than it might sound, but our kids’ attitudes have never wavered, they come to work everyday,” said Bangs fourth-year head coach Kyle Maxfield. “Things haven’t really gone our way, but we feel like if we go down and execute in all three phases of the game we can come out with a win and that puts us back in the race for a playoff spot. We just keep preaching to keep working and things can turn. We’re a lot better team than our record shows, we just want to get better each day and in the back of their minds they know if we get this one it puts us back in the playoff race.”

The Dragons’ first potential win of the season slipped away last week as Bangs was unable to hold a halftime lead against Grape Creek, which rallied for a 17-14 victory.

“Grape Creek did a great job with time of possession,” Maxfield said. “They ran 109 offensive plays to our 27. The second half we just never seemed to get momentum. They do a great job of putting long drives together and that was the difference in the game. Grape Creek’s defense is much improved and we couldn’t get anything going offensively in the second half. The kids kept fighting, of course we need to improve in some areas, but we did a lot better job of taking care of the ball. We had a chance to get some turnovers on defense at critical times, but we were unable to get them when we had to have them.”

Ingram Tom Moore is coming off a 36-12 loss to Sonora in its league opener. The Warriors did notch pre-district victories over Center Point (14-0) and LaPryor (48-12) after dropping their first three outings of the season against Junction (14-0), Johnson City (55-0), and Harper (28-7).

Against Sonora, the Warriors finished with 308 yards of total offense – 298 passing and 10 rushing – but committed six turnovers. Meanwhile, Ingram Moore gave up 345 yards – 236 on the ground and 109 through the air – and forced four turnovers.

Aiden Rendon completed 15 of 25 passes for 298 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while Ashton Cross rushed for a team-high 51 yards and caught an 81-yard scoring toss. Kye Hightower led the way with a team-high eight catches for 96 yards and a touchdown, while Preston Burroughs grabbed three receptions for 82 yards for the Warriors.

“When their offense is hitting on all cylinders it’s a pretty smooth machine,” Maxfield said. “They can do a little of everything on offense, they can run it and throw it, and their tailback can run and he’s pretty big. Defensively I feel like we can move the ball on them if we take care of our business. It’s doable, but it’s going to be a challenge. They also have a grass field so there’s no telling what kind of playing conditions we’ll have, but we’re just going to line up and play.”

The Dragons enter the contest averaging 12 points and 245 yards – 186 rushing and 59 passing – per game, with 15 turnovers. However, Bangs did not give the ball away last week for the first time this season.

Guy Powell leads the way on the ground with 693 yards and six touchdowns, while Skylar Minshew has chipped in 112 yards. Minshew is 11 of 17 through the air for 83 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while leading receivers include Damien Santillanes (8-45), Powell (8-36), Zack Ferguson (6-110), Guy Funk (3-29, TD), Braxton Melling (2-29), and Ian Cortez (1-15, TD).

Defensively, the Dragons are coming off their best performance of the season. For the year, Bangs yields 45 points and 384 yards – 260 on the ground and 124 through the air – per outing, with three takeaways.

Standouts include Powell (33 tackles), Nate Stoffer (32.5 tackles), Ethan Ethridge (21.5 tackles, 2 for loss), Keygan Pitts (21.5 tackles), Hunter Newton (13.5 tackles), Azreal Escobedo (13.5 tackles), Santillanes (11.5 tackles), Cortez (11 tackles, 1 for loss), and Hunter Bernal (10.5 tackles).

Regarding keys to a victory, Maxfield said, “We have to tackle better. If we tackle last week we come way with the win. We’ve got to get stops on third and fourth downs, there was a long fourth down that still haunts us from the first quarter against Grape Creek. Offensively, we just need to do our thing and take care of the ball. One thing that did jump up and bite us last week was some untimely penalties and we couldn’t overcome those. We have to stay ahead of the chains.”

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

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Bangs Dragons 2021 Football Stats

Through 5 Games (0-5, 0-1)

TEAM OFFENSE
12.2 points per game (61)
245.8 yards per game (1,229)

186.6 rushing yards per game (933)
59.2 passing yards per game (296)

PASSING
‒ Kade Minshew
22 of 39 for 179 yards, 1 TD, 6 INTs

‒ Skylar Minshew
11 of 17 for 93 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

‒ Guy Powell
1 of 2 for 24 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

RUSHING

‒ Guy Powell
693 yards on 96 carries, 6 TDs

‒ Skylar Minshew

112 yards on 29 carries

‒ Damien Santillanes
55 yards on 15 carries

‒ Kade Minshew

38 yards on 21 carries

‒ Hunter Newton
27 yards on 1 carry

‒ Ethan Ethridge

11 yards on 1 carry

‒ Zack Ferguson

6 yards on 1 carry

‒ Ian Cortez

1 yard on 4 carries

RECEIVING
‒ Damien Santillanes
8 catches for 45 yards

‒ Guy Powell
8 catches for 36 yards

‒ Zack Ferguson
6 catches for 110 yards

‒ Guy Funk
3 catches for 29 yards, TD

‒ Braxton Melling
2 catches for 29 yards

‒ Ian Cortez
1 catch for 15 yards, TD

‒ Nate Stoffer
1 catch for 7 yards

‒ Ethan Ethridge
1 catch for 2 yards

‒ Keygan Pitts
1 catch for 2 yards

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TEAM DEFENSE

45.2 points per game (226)

384.8 yards per game (1,924)
260.4 rushing yards per game (1,302)
124.4 passing yards per game (622)

TACKLES

‒ Guy Powell
33 tackles

‒ Nate Stoffer
32.5 tackles

‒ Ethan Ethridge
21.5 tackles, 2 for loss

‒ Keygan Pitts
21.5 tackles

‒ Hunter Newton
13.5 tackles

‒ Azreal Escobedo
13.5 tackles

‒ Damien Santillanes
11.5 tackles

‒ Ian Cortez
11 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Hunter Bernal
10.5 tackles

‒ Sergio Lopez
9.5 tackles, 2 for loss

‒ Guy Funk

9 tackles, 1 INT

‒ David Herrera
9 tackles

‒ Noah Pin
7.5 tackles, 1 for loss

‒ Donovan Ruiz
7 tackles

‒ Zack Ferguson
6 tackles

‒ Warren Theriaque
5 tackles, 2 for loss

‒ Isaiah Seratto
5 tackles

‒ Weston Jundt
3 tackles

‒ Skylar Minshew
2.5 tackles

‒ Caedmon Tidwell
2.5 tackles

‒ Braxton Melling
2.5 tackles

‒ Luke Duncan
1 tackle

‒ Brody Newton
1 tackle

‒ Cody Carpenter
0.5 tackle

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TURNOVER MARGIN: (-12)
Bangs 15 — 8 INTs, 7 fumbles

Opponents 3 — 1 INT, 2 fumbles