BANGS – Returning to the playoffs after a one-win campaign in 2021, the District 5-2A Division I third-seeded Bangs Dragons look to regain their form from earlier this season as they tangle with the District 6-2 second-seed Nocona Indians in bi-district playoff action.
Kickoff between the Dragons (6-4) and Indians (8-2) is slated for 7 p.m. Friday at Weatherford.
Bangs is looking to bounce back from a 47-0 loss to Coleman in Week 10, a game in which the Dragons mustered a season-low 77 yards of total offense.
“We feel like we’re ready bust out another big game again,” said Bangs fifth-year head coach Kyle Maxfield. “We feel fortunate that we’re as healthy as we are, and this time of year that’s big. Our kids are feeling good about themselves. We would have liked to have finished district with a win, but they’re looking forward to trying to get a playoff win.”
Meanwhile, Nocona is coming off a 31-28 victory over Alvord that allowed the Indians to wrestle away the No. 2 seed in the district race.
“We knew it was going to going to come down to the last game for them, and beating Alvord was a little bit of an upset, but that’s district’s been pretty crazy,” Maxfield said. “Nocona created turnovers on special teams, two on kickoffs and a punt, and Alvord had to play catch up. They had a chance on their last drive but it stalled out about the 20.”
Nocona – whose losses came against Trenton (23-21) and Tioga (35-31) – jumped out to a 24-7 lead over Alvord last week before falling behind, 28-24, at the end of the third quarter. The Indians rallied with a touchdown early in the fourth period and held on down the stretch.
The Indians finished with 409 yards – 274 rushing and 135 passing – and gave up 256 yards – 172 rushing and 84 passing.
Quarterback Brady McCasland completed 8 of 17 passes for 135 yards with three touchdowns, and added 92 rushing yards. Johnathan Stone chipped in 94 yards rushing and a touchdown while
Michael Wetmore added 67 yards on the ground and caught a 64-yard touchdown. Charlie Fuller led Nocona with three catches for 33 yards and touchdown receptions of 8 and 14 yards.
Defensive standouts were Kasch Johnson (5 tackles), Stone (4 tackles), Dayson Elliott (4 tackles), and Quirino Rodriguez (4 tackles).
“They’re a lot like us on offense, about 70-30 run to pass,” Maxfield said. “Their quarterback does a good job buying time in the pocket, rolling out and scanning the whole field. When he’s scrambling around you definitely have to stay in coverage. Running the ball, they’ve had a kid hurt for most of district but he came back last week and helped them (Michael Wetmore), he’s one of their better athletes.
“Defensively, they put people in the box and play man on you. In the films we got, they haven’t played a lot of teams that throw the ball down the field. They defend the run pretty good. With them playing straight man, you just try and do some things to take advantage of some matchups.”
Meanwhile, Bangs enters the postseason generating 28 points and 319 yards – 232 rushing and 87 passing – per game, with 11 turnovers. The Dragons defense also yields 28 points and 390 yards – 276 on the ground and 114 through the air – per contest, with 17 takeaways.
Guy Powell is the offensive spark plug with 1,658 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns, to go along with eight catches for 118 yards and three more scores. Quarterback Kenny Cole has connected on 65 of 146 passes for 873 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions, while rushing for 330 yards with four trips to the end zone. Leading receivers include Guy Funk (17-134, 3 TDs), Hunter Newton (12-193, 2 TDs), Skylar Minshew (12-125, TD), and Nate Stoffer (11-152, TD).
The defensive charge for the Dragons is spearheaded by Powell (113 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries), Keygan Pitts (105 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 fumble recovery), Stoffer (91 tackles, 1 for loss, 3 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries), Ethan Ethridge (67 tackles, 1 interception), Sergio Lopez (36 tackles, 2 for loss), Brayden Fields (34 tackles, 1 interception), Minshew (28 tackles), and Weston Jundt (24 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception).
Regarding the keys to a Bangs victory, Maxfield said, “We have to win the turnover battle. When we’ve done that it’s put us in good position to beat some teams we were probably even with. Put together some good, strong drives. Hopefully we can get some explosiveness back to our offense. That’s always been big for us. Our defense has been bend but don’t break, so we need to keep that mentality. Second quarters have been horrendous for us all year so we’re looking to put four good quarters together.”
Friday’s winner will face either Cayuga (9-1) or Riesel (5-5) in the area round of the playoffs.
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is a 4-point favorite.
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Bangs Dragons 2022 Football Season Stats
Through 10 Games (6-4, 4-2)
TEAM OFFENSE
28.4 points per game (284)
319.1 yards per game (3,191)
231.8 rushing yards per game (2,318)
87.3 passing yards per game (873)
PASSING
* Kenny Cole
65 of 146 for 873 yards, 10 TDs, 6 INTs
RUSHING
* Guy Powell
1,658 yards on 171 carries, 22 TDs
* Kenny Cole
330 yards on 85 carries, 4 TDs
* Keygan Pitts
142 yards on 20 carries, 1 TD
* Skylar Minshew
57 yards on 8 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
11 yards on 2 carries
* Nate Stoffer
5 yards on 1 carry
RECEIVING
* Guy Funk
17 catches, 134 yards, 3 TDs
* Hunter Newton
12 catches, 193 yards, 2 TDs
* Skylar Minshew
12 catches, 125 yards, 1 TD
* 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
1 catch, -3 yards
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TEAM DEFENSE
28.2 points per game (282)
390.5 yards per game (3,905)
276.2 rushing yards per game (2,762)
114.3 passing yards per game (1,143)
TACKLES
* Guy Powell
113 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries
* Keygan Pitts
105 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 fumble recovery
* Nate Stoffer
91 tackles, 1 for loss, 3 interceptions, 3S fumble recoveries
* Ethan Ethridge
67 tackles, 1 interception
* Sergio Lopez
36 tackles, 2 for loss
* Brayden Fields
34 tackles, 1 interception
* Skylar Minshew
28 tackles
* Weston Jundt
24 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception
* David Herrera
21 tackles
* Hunter Newton
18 tackles
* Zack Ferguson
13 tackles, 1 interception
* Noah Pin
13 tackles
* Brody Newton
9 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
* Kade Minshew
8 tackles
* Guy Funk
7 tackles, 3 interceptions
* Isaiah Serrato
7 tackles
* Chris Valdez
3 tackles
* Donovan Ruiz
2 tackles
* Caedmon Tidwell
2 tackles
* Noah Castillo
2 tackles
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TURNOVER MARGIN (+6)
* Bangs: 11 (5 fumbles, 6 interceptions)
* Opponents: 17 (8 fumbles, 9 interceptions)