First and foremost, the Dragons (2-7, 1-4) must defeat the Coleman Bluecats (7-2, 4-1), who have already locked up the No. 2 playoff seed from District 5-2A Division I, at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Dragons would also need Goldthwaite (3-6, 1-3) to defeat Hamilton (5-4, 2-3) and San Saba (3-6, 2-3) to fall to No. 2 Tolar (8-1, 5-0) to create a four-way tie for fourth place between Bangs, Hamilton, Goldthwaite and San Saba. And Bangs still may find itself outside the playoffs if that scenario were to occur.
But Cole and the Dragons are focusing solely on Coleman, and letting the rest of the results fall as they may.
“Our chances of making the playoffs are pretty slim, but we want to end the season well,” Cole said. “Coleman is a rival so it’d be bragging rights and would cap off the season and make it better. Every win we’ve gotten we’ve had to fight for, and we’re going to go fight for another one.”
The Dragons dropped a 38-0 decision to Hamilton last week, as Bangs mustered just 86 yards of total offense.
“With Hamilton we ran into a buzz saw,” Cole said. “They were big and strong and a little more physical than we were and we weren’t able to do much.
We were missing three skill kids again last week at linebacker, safety, and receiver and that hurt us a lot. Hopefully we get a couple of guys back this week and we’ll be a little healthier and more experienced out there this week.”
Coleman is coming off a 35-7 victory at De Leon last week that locked up the runner-up spot in the district standings.
The Bluecats manufactured 434 yards of total offense – 286 passing and 148 rushing – with two turnovers, while surrendering 293 yards – 204 through the air and 89 on the ground – with one takeaway.
Jadin Jackson rushed for 61 yards and two touchdowns and threw a 57-yard touchdown on his lone pass attempt, while Brayden Torres connected on 16 of 26 passes for 229 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Blaze Hronek caught eight passes for 121 yards and a touchdown and Hunter Lackey grabbed seven passes for 116 yards. Kelan Sikes added two grabs for 79 yards and scored once.
Brent Bouldin chipped in 56 yards on the ground, Lackey rushed for 22 yards, and Anthony Espitia finished with 7 yards and a touchdown.
“They’re plain out physical and fast,” Cole said of Coleman. “Their running back and quarterback are really fast and strong and good. We’re going to have to be very physical and match them on the physicality part and play a real good game.”
The Dragons enter the contest averaging 19 points and 282 yards – 155 rushing and 127 passing – per outing, with 13 turnovers.
Quarterback Kenny Cole has completed 84 of 178 passes for 1,068 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions, while rushing for a team-best 526 yards and five scores. Other weapons in the backfield include Ethan Ethridge (514 rushing yards, 6 TDs; 10-138, TD receiving), Hunter Hudnall (182 rushing yards), and Skylar Minshew (129 rushing yards, TD; 15-155 receiving). Leading receivers are Hunter Newton (33-464, 6 TDs) and Kade Minshew (17-283, 2 TDs).
The Bangs defense surrenders 44 points per game on the season with 10 takeaways, and prior to the Hamilton game had been allowing 426 yards – 274 on the ground and 152 through the air.
Standouts include Hunter Crowell (64 tackles, 1 for loss), Cason Tidwell (52 tackles), Ethridge 50 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks), Newton (31.5 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries), and Weston Scantling (31 tackles).
As for the improvements Cole hopes to see against Coleman, he said, “We weren’t near as sharp on our blocking. We were missing backers and safeties and not giving our quarterback and running backs a real good chance. We have to be a lot sharper with our blocking, so I’m going to alter the scheme a bit and try and make it better. We’re going to come out and try to have a better game this week.”
Regardless of the outcome Friday, Cole is the proud of the fight the Dragons have displayed in 2023.
“It’s been a very rewarding season, these are good kids, even though our record is not as good as we wanted it to be,” Cole said. “We still enjoy coaching them and being around them and we want to go out and play well and make the parents proud and finish strong.”
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is a 34-point underdog.
***
Bangs Dragons 2023 Football Season Stats
Through 9 Games (2-7, 1-4)
TEAM OFFENSE
19.0 points per game (171)
282.1 yards per game (2,539)
155.2 rushing yards per game (1,397)
126.9 passing yards per game (1,142)
PASSING
* Kenny Cole
84 of 178 for 1,068 yards, 10 TDs, 4 INTs
* Skylar Minshew
4 of 9 for 74 yards, 1 TD, I INT
* Hunter Withers
0 of 1 for 0 yards
RUSHING
* Kenny Cole
526 yards on 114 carries, 5 TDs
* Ethan Ethridge
514 yards on 102 carries, 6 TDs
* Hunter Hudnall
182 yards on 22 carries
* Skylar Minshew
129 yards on 38 carries, TD
* Navaeh Menefield
24 yards on 5 carries, TD
* Brayden Gatlin
5 yards on 5 carries
* Hunter Withers
2 yards on 2 carries
* Cason Tidwell
2 yards on 1 carry
RECEIVING
* Hunter Newton
33 catches, 464 yards, 6 TDs
* Kade Minshew
17 catches, 283 yards, 2 TDs
* Skylar Minshew
15 catches, 155 yards
* Brayden Gatlin
11 catches, 65 yards, TD
* Ethan Ethridge
10 catches, 138 yards, TD
* Aden Jones
4 catches, 57 yards, TD
* Ethan Hager
2 catches, 19 yards
* Weston Scantling
1 catch, 4 yards
* Cason Tidwell
1 catch, 1 yard
###
TEAM DEFENSE
44.5 points per game (401)
425.1 yards per game (3,401)
273.5 rushing yards per game (2,188)
151.6 passing yards per game (1,213)
TACKLES
* Hunter Crowell
64 tackles, 1 for loss
* Cason Tidwell
52 tackles
* Ethan Ethridge
50 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks
* Hunter Newton
31.5 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries
* Weston Scantling
31 tackles
* Skylar Minshew
19.5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
* Kade Minshew
17 tackles, 1 INT
* Brody Newton
15.5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
* Noah Pin
12.5 tackles
* Brayden Gatlin
12 tackles, 1 sack
* Aden Jones
11.5 tackles
* Hunter Hudnall
10 tackles
* Ethan Hager
9.5 tackles
* Quade Angel
9 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
* Hunter Withers
9 tackles
* Damian Hudspeth
8.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
* Sergio Lopez
6 tackles, 1 for loss
* Kenny Cole
4 tackles
* Dwayne Lyon
2.5 tackles
* Cody Brooks
2 tackles
* Navaeh Menefield
1 tackle
* Chris Valdez
1 tackle
* Kian Kelly
1 tackle
* Jackson Edminsen
0.5 tackles
###
TURNOVER MARGIN (-3)
* Bangs: 13 (8 fumbles, 5 interceptions)
* Opponents: 10 (7 fumbles, 3 interceptions)