BANGS – The greatest challenge to date in head coach Colton Buzzard’s first season in Bangs awaits as the Dragons visit the undefeated, No. 10 Hamilton Bulldogs in District 5-2A Division I competition.
Kickoff between the Dragons (2-5, 0-2) and Bulldogs (7-0, 2-0) is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Kooken Field.
“Hamilton’s a really good football team, they execute really well and we’ll have to play a perfect football game to stay in the game,” Buzzard said. “But the kids are ready to rock and roll, ready to attack them and hopefully we can play to our ability. It’ll be fun.”
The Dragons are coming off a 42-14 home loss to Hico in which Bangs coughed up the ball three times and allowed a kick return for a touchdown, among the issues that prevented them from claiming their first league victory.
“We know we can move the football, we know we can play better than we did,” Buzzard said. “It’s frustrating when things don’t go the way they should, but when we get to the point that we’ll rolling on all cylinders it’ll be pretty special and I’m excited about it.”
Hamilton is coming off a 35-13 victory over Ballinger last week as the Bulldogs finished with 365 yards of total offense, including 266 rushing. Halston Haile led the charge with 99 yards and three touchdowns on the ground and also caught two passes for 50 yards with another trip to the end zone. Through the air, quarterback Jaxson Edwards connected on 6 of 10 passes for 146 yards.
Defensively, the standout of the game for Hamilton was Jackson Bates with nine tackles, including three for loss, as the Bulldogs surrendered just 210 yards of total offense, with 152 of that coming on the ground.
Bangs enters the contest averaging 28 points and 287 yards – 206 rushing and 81 passing – per game, with 16 turnovers.
Hunter Withers made his first start at quarterback last week and passed for 120 yards and two touchdowns – 75 yards to Braxton Wommack and 36 yards to Aden Jones.
“Hico loaded up the box, they had nine guys in the box so we have to have the ability to throw the ball,” Buzzard said. “We moved Skylar Minshew from quarterback to get him the ball more in the backfield, but he got taken out of the game with a little injury, but he’s fine now. We’re going to try and get him the ball more in different ways to make plays.”
The ground game is anchored by Brayden Gatlin (308 yards, 5 TDs), Jackson Edmiston (299 yards, 1 TD), Jones (275 yards, 3 TDs), Minshew (275 yards, 3 TDs) and Eliseo Rivas (266 yards, 2 TDs).
Leading receivers include Cason Tidwell (18-208, 5 TDs), Rex Guerrero (8-90, 1 TD), Jones (4-40, 1 TD), Noah Castillo (4-17) and Wommack (3-98, 2 TDs).
On the flip side of the ball, the Dragons yield 29 points and 277 yards – 177 rushing and 100 passing – with nine takeaways.
Leading the charge are Hunter Crowell (53.5 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), Rivas (47.5 tackles, 7 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), Tidwell (41.5 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery), Conner Bible (26 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 INT), Kian Kelly (22.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack), Chris Valdez (20 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack), Jones (20 tackles) and Nevaeh Menefield (17 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks).
Regarding the keys to coming away with an upset victory, Buzzard said, “Defensively we have to keep their linemen off our linebackers, we have to demand a double team up front and we have to tackle better. We didn’t do a very good job of tackling last week, a lot of grabbing. Offensively, we have to execute. Every play we call is designed to get at least 4-5 yards. We have to execute, keep our eyes up and block who we’re supposed to block.”
According to Harris Ratings Weekly, Bangs is a 41-point underdog.
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Bangs Dragons 2024 Football Season Stats
Through 7 Games (2-5, 0-2)
TEAM OFFENSE
27.4 points per game (192)
286.7 yards per game (2,007)
206.0 rushing yards per game (1,442)
80.7 passing yards per game (565)
PASSING
* Skylar Minshew
37 of 64 for 413 yards, 6 TDs, 3 INTs
* Hunter Withers
9 of 23 for 152 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
RUSHING
* Brayden Gatlin
308 yards on 61 carries, 5 TDs
* Jackson Edmiston
299 yards on 344 carries, 1 TD
* Aden Jones
275 yards on 44 carries, 3 TDs
* Skylar Minshew
275 yards on 51 carries, 3 TDs
* Eliseo Rivas
266 yards on 33 carries, 2 TDs
* Navaeh Menefield
38 yards on 9 carries, 2 TDs
* Connor Bible
8 yards on 1 carry
* Hunter Withers
-27 yards on 10 carries
RECEIVING
* Cason Tidwell
18 catches, 208 yards, 5 TDs
* Rex Guerrero
8 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD
* Aden Jones
4 catches, 40 yards, TD
* Noah Castillo
4 catches, 17 yards
* Braxton Wommack
3 catches, 98 yards, 2 TDs
* Hunter Crowell
3 catches, 44 yards
* Connor Bible
3 catches, 27 yards
* Michael Parrott
2 catches, 14 yards
* Brayden Gatlin
1 catch, 27 yards
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TEAM DEFENSE
29.0 points per game (203)
276.8 yards per game (1,938)
176.7 rushing yards per game (1,237)
100.1 passing yards per game (701)
TACKLES
* Hunter Crowell
53.5 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
* Eliseo Rivas
47.5 tackles, 7 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery
* Cason Tidwell
41.5 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
* Conner Bible
26 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 INT
* Kian Kelly
22.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
* Chris Valdez
20 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack
* Aden Jones
20 tackles
* Nevaeh Menefield
17 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks
* Rex Guerrero
14 tackles
* Skylar Minshew
13.5 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
* Kristopher Kelly
12.5 tackles, 4 for loss
* Michael Parrott
11 tackles
* Noah Castillo
10 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries
* Brayden Gatlin
8 tackles, 1 for loss
* John Paul Rangel
7 tackles, 2 for loss
* Haydon Bush
6 tackles
* Jackson Edmiston
5.5 tackles
* Jaxon Duncan
4.5 tackles, 1 for loss
* Mason Minshew
4 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
* Kason Klutts
3 tackles, 1 for loss
* Hunter Withers
3 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery
* Damian Hudspeth
1.5 tackles
* Braxton Wommack
1 tackle
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TURNOVER MARGIN (-7)
* Bangs: 16 (12 fumbles, 4 interceptions)
* Opponents: 9 (7 fumbles, 2 interceptions)