Eric Smith
Staff Writer
The Natalia Mustangs hit the turf on a steamy Friday evening vs the Bandera Bulldogs last week in scrimmage one of the season. The youthful Mustangs battled for the hour+ event and saw a lot of positives as well as a number of areas that need growth and improvement. Coach Jason Reynolds is excited as they enter week three vs. Hondo this Thursday on the road.
“I felt that our kids competed well the entire night,” Coach Jason Reynolds said. “We have several guys playing both ways and it was a great test for us to see where we are as a team and what our kids can expect on a Friday night.”
At the varsity level, the Mustangs found early success with their short passing game. Where the Mustangs struggled at times, was creating lanes for their running game vs a more experienced Bandera front line as well as protecting their QB for time enough, to create deep ball opportunities.
“We had some bright spots and we also had a number of things we can work on and correct,” Reynolds said. “The goal for the scrimmage was to get all of our kids on film, so we can continue to evaluate and correct mistakes and also to come away healthy which we did.”
The Bulldogs were able to score a total of four touchdowns vs. the Mustangs, two of which were on deep passing routes with one of their talented and shifty wide receivers.
“Defensively, I felt our front seven did a good job of flying to the ball and making plays,” Reynolds said. “We played physical and set the tone.”
As mentioned, Natalia saw some success on offense, but they were held out of the endzone.
“Offensively, we did a great job early throwing the ball into some tight windows,” Reynolds said. “We played with a little tempo at times and I was pleased with how our kids handled it.”
Natalia lost a very large senior class a season ago and overall, has a very youthful squad, many of which have never started a varsity down.
“Our main concern right now is our youth,” Reynolds said. “The only way we fix that is by taking live reps against tough teams like Bandera. As the night went on, we had several busted assignments in the secondary and up front on the line. The great thing is that they were all correctable mistakes that our coaches and kids will get fixed.”
Upcoming Scrimmage (BOLD PLEASE)
This coming Thursday, the Mustangs head down to western Medina County to battle the Hondo Owls.
“We are excited to build on what we saw and address a number of concerns entering the Hondo week,” Reynolds said. “Our kids and coaches are chomping at the bit to get back on the field and prepare for the Owls.”
The format for the varsity scrimmage this Thursday will be two live quarters followed by one 10 minute quarter with a running clock with 1 over-time period.
Hondo is led by Head Coach Dustin Templin.
“We have 85 kids out this season and are working hard,” Templin said. “We return a lot of players at key positions and we are blessed to have a good-sized line this season. Our goal is to stay healthy vs. Natalia, get better at what we do and get more on film so we can coach these boys up this season.”
This will be the first time the Mustangs and Owls have ever battled on the football field at the varsity level in a scrimmage. The two have also never battled in an official Friday night game according to records at the Hondo Anvil Herald (Thanks Jeff).
Be sure to head to Beautiful Barry Thursday evening as the JV is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. There IS A CLEAR BAG POLICY for all fans according to Hondo ISD’s safety rules in place.