It’s safe to say that the Slot-T era got off to a good start for the Andrews Mustangs in last week’s 32-21 road win over Canyon Randall.
Entering the season with only three starters on defense and two on offense, Andrews head coach Tom Harvey knows his team is young this year.
However, he saw promising signs from his new offense in Friday’s win.
Even if it wasn’t always perfect.
“It was encouraging,” Harvey said. “I told our kids that they were young and didn’t have perfect practices last week. But they were bad, effort-wise. But we were still showing some growing pains. At the same time, we got on the bus and traveled far and got off the bus and played hard. I thought their effort stood out more than anything.”
The Mustangs started off quick, taking a 13-0 lead in the first quarter as JaeSean DeBouse scored on a 38-yard run.
He finished with 236 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
“Our kids played pretty hard and the coaches prepared well,” Harvey said. “We’re pretty young. Sometimes we had plays where it looked like a sophomore mistake. There were those but the effort from the kids was great. I can’t say enough about how much they bought in and prepared the kids to go out for the first time on a varsity field. We expected to win but we had probably more success than failures so it was a good way to start.”
Both offenses were able to shine last week, a stark contrast to last year’s contest in which the Mustangs won 11-7.
Next up for Andrews (1-0) is a tough Monahans team that’s coming off a district title and a regional final run from last year.
Both teams will meet for a 7 p.m. contest at Mustang Bowl in Andrews.
“We’ve known that they’ve had this group coming for a few years,” Harvey said. “We know this is a group that’s had a lot of success. It’s going to be a big challenge. They have senior ball club and we do not.”
>> Speaking of Monahans: For the Loboes, it was business as usual as they began their 2023 campaign with a promising 48-7 win over Shallowater at home last week.
“I thought our kids played pretty well,” Monahans head coach Fred Staugh said. “We came out with great intensity. We were focused. The biggest thing in Week 1 was to come out and execute and I felt like our kids did that. It turned out well for us.”
The Loboes (1-0) are on another mission this year to not only win another District 1-4A DII title but to also make it further in the playoffs this fall.
So far, they look to be on the right track as they avenged last year’s 47-27 loss to the Mustangs.
“We expected to win,” Staugh said of last Friday’s game. “We expect to win all of them. Except last year, it felt like a playoff game when we played Shallowater so I don’t know if I expected it to be quite as the way that it ended up.”
Now, the Loboes will get another shot at revenge this week against Andrews.
Last year, Andrews dealt Monahans a 59-29 loss.
This time, the Loboes will be facing a different offense.
“I think it will be a little bit more of a challenge,” Staugh said. “In the past, we’ve defended them the same way that we’ve defended our own offense. We don’t work against the Slot-T offense every day. It’s going to be a challenge for sure. It’s another Permian Basin rivalry. We’ll have to go in with the same intensity and focus.”
>> Rivalry win: Crane won the bragging rights in last week’s rivalry win over McCamey, defeating the Badgers 50-32 last Friday at Badger Stadium.
The Golden Cranes (1-0) will continue to be on the road this week when they face Kermit (0-1) Friday at Walton Stadium.
>> Rough starts: For Compass Academy and Kermit, the 2023 season didn’t quite get off to the start they were hoping for.
The Cougars (0-1) were shutout by Sterling City, 35-0, on Saturday at Astound Broadband Stadium in Midland.
Meanwhile, Kermit (0-1) is coming off a 72-12 loss to Miles.
The Yellow Jackets will get a chance to recover when they face Crane at 7 p.m. Friday at home.
The Cougars will also be at home this week when they host San Angelo Texas Leadership Charter Academy Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Ratliff Stadium.
>> Midland High, Legacy win: Both Midland schools had plenty to smile about last Friday as the Bulldogs and Rebels now sit at 1-0 to start the season.
The Bulldogs (1-0) posted a 39-14 win over El Paso Montwood last Friday at Astound Broadband Stadium.
Midland High (which is Year 3 under head coach Thad Fortune) will be on the road this week when it faces Lubbock Coronado (0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in Lubbock.
Coronado is coming off a 45-26 loss to Wolfforth Frenship.
The Rebels (1-0) had little trouble in holding off Amarillo High in a 35-7 win last Friday at Dick Bivins Stadium in Amarillo.
Legacy will now be at home this week to face another Amarillo school as the Tascosa Rebels come to visit in a 7 p.m. contest at Astound Broadband Stadium.
Tascosa (1-0) is coming off a 28-7 win over Palo Duro last week.
