Sweetwater: 1-9

After a great first season for coach Russell Lucas in 2021 when Sweetwater got its 700th win in school history plus a district and bidistrict title, 2022 saw the Mustangs come back down to earth with a 1-9 record.

But Lucas and, frankly, many others knew a drop was likely as Sweetwater graduated 27 seniors from its 38-player roster in 2021.

And the UIL did the Mustangs no favors, either, as two perennial powerhouses — Wichita Falls Hirschi and Graham — moved into the new District 3-4A, D-II to join Sweetwater, Greenwood and Snyder.

Sweetwater also lost its starting quarterback, Tate Thompson, to injury in its season opener and he was out nearly two months.

The Mustangs were competitive in opening losses to Idalou and San Angelo Lake View before getting their only win in Week 3 when they beat Pecos, 32-16, at Mustang Bowl. A second win nearly came at Clyde two weeks later but Sweetwater lost a heartbreaker, 29-28, in overtime before ending non-district play with a loss at Estacado.

District 3-4A, D-II was just as tough as everyone thought it might be for the Mustangs, who managed one score in each of their first three games vs. Greenwood, Graham and Hirschi and were shut out in a 28-0 season-ending loss against Snyder.

There were some bright spots when postseason honors were awarded.

Sweetwater’s punter Jace Adames not only was a first team all-district performer, but was also second team all-state. Nose guard Noel Mekogue also made the first team and sophomore Korda Moore was named the top district newcomer. Malik Brown, Jacob Gonzales, Roman Camacho and Jadyn Forbes were named to the all-district second team.