Mustangs start galloping once again
As postseason begins, Magnolia West making most of its opportunities
It could have been a much different story.
Magnolia West didn’t exactly roll into the postseason, dropping its final two contests, including the District 19-5A finale to rival Magnolia, after battling the Bulldogs for the biggest headlines all year.
But, instead of bowing out meagerly, the Mustangs got mean.
With renewed physicality on both sides of the ball, they ousted Madison 54-20 last Friday in the 5A Division II playoffs.
“The (previous) two weeks, we were disappointed with how we played, and a lot of that had to do with Stratford and Magnolia, and how well they played,” Magnolia West coach Shawn Bell said. “But we, last week, had our backs against the wall a little bit, and we found a way to play much better.
“Our kids were excited to play a game that was do-or-die, with that playoff atmosphere, so it was good to see us get back to the norm.”
The Mustangs’ losses to Stratford (27-7) and Magnolia (24-14) weren’t the norm.
They still haven’t beaten Stratford, but the last three meetings were closer. This year’s was the worst since a 51-13 loss in 2011.
It was enough to make Bell a little nervous.
The Mustangs weren’t peaking at the right time, and they didn’t have any momentum going into the playoffs.
Yet still they found a way to pick themselves up when it was critically necessary.
“It came with a good group of leadership,” Bell said.
“Going into the Magnolia game, all I preached to our kids was our goal is not to beat Magnolia, our goal is to be playing our best football going into the playoffs. So I was more discouraged by the way we played than losing to our cross-town rivals.
“So last week we got back to reality, and went back to the basics and got physical, and challenged our guys a little bit and they responded.”
The team’s rushing attack, led by a resurgent offensive line, answered loudest.
The Mustangs managed on 25 yards on 29 rushes against Stratford and 54 yards on 34 carries against Magnolia.
They went for nearly 300 rushing yards against Madison.
“Against Stratford and Magnolia, we were not physical at the point of attack,” Bell said.
“We felt like we did not perform well at the line of scrimmage, and so that was our focus all week. We changed some personnel, and really just changed our mindset into getting back to being a physical football team, and not a finesse team – delivering the blow instead of the alternative.”
Running back Adrian Thomas (ankle) was the biggest beneficiary, carrying 35 times for 180 yards and three touchdowns.
“Adrian got hurt in the Magnolia game and wasn’t full speed last Friday, and so he wasn’t his normal self,” Bell said.
“Normally, he’s breaking runs and making people miss, and there wasn’t a lot of that going on, just because he wasn’t 100-percent healthy. So a lot of his yards were hard, physical runs through great holes provided by the offensive line.”
Stephen Nevarez, who played early in the season before battling injuries and sophomore mistakes, started at left tackle, and junior Charles Rowell started at tight end, giving them a spark in the passing game.
Bell said Nevarez was their best lineman Friday, and Rowell supplied at TD.
Quarterback Tyler Ferre played well, completing 15 of 19 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns.
Bell also praised the play of the D-line, led by senior tackles Mason Storrs and James Comer.
“Madison was extremely big up front, but our kids brought it to them a little bit,” Bell said.
Now they’re in the area playoffs for third straight year.
The Mustangs face Bryan at 7 p.m. Friday at Waller ISD Stadium in the continuation of a familiar theme.
They took the same playoff path last year, and met Bryan in the same location.
“We ended Magnolia’s season a year ago from last Friday, and so they’d been waiting 365 days for us, and last year we ended Madison’s season, and so last week they’d been working 365 days for us,” Bell said.
“Well, this week, Bryan ended our season, and so we’ve been working 365 days for redemption against them.”