The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

There were some good signs and bad signs on area football fields this week as the first games were played in the 2013 season.

The beauty of all the action was it was the first games of the year and coaches had time this week to correct mistakes before Week 1 gets going this Friday.

First we start in Bridge City where our Cardinals welcomed in the No. 1 Newton Eagles. Newton showed why it was ranked No. 1 in Class 2A with speed.

Coach Cris Stump on Saturday said the Eagles this year were speedy than the year before which was hard to believe.

The Eagles snatched a 44-20 win over the Cardinals and scored on the game’s second play. Newton’s Kevin Shorter rushed for 122 yards while quarterback Roney Elam threw for over 200 yards.

Bridge City did show a lot of promise on offense against the Eagles which is something Stump should be very encouraged to have seen this past Friday.

Junior quarterback Chase Shugart was 13-for-30 passing for 174 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 26 yards on nine carries.

There were two receivers who shined for the Cardinals against the Eagles. Keaton Langston hauled in a 36-yard touchdown reception while Malcolm Busby had three receptions for 69 yards.

Jonah Lemoine and the rest of the Cardinals running backs had a difficult time against the Eagles which could be expected due to Newton’s speed.

Lemoine finished with 20 yards on 11 carries and Hunter Uzzle had three carries and a rushing touchdown.

This week the Cardinals will be on the road for the first time this year as they travel to face the Vidor Pirates.

The Bobcats scored the go-ahead touchdown with just under two minutes left on the clock. Matthew Kress scored from 38 yards out and Dustin Verrett picked up the two-point conversion.Orangefield avenged one of its losses from last year this past Friday with a 22-21 win over East Chambers.

WOS Mustang head coach Cornel Thompson, WOS hgh school principal Hutcherson Hill and WOCCISD Superintendent James Colbert, pose with Orange Bowl after defeating LCM 21-3.

Orangefield, who hosts Jasper this week, rushed the ball 60 times for 360 yards against the Bucs. Carl Wiley led the running backs with 137 yards and a touchdown. Verrett finished with 57 yards on the ground.

The West Orange-Stark Mustangs once again won the Orange Bowl against the rival LC-M Bears, 21-3.

The Mustangs defense was the star of the show as usual as the young WO-S unit limited the Bears to 164 total yards. LC-M had 115 on the ground and 49 in the air.

LC-M’s Caleb Harley came in as the leading returning passer in District 20-4A yet the Mustangs limited Harley to under 50 yards passing.

Chris James rushed for 92 yards for the Mustangs while quarterback Chase Rutledge passed for nearly 115 yards in his quarterback debut.

Things get no easier for both these teams this week. LC-M will play host to Silsbee who lost this past week to Port Neches-Groves. The same Indians will be at home this week against the Mustangs.