Orange County football wrap-up

It’s time to put another one in the books for most of our local area high school football teams. Last Friday night brought light at the end of the tunnel temporarily for some, while others were on a bye week and still others continued right on down their successful paths.

Coach Cornel Thompson and the West Orange-Stark Mustang (4-0) proved once again that they can handle the adversity and the scrutiny, all while continuing to live up to the expectations and standards that come with such a long tradition of winning throughout the years. The Mustangs hosted the Jasper Bulldogs last Friday, and fought for an emotional win leading into their bye week. It wasn’t the typical big day rushing the ball as WOS only gained 53 yards in 25 attempts.

The Mustangs took to the air as Jimmy Salters came through passing the football going 12/24 for 223 yards and no interceptions. Salter’s main target was J’marcus Rhodes who caught three balls for 119 yards and West Oranges’ only two touchdowns of the game. The team lost almost 100 yards on penalties and didn’t rush the ball very effectively, but Coach Thompson and the Mustangs will move forward with the win as they host Hamshire-Fannett at 7 p.m. this Friday and they continue their play-off push.

The Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears (1-2) got a win against Coldsping last week, and boy did they need it. Coach Crouch and the crew had two tough opponents to start the season, and were well prepared coming off their own off-week. Considered my many to be the underdog going into the contest, the Battlin’ Bears proved their determination to the hometown crowd by pulling off the win while being out rushed on the ground by at least 100 yards. Yardage would prove to be not enough as LC-M’s Alex Sezer broke loose for three scores and 115 yards in 21 attempts. The Bears will try to keep the momentum going when they open up district play at 7:30 p.m. this Friday against Livingston.

The Orangefield Bobcats (1-3) got their first win of the season last Friday, and it was due. Coach Josh Smalley had a two surprises waiting for the Kelly Bulldogs when they got to town last week and their names Eric Truncale and Carl Wiley. The Bobcats had a lot of players get touches, but the dynamic one-two punch struck like lightning on multiple occasions, as offense and special teams were the stories of the day. Both of these offensive workhorses ran for over 100 yards a piece while Truncale accounted for two scores and Wiley had a TD for himself.

To top those performances off, each player had a kick-off return for a touchdown and both of the scores were almost 100 yards each. This week, Coach Smalley and the Bobcats have their work cut out for them when they host Silsbee at 7 p.m. Friday, but expect the guys to show-up and play hard.

The Bridge City Cardinals (1-2) are coming off of a bye week, but should be feeling good from the win against Kelly from the week before. Coach Cris Stump and the Cards’ will have to put it behind them as they look ahead to their first district game of the year this Friday against Buna. The Cardinals started off slow with the two losses, but a district win against the Cougars will go a long way in the hunt for their fourth consecutive play-off berth. Coach Stump and the boys will head out to Buna ready for a tough battle, but it’s all going to come down to who wants it more once the first ball is snapped.