If you listen closely high school football coaches from Hughes Springs and Atlanta will teach you all the old clichés that have great meaning.
Hughes Springs (5-1) travels to Atlanta (4-2) Friday night for an important District 7-3A Division I game. A win could put the Mustangs in the driver’s seat since they’ve already beaten Jefferson, and a loss to Mount Vernon is being examined. The Rabbs could be the only unbeaten team left with a win, depending on the Mount Vernon situation, but they’ve still got Mount Vernon, Jefferson and Hooks left to play.
“I don’t want to sound negative, but I’d feel better if we had all the bullets in the gun,” said veteran Hughes Springs coach Chris Edwards. “We’re still missing our quarterback (Andrew Gaul) from an injury in the Mount Vernon game, and we lost two more players last week against Jefferson. We were already a bit thin, but it’s next man up.”
Daigle big key for Mustangs’ football team
Next man up for the Mustangs at quarterback is junior Tyson Daigle, who was brilliant in last week’s 29-28 win over Jefferson. Daigle scored twice for Hughes Springs.
“Daigle did a fantastic job against Jefferson’s football team,” said Edwards. “He had a lot to do with the win. There were no fumbles, or miscues on his part. Still, Atlanta is just as good, if not better than Mount Vernon and Jefferson at times. They’re well coached, line up well on defense, and very explosive on offense. Whatever the outcome, this game will not make, or break our season.”
Atlanta coach Matt McClure and his staff are preaching to their players the significance of Friday game, and not looking ahead.
“This is a good matchup; Hughes Springs proved last week they can play with anybody,” said McClure. “Obviously, we’re trying to take it one game at a time with Mount Vernon, Jefferson and Hooks being our next three opponents. We’ve got to take care of us, that’s our main focus.”
McClure notes the Mustangs’ potent wing-t offense will be nothing new for his team. The Rabbs scrimmaged North Lamar in August. Then got a similar look against Pleasant Grove, New Boston and Redwater.
“They were all wing-t, slot-t type teams,” said McClure. “A big key for us this week is stopping Hughes Springs’ fullback. He’s real big and hard to handle. That’s where it starts for us. If we do that it’ll be to our advantage. If we stay healthy, continue to improve weekly, we’ve got a chance to make some noise.”
That means reaching and winning in the postseason if you didn’t