Disciplined football and finishing tackles became the varsity football team’s focus this week after those mistakes became too costly to leave Highlander Stadium with a win.
“We had penalties and missed opportunities for us to keep drives going,” linebackers coach and co-special teams coordinator Robert Lewis said. “If you take away those plays, you gain drives. You gain opportunities for your defense to get stops and for your offense to continue to move the ball.”
Down 21-10 at halftime, the Farmers’ defense recovered, shutting out Highland Park’s offense during the second half and making a crucial goal line stand to keep the game alive.
“We get up there and stop all three run plays,” junior defensive end Rhyan Sewell said. “We went through this in practice all of last week, so we knew they were going to throw that jump pass [on fourth down].”
The team was able to stay in the game until the final play, ultimately falling to the Scots 21-18 after senior quarterback Ethan Terrell’s hail mary was batted away.
“We knew it was going to be a battle heading [into Highland Park],” Lewis said. “Our guys really buckled down, got a feel for the game and started to play like themselves. We know it wasn’t enough to win, so we’re making sure we hit those little things in order for us to continue on.”
The Farmers will travel to Mesquite on Friday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. for its last non-district game. Both teams are 1-1, with the Skeeters coming off of a 29-9 win against North Mesquite.
“They’ve got great athletes,” Lewis said. “Three hundred and fifteen rushing yards a game is what they have, so they’re going to run the ball. As far as defense goes, our guys know we’ve got to be great tacklers and fit the run. Offensively, just continue to find the holes in the defense, take shots and pound the rock.”
Senior offensive linemen Paul Gurrola and Quentin Henry are returning starters and FBS prospects which anchor a strong Mesquite run game. The team’s leading rusher is senior running back Armand Cleaver, whose 403 yards are 19th among state rushing leaders and second among 6A schools’ leading rushers.
Finishing tackles will be crucial against the Skeeters offense. Last week, Scots running back Keller Holmes escaped multiple tackle attempts on a fourth down, turning the play into a touchdown.
“We’ve been working day by day in practice,” Terrell said. “We don’t underestimate any team we play against. We beat [Mesquite] pretty badly last year and we’re trying to get the same outcome this year.”
Mesquite lost junior quarterback Sir’Maje Wallace, the expected starter, before the season began. The team has only attempted 11 passes over their first two games. In contrast, Terrell completed 11 passes for 161 yards last week against the Scots.
“My best skill is my passing,” Terrell said. “I can make big plays with my arm. I feel like that’s where my gift is, but if everything’s broken down, then I can escape outside the pocket and extend the play or run.”
Mesquite’s defense allowed 44 points against the Farmers last season, but it has found success early with a front seven tallying eight sacks in two games. Junior defensive tackle Caleb Sims is one of its top performers with a sack in each game and 12 total tackles.
“They really showed us they were gonna stack the box and not let us run the ball,” Terrell said. “I still had a lot of rushing yards. This year, we’re definitely going to be throwing it against them because they know our identity is running the football. We have to change it up.”
The Farmers are favored against Mesquite on texasfootball.com’s projections. The Skeeters finished 4-6 and missed the playoffs last season but will have home field advantage and a set game plan.
“We didn’t play to our fullest extent,” Terrell said. “We had a lot of busted plays and mistakes. Even with all those mistakes, we still only lost by three to a really great team that’s playoff bound. If we clean those up, we’re ready to go.”
