I have been a stat man for High School football games since 1997 and I have seen some crazy numbers, but never have I ever seen a team with 8 turnovers (5 of them interceptions and 3 of those returned for a touchdown). And, this is a team that runs the ball about 80 percent of the time!!!
This game also had some more crazy stats…
The Southwest Dragons ran 27 plays for 46 yards in the first half (34 of those came on the first play of the game and it was a touchdown. The Dragons are the team that had 8 turnovers and it is very hard to win a game with that many turnovers, but even harder when it is a playoff game…and even harder when the opponent is the O’Connor Panthers. The O’Connor Panthers ran 7 plays for 10 yards in the second half. O’Connor was 0 for 8 on the third down conversions. Their were 3 one play scoring drives (and that doesn’t include the defensive scores by O’Connor).
The final score was O’Connor 49 and Southwest 14.
O’Connor will play the Judson Rockers on Friday night at Alamo stadium. I am so happy that Alamo stadium is getting a great slate of playoff games this year. I should start a campaign to get Alamo stadium to host the state championship games instead of The Alamodome, Reliant Stadium, or Cowboys Stadium. Who is with me?
If you haven’t already done so, please check out my Alamo stadium renovation photos (it is a great facility and I was so happy that I got to see the renovations up close and personal).
The running back for the Southwest Dragons, Jonathan Cruz had 23 carries for 67 yards and both touchdowns. He finished his senior year with 1,616 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. The two quarterbacks combined for 2 of 11 passing for 14 yards and 5 interceptions.
The O’Connor Panther quarterback, Jonathan McEntire, was 10 of 22 passing for 212 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception (all in the first half…he rested the second half). He was my Week 5 player of the week and he may get it again for Week 12. Jonathan Tapia had 2 receptions for 105 yards and 1 touchdown, Jekovan Holmes had 3 receptions for 38 and 2 touchdowns, and Jorge Gonzales had a 30 yard touchdown reception. The Panthers also had 3 interceptions that they returned for touchdowns and a fumble recovery for a touchdown…thanks to Eric Vaughn, Darryl Godfrey, and Jose Medina.
If they only had a running game (16 carries for 22 yards on Friday night), man, they would be hard to beat. Jamontae Edwards, a junior running back, got hurt in the 2nd game this season and yet, he still leads the team in rushing yards. But, folks, defense wins championships!!
I could easily see O’Connor as one of the teams in the 6A Division I regional game in 3 weeks.
