Area teams back in action

One area football team won for the first time this season last week, while three more return to the field tonight.

Nixon-Smiley snapped a seven-game losing streak dating back to last season with a 28-21 win over Bloomington, while Luling, Shiner and St. Paul all had byes last Friday. All four teams will be in action tonight with 7:30 kickoffs.

Nixon-Smiley (1-6, 1-3 in 15-2A-DII) at Cotulla (3-4, 1-3 in 15-2A-DII)

The mood around the Nixon-Smiley fieldhouse has been a little more pleasant this week after the Mustangs’ 28-21 win over Bloomington last Friday in Nixon. Now the boys in blue and red are gunning for their second win in as many weeks when they travel to Cotulla tonight to face a Cowboys team seeking its second district win as well.

“The mood is always better after a win,” Nixon-Smiley coach Carlton McKinney said. “We didn’t play as well as we wanted to, but we pulled one out.”

Cotulla and Nixon-Smiley are very similar in offensive schemes. Like the Mustangs, the Cowboys operate out of the slot-T, which is something McKinney believes will help his team tonight.

“We see that offense every day in practice so seeing something the kids are familiar with should help us,” he said. “Cotulla is very disciplined and does a good job running the offense,”

Defensively, the Cowboys operate out of a 50 or a 27 look. McKinney said tonight’s outcome will be determined by eliminating mistakes – particularly turnovers.

“It’s all just a matter of being sound and not making mistakes,” he said. “If we can eliminate turnovers and not give up big plays we’ll be fine. Turnovers can kill drives and change momentum, and that’s how Bloomington stayed in the game with us.”

Marion (4-4, 3-1 in 15-2A-DI) at Luling (4-3, 3-0 in 15-2A-DI)

There’s quite a bit in common with Luling and Marion. Both schools’ colors are green and white, both teams have new head coaches and both teams are coming off of wins over Jourdanton – albeit Luling’s was two weeks ago.

Tonight, only one team will come out a winner as they meet at Eagle Stadium in Luling. The winner of tonight’s game also clinches a playoff berth.

“This is a rivalry game for us,” Luling coach Colby Hensley said. “We’ve played each other the last few years in the same district, and they kept us out of the playoffs each of the last two years.”

Luling and Marion have been in the same district each of the last six seasons, and the series between the teams is tied 3-3 in that time frame. The Eagles won in 2006 and 2007 as both were members of 26-3A, while the Bulldogs won in 2008 and Luling in 2009 when both played in 28-3A, and Marion claimed victory in 2010 and 2011 when both schools were members of 13-2A-DI.

The Bulldogs are operating out of the spread primarily, but will break into a stacked-I with two tight ends and three running backs on occasion. Quarterback Jourdan Stanley (632 yards passing, 515 yards rushing) leads the offense in both categories, while Austin Soto (24 catches, 365 yards) is the top receiver.

Defensively, the Bulldogs operate out of a 4-3. Marion’s coach is Bruce Salmon, who coached Gonzales in 2006.

Three Rivers (4-3, 1-1 in 15-A-DI) at Shiner (6-1, 1-0 in 15-A-DI)

While Shiner and Three Rivers have similar run-first offensive approaches, their results in their last games played are night-and-day different. The Comanches ran past Kenedy, 33-7, two weeks ago, while the Bulldogs suffered a 29-28 loss to the Lions on a touchdown/two-point conversion combination with 16 seconds left to play.

The teams will experience night-and-day results again tonight after they meet at Comanche Stadium as one team will win and the other will lose. Shiner coach Steven Cerny is hoping his team will have the upper hand tonight.

“Three Rivers is very physical, and their linemen get after it,” he said. “We have to stop their running back (Wesley Guzman) and quarterback (Hagan Johnston), and we have to play physical.”

The Bulldogs base out of the slot-T, but they run their plays out of multiple formations. Guzman is Three Rivers’ main threat with 888 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns.

The Bulldogs operate out of a 4-3 defense with a cover-2 look. With six of the Comanches’ first seven opponents operating out of the spread offense, Cerny is concerned that his team hasn’t seen much of the slot-T.

“The key for us is to put them in as many third-and-long situations as possible,” he said. “We need to put them in passing situations.”

St. Paul (4-2, 2-0 in TAPPS 5-DIII) at Bryan St. Joseph (4-3, 1-1 in TAPPS 5-DIII)

Many coaches aren’t fans of the bye week. But St. Paul coach Jake Wachsmuth believes his team made the most of its week off.

“We used the bye week to recover, scout other teams in our district, and work on some things that you normally don’t get to work on during the week of a game,” he said.

The Cardinals return to the gridiron tonight when they travel to Bryan to face St. Joseph. This will be St. Paul’s second trip to Bryan as it beat Brazos Christian, 19-18, Oct. 5.

“St. Joseph is a spread team with either 5-wide, one-back or two-back sets,” Wachsmuth said. “(Running back Tres Todd) makes their offense go.”

A week ago, Todd had 158 yards rushing and 111 yards receiving. Running back Nicky Damon led the Eagles with 242 yards rushing, while quarterback Luke McClure threw for 197 yards.

Defensively, St. Joseph operates out of the 50.