Mustangs back to ‘4-3’ with healthier players in lineup

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NIXON — One week after suffering some injuries that forced Nixon-Smiley to make some defensive adjustments, head coach Carlton McKinney and the Mustangs’ coaching staff are ready to get back on track on the side of the field. The Mustangs will go back to a 4-3 defense and with players coming back from injuries, they intend to stay with that formation.

“We’ll make sure we have a backup plan, for lack of a better phrase,” McKinney explained, “in case we have unfortunate things happen out there. Our best course of action is to stick to our 4-3 defense because it works fairly well. When we have the bodies in place, we play it well.”

Short on linebackers, the Mustangs decided to place a nose guard down during their 30-14 win last week against Three Rivers. But with players such as Elix Carillo coming back from injury, the 4-3 formation will be set.

Tonight, the Mustangs take on Hallettsville Sacred Heart, an Indians team that is under new leadership. McKinney noted that the same athletes are there from last season, so he expects a well-disciplined team, despite the new coaching staff implementing their own system.

“They’re a spread,” McKinney scouted. “They’re going to play extremely hard and going to be extremely disciplined. It’s going to be a good test for us.”

Defensively, the Indians have shown a split, which tends to be four down linemen and four linebackers.

“That’s what they’ve done in the past, and they’ve only had that one scrimmage and one game,” McKinney said. “If they make changes, we’d seen just about every defense that goes against us.”

The head coach touted Sacred Heart’s linebackers and players to look out for.

Looking at last week’s film, McKinney believes that the Mustangs need to focus on their own team, instead of worrying too much on how Sacred Heart will play them.

“We had some success last week, but honestly a lot of it was individuals that made plays,” McKinney admitted. “Defensively we gave up a lot because we weren’t taking care of our responsibilities.”

“We focused this week not so much on our opponent, but on us,” he continued. “There are things we have to improve on.”

The Mustangs are improving, but McKinney wants to use tonight’s game as yet another stepping stone so that the team can further progress and reach heights he believes the team is capable of reaching.

Tonight’s kickoff at home is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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