Nixon needs aggressiveness for success

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NIXON — Nixon-Smiley’s head coach Carlton McKinney made one thing clear when it came to Thursday’s game against Banquete. The Mustangs’ football team needs to be aggressive if they want to advance to the second round of playoffs, a task that none of the current athletes on the team has accomplished in their high school career.

“We’re better when we go to that game plan,” McKinney noted. “When we play like our backs are against the wall, we have a tendency to play aggressive. When we are just playing hard, we give ourselves the best chance to be successful. Ours kids have done a pretty good job. We’re peaking at the right time.”

Nixon-Smiley (5-5, 3-2) will travel to Karnes City to take on Banquete (8-2, 3-2), a Bulldogs team that isn’t the typical three seed. At 8-2, Banquete is just as dangerous as any other team in the bi-district round.

Offensively, the Bulldogs have shown multiple looks, “very similar to what Poth did,” McKinney said.

They want to spread out defenses as well as utilize their quarterback as a running threat.

“It’s assignment football for us,” McKinney said. “Last couple of weeks we’ve gotten better and it’s the same thing this week.”

Banquete has speed in the backfield and skill position players that can catch the ball well.

Defensively, the Bulldogs have shown a split-front and a 50, which McKinney mentioned his players are already familiar with.

“They have some size up front, they want to disrupt what you do,” he continued. “They utilize their outside linebackers to contain.”

The Mustangs are in a position where they can make some noise in the playoffs, but for the team to get a win, aggressiveness will be key Thursday.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

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