The Orange Leader

WEST ORANGE — Pencil in yet another district championship for the two-time defending Class 4A champion West Orange-Stark Mustangs.

The Mustangs dominated the Orangefield Bobcats in every phase of the game Friday night at Hooks Stadium, notching a 54-0 victory to go perfect in District 12-4A Division II play and extending their state-leading winning streak to 35 games and their district title streak to seven.

WOS jumped on the playoff-bound Bobcats early, leading 21-0 at the end of the first quarter and 37-0 at intermission.

The Mustangs (8-0, 4-0) outgained the Bobcats (3-4, 2-2) 326-48 in the first half and 434-102 for the game. WOS has allowed just 174 total yards in the last two games after limiting Liberty 72 in last week’s 32-0 blanking.

“I think we’re maturing as a football team and you have to do that this time of the year,” said Mustang coach Cornel Thompson. “After our bye week, the kids really came out and got some focus and went and played well at Liberty and against Orangefield tonight. We earned what we got, which is another district championship. We’re entering that third phase of the season now and it’s going to get toughr every step of the way.”

WOS will now move on to face Brookshire Royal (1-8) in the bidistrict round of the playoffs Thursday at 7 p.m. at Baytown’s Stallworth Stadium.

The last time WOS played Royal was in 2010 and the Mustangs fell 24-21 in the area round.

“I remember that one well,” said Thompson. “That was a tough pill to swallow. Two different teams this time around. We’ve just got to get after it in practice and not take any days off. We’ve played eight straight solid quarters of football and we’ve got to continue to match that. I thought our intensity has been great of late.”

The Bobcats will represent 12-4A as the third-place team and will take on 11-4A runner-up Bellville in the bidistrict round. It will be the fifth straight playoff trip for the Bobcats and Coach Josh Smalley.

Mustang back Kavyn Cooper rushed for 81 yards on six carries in the first 24 minutes and scored three touchdowns and fellow back Justin Sibley had 51 yards on seven totes. Sibley wound up with 76 yards on nine carries. Renaldo Rose had 56 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

WOS quarterback Chaka Watson completed 7 of 7 passes in the half for 128 yards and finished 8 for 8 for 133 yards.  Receivers Blake Robinson and Deondre Hawthorne combined for five catches for 92 yards in the first half. Receiver/defensive back Jarron Morris caught a touchdown pass and brought back an interception for another.

HUFF. HARGRAVE 21, BRIDGE CITY 7

BRIDGE CITY — Despite both teams having tough seasons, both the Bridge City Cardinals and Huffman Hargrave Falcons had a shot at the fourth-place playoff berth out of District 10-4A Division I Friday night at Ward Stadium.

It will be the Falcons that squeeze into the final spot as they downed the Cardinals 21-7. Bridge City finishes 1-7 overall and 1-4 in 10-4A play.

The win pushes the Falcons (4-4, 2-3) into a battle with Class 4A No. 1 and defending state 4A Division I champion Carthage in the bi-district round next week.

The Falcons’ defense came up with big turnovers in the win and held the Cardinals’ offense scoreless in second half.

Hargrave’s offense moved the ball well in the first quarter, scoring the only touchdown with a pass from quarterback Justin Shively to wide receiver Noah Thomas.

A few drives later, Bridge City’s offense begun moving the ball before quarterback Caleb Dubois threw an interception to Huffman’s defense back Devin Higgins.

“We had some turnovers in some crucial spots and it changed the momentum of the game”, said Cardinals head coach Dwayne Dubois. “You can’t have turnovers like this and still expect to win the game.”

The Falcons’ defense picked up four Cardinal turnovers, two interceptions and a pair of fumbles while the Cardinals were able to force two Huffman turnovers.