Ram Tracker: A Look at MW Football Stats and Video Highlights
By Amy Bearden
Graham Downs the Rams In Second Loss of the Season
Each Week Mineral Wells Area News Will Look at Previous Game Stats and Video Highlights
The Mineral Wells Rams had their second loss of the season last week against Graham who ran over the Rams with a final score of 59-14.
Despite the numbers on the scoreboard at the end of the night, the Rams improved in one key area that has been troublesome in previous weeks; the passing game. The Rams have not thrown the ball much this season, but against Graham they put the ball in the air more than ever.
“We were able to open up our passing game some and hit some balls down the field,” said Head Coach Seth Hobbs. “We have improved throwing the ball in practice and that has led to more confidence in throwing it in the game.”
The highlight of the game was a huge throw by QB Mason Facteau who connected with Preztynn Harrison for a 75 yard touchdown pass to put the Rams on the board.
Despite a few good connects, Hobbs told MWAN they have had too many instances of dropping the ball and have to get better at completions. He said their focus at practice this week has been to improve in that area as well as just focusing on themselves, and not what the other team is doing.
“We are going to focus solely on improving our own team this week and take the focus off the opponent. It’s time to stop trying to be like another school just because they’ve been successful. Instead, we will focus this week in taking ownership of ourselves. We want to be the best 2022 MWHS Football team we can be. No more worrying about old records or anything like that. We are going to own today and make the most out of every opportunity we have to practice and get better,” stated Hobbs.
Offense Against Graham
“The offensive execution early in the game was not what we needed to keep the game close to start. Once we got in a hole, the momentum was tough to overcome and we were in an uphill battle the whole game,” Hobbs lamented. “We lost a lot of battles at the point of attack; especially when we were trying to run the ball. When you don’t win at the line of scrimmage, it makes it hard to be successful down the field.”
Head Coach Seth Hobbs
The Rams had a total of 262 yards on offense but for the first time this season, more than half came from the passing game. They ran the ball for 122 yards and the rest were in the air.
Leading the Rams on Offense this week was Jose Garcia who rushed 13 times for a total of 37 yards. Garcia has more than 1000 yards on the season. DJ Simpson ran the ball twice for 26 yards. One was over 20 yards and into the end zone for a touchdown. (The video below shows the touchdown.) Treyvon Berkins moved the ball 37 yards for the Rams in six carries. Fabian Martinez ran 4 times for 14 yards. Kayden Montalvo had 4 yards in three carries and QB Mason Facteau had 14 yards in 3 runs. Facteau completed 5 of thirteen passes for 140 yards, which is by far his biggest passing numbers in a game this season. Back up QB Owen Gadd threw the ball 3 times but did not have any completions. Preztynn Harrison had four receptions for 134 yards with one touch down. Kadin Villa attempted 4 catches and completed one for 6 yards.
Defense Against Graham
“Defensively, we did not fit the inside running game effectively. That pulled our outside linebackers closer to the box, and made the windows bigger for Graham’s passing attack.”
Coach Seth Hobbs
Blake Blue dominated on the defensive side, and despite having a thumbnail ripped off early in the game, he managed 14 tackles. He was followed by Adrien Allen who made 11 tackles. Braden Ethridge continued to be a force on defense with 8 tackles. Jonathan Hammer added 6 to the total, five which were unassisted. Fabian Martinez, PR Mendez and Kayden Montalvo each added four tackles.
Players of the Week
Players of the Week are named by the coaching staff. In the Graham match up, Offensive Player of the Week with a 75 yard reception was Preztynn Harrison. Defensive Player of the Week was Blake Blue and the Special Teams Player of the Week was Brandon Gray. The Church of God also recognizes outstanding players and this week they nominated two players. Awards went to PR Mendez for his defensive contributions and Preztynn Harrison for his huge receiving game.
Need to Know Information
The Rams play this week at home against Gatesville. The Word of the Week emphasized at practice has been OWNERSHIP. “We gotta own our good and the bad and be the best version of ourselves and quit trying to be like others.”
Injury Report: Wilcox and Butler still out indefinitely. This week Hinojosa is out with a back injury and Ellis is down with a shoulder problem. Jovan Ramirez has still not been fully released but did practice some this week with a possible return soon.
