football keepsake 2015

A supplement of the Mineral Wells Index

2015KEEPSAKE

TEAMTOWNDREAM

SEASON REVIEWWeek 1 vs. Bridgeport ......................................8

Week 2 vs. Joshua ......................................10Week 3 at Joshua ....................................12

Week 4 at Iowa Park .............................14Week 5 at Godley ...............................16Week 6 vs. Hirschi .............................18Week 7 at Decatur ...........................23Week 8 vs. Graham ........................24Week 9 at Burkburnett .....................26Week 10 vs. Gainesville ..................28Week 11 vs. Snyder........................30Week 12 vs. Pampa ........................32Week 13 vs. Brownwood ................34

3Mineral Wells index • a season To reMeMber • sunday, deceMber 20, 2015

Team pride, town prideIf you followed the 2015 Mineral Wells Rams football team, you

saw things no one else has seen. Ever.That is because they did something no Rams (or

Mountaineers) team has ever done – win two playoff games in the same season and advance to the third round. The Rams this season equaled the school’s number of post-season wins – in its entire football-playing history.

We were witnesses to that history and it was a wonderful ride. Yes, we wished the wagon could have kept rolling. Perhaps if that game against Brownwood was played on a different day – well, although it is the Christmas season, we won’t wish for ifs and buts with our candies and nuts.

Instead, we join the entire community and Rams fans everywhere in congratulating these coaches and play-ers, trainers and staff on a tremendous season that ended with an outstanding 10-3 record and bi-district and area championships.

Better than all of that was how the community bought in and backed this team, filling the west side of Ram Stadium and traveling in large numbers for road games, where the visitors stands in Godley, Decatur, Lubbock and twice in Abilene were full of red-and-black-clad Rams fans cheering and rattling containers full of what-ever would fit inside them to make noise. Fans painted business windows, streamers were placed on light poles and young and old lined up along city streets to waive the young men off en route their playoff games.

No, this was not anything we had seen before. This was not the same Mineral Wells. There was never any quit nor give up. This is a new day, and perhaps a group of young men have shown an entire community what it means to keep fighting, to keep pushing and trying, what it means to support and back each other, and what can be achieved when you work hard and give it your all.

So thanks, Rams, for a wonderful season, for taking us along and leaving us with a lifetime of memories. You have made us proud to say, “We Are Mineral Wells.” We look forward to what you do next.

One team. One town. One dream.

Mineral Wells Rams – 2015 District 4-4A-DIBi-District and Area Champs

Look for photos from the season in our SmugMug galleries at

photos.mineralwellsindex.com/events

Season Stats36pg

pg

A season for the history books4

4sunday, deceMber 20, 2015 • a season To reMeMber • Mineral Wells index

Sports Editor and Voice of the Rams Clint Foster remembers...

A season for the history booksSports Editor and Voice of the Rams Clint Foster remembers...

By CLINT [email protected]

The 2015 season was one for the ages for the Mineral Wells Rams.

After an offseason shrouded in tur-moil, the Rams rallied together, shocking everyone but themselves and uniting a community that has thirsted far too long for a champion to rally behind.

Although I fully believed that these Rams were capable of a second-place finish in District 4-4A-DI – and predict-ed such in my preview magazine – I’d be lying if I said I was certain they would after everything that happened.

The fact of the matter turned out to be, these Rams, by all rights, should not have only been district champions, they easily could have finished the reg-ular season 10-0.

In just the second year under head coach Gerald Perry and his staff, Mineral Wells went from 5-5 to 10-3, altering perceptions and settling old scores along the way. The Rams made it as far as the third round of the playoffs, giving them claim to half of the postseason victories in school his-tory – a 27-22 win over Snyder that was the first postseason victory since 1985 and first bi-district champion-ship since 1928 and a 41-20 win over Pampa, the first area championship in Mineral Wells history.

But to fully appreciate this Mineral Wells football season and how spe-cial it was, we must reflect on it one week at a time, and the only proper way to do so is to go all the way back to the beginning.

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES

Charles Dickens’ famous words have perhaps ne’er seemed more apropos with regards to Mineral Wells football than in June of 2015.

The Rams were overflowing with potential, highlighted by a tremen-

dous junior class, and seemed des-tined for a special season as the countdown to August ticked away. But disaster struck.

Nine players – each of which ended up starting and making valuable impacts during the season – made the controversial decision to temporarily turn in their gear over the direction of the quarterback competition.

What followed was a firestorm of debate within the community and a dark cloud of uncertainty about the immediate future of the program as the news spread to national outlets.

The seven days of protest felt like an eternity, but in just a week’s time fences began to mend as each of the players returned to the fold under the promise that the quarterback competition would reopen with offensive coordinator Chris Olson in charge of the decision.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, Olson was about to make a somewhat uncon-ventional decision that would alter the course of the season.

FINDING THEIR FEET – THE NON-DISTRICT SCHEDULE

In a wise move, Olson’s decision in the quarterback competition was to simply not make a decision at all. Both juniors, Trent Guinn and Tristan Perry, would alternate series, bringing both their skill sets to the table.

The decision initially had its detrac-tors, and I have to admit I was a skep-tic at first myself.

“Rotate quarterbacks?” I thought. “If it didn’t work for Tom Landry, just how is it going to work in Mineral Wells?”

I’ll be the first to tell you my reserva-tions were unfounded.

The perks to the two-quarterback system with two capable leaders showed fruit right away in a befud-dling loss to Bridgeport in the season opener at Ram Stadium.

While Guinn had a solid day throw-ing and running the football, it was Perry who found the endzone for a school-record six times. Perhaps the most brilliant came in the first overtime, when Perry hit none other than Guinn on a 7-yard touchdown pass to keep the game alive. Both quarterbacks rushed to meet each other in the endzone for a cel-ebratory side bump. A happy realization

followed: this team’s going to be OK. They’ve got each other’s backs.

A packed house at Ram Stadium suc-cumbed to stunned silence in the sec-ond overtime period when a missed extra point served as the deflating fina-le to a thrilling 42-41 game that was as thrilling to broadcast as it was confus-ing to determine exactly what hap-pened in the final seconds.

Newly minted senior kicker Zach Gray lined up for the extra-point, hav-ing gone 5-for-5 on the night so far. But something went awry. Star running back Johnny Morales came rushing

onto the field as the Rams' 11th man. Seemingly in an instant, a whistle blew, the ball was snapped as Morales pulled up to the line and the kick fluttered lifelessly to the right of the uprights as penalty flags careened through the air.

Come to find out the call was illegal motion, a decline-able foul that allowed Bridgeport to escape with the victory. After coming so close to victo-ry, the Rams would make sure from then on that losses in 2015 would be few and far between.

The Rams went on to win their remaining four non-district games by comfortable margins.

Guinn had his coming-out party against Joshua in Week 2, leading a zone-read attack with seven carries for 102 yards and two scores and complet-ing 6-of-7 passes for 89 yards and a score in a 35-17 win. The victory was also the first of nine 100-yard rushing games for Morales, who also scored two touchdowns.

The following week, Mineral Wells looked truly dominant for the first time in a 41-26 win at Glen Rose – a final which the Tigers made appear more respectable after a fourth-quarter surge. For a rivalry game that already had a touch of revenge to it, the win felt extra special after the Rams got some extra motivation from the Glen Rose Reporter newspaper.

“Line play is not a strength of the young team,” the paper declared in its preview of the Rams. “Mineral Wells will keep things interesting for the first half … but the Tigers' big fellas upfront will eventually wear down the younger Rams' line. The game has potential to turn into a one-sided affair.”

Mineral Wells, and the Rams’ offen-sive linemen in particular, didn’t take too kindly to the remarks. The sarcastic rallying cry of Mineral Wells offensive line – featuring four senior starters – was to the tunes of “young and inexpe-rienced” and “the O-line stinks.” In the end, they proved their point.

The offensive line continued to shine in the next of a three-game road trip against Iowa Park. The Rams and their rushing attack beat the Hawks into submission after surviving an early offensive onslaught to win going away, 42-27. Guinn and Morales could not be stopped, combining for almost 300 yards and four touchdowns.

DAVID MAY/INDEX

The Mineral Wells Rams, a team once divided over the quarterback posi-tion, found new unity and success through the friendship and shared talents of juniors Trent Guinn (8) and Tristan Perry (9) and the decision by offensive coordinator Chris Olson to give them both the keys to the offense.

Clint Foster



onto the field as the Rams' 11th man. Seemingly in an instant, a whistle blew, the ball was snapped as Morales pulled up to the line and the kick fluttered lifelessly to the right of the uprights as penalty flags careened through the air.

Come to find out the call was illegal motion, a decline-able foul that allowed Bridgeport to escape with the victory. After coming so close to victo-ry, the Rams would make sure from then on that losses in 2015 would be few and far between.

The Rams went on to win their remaining four non-district games by comfortable margins.

Guinn had his coming-out party against Joshua in Week 2, leading a zone-read attack with seven carries for 102 yards and two scores and complet-ing 6-of-7 passes for 89 yards and a score in a 35-17 win. The victory was also the first of nine 100-yard rushing games for Morales, who also scored two touchdowns.

The following week, Mineral Wells looked truly dominant for the first time in a 41-26 win at Glen Rose – a final which the Tigers made appear more respectable after a fourth-quarter surge. For a rivalry game that already had a touch of revenge to it, the win felt extra special after the Rams got some extra motivation from the Glen Rose Reporter newspaper.

“Line play is not a strength of the young team,” the paper declared in its preview of the Rams. “Mineral Wells will keep things interesting for the first half … but the Tigers' big fellas upfront will eventually wear down the younger Rams' line. The game has potential to turn into a one-sided affair.”

Mineral Wells, and the Rams’ offen-sive linemen in particular, didn’t take too kindly to the remarks. The sarcastic rallying cry of Mineral Wells offensive line – featuring four senior starters – was to the tunes of “young and inexpe-rienced” and “the O-line stinks.” In the end, they proved their point.

The offensive line continued to shine in the next of a three-game road trip against Iowa Park. The Rams and their rushing attack beat the Hawks into submission after surviving an early offensive onslaught to win going away, 42-27. Guinn and Morales could not be stopped, combining for almost 300 yards and four touchdowns.

The non-district schedule culminated in a 54-7 stomping of Godley – whose student body hung some less-than-flat-tering signs about Mineral Wells that drew the ire of Rams fans. Personally, having to broadcast outside, under the PA system behind a student section fond of what I can only describe as powder bombs, after being assured of a spot in the press box, I, too, took some extra satisfaction in the drubbing.

Seth Hobbs’ already stout defense was flawless in the win, as Godley’s only touchdown came on an intercep-tion return. The Rams lived in Godley’s backfield, wrestling down quarterback Kaid Dalton nine times behind the line of scrimmage and holding the Wildcats’ vaunted rushing attack to negative 4 yards.

The Rams had captured their first 4-1 start since 2006, but the best was yet to come.

SOMETHING TO PROVE – THE DISTRICT SCHEDULE

The District 4-4A-DI schedule began much as it did last year, with a win over Wichita Falls Hirschi. Only this time, the Rams’ victory was far more demonstrative.

Mineral Wells demolished the Huskies behind 162 yards and four touchdowns from the human wrecking ball Morales. The win also marked the sixth straight game with a touchdown by senior receiver Douglas Stevens – he would score in every game this season but two – and a breakout night for sophomore receiver Carlos Gray, who scored twice on three catches.

Heading into a game with rival Decatur – a team the Rams had the opportunity to beat last year – Mineral Wells had the opportunity to take the district title race by the horns. Sadly, it seemed the Rams simply weren’t ready for the spotlight yet.

A five-game winning streak came to an end in Decatur, 20-12, on a chilly Friday night – one I was not appropri-ately dressed for to be broadcasting on the press box roof with swirling winds. The Rams had countless chances to take control of the game and win, but could never cash in.

Mineral Wells’ defense was thorough-

ly impressive in the loss, holding firm with their backs against the wall time after time and continually keeping the game alive. Frustratingly, the offense’s biggest struggles came in the red zone.

One possession in particular – which might have changed the complexion of the game had instant replay been avail-able – saw Gray dive for the endzone after an impressive run-after-the-catch only to have the ball snatched from his grasp, seemingly after he had already crossed the plane. Regardless of what truly happened, a fumble was called and Decatur used the momentum to travel 99 yards and ultimately ice the game in the third quarter.

Even so, the Rams continued to have opportunities on offense, but failed to convert. The game truly had the feeling of one that got away, perhaps even more so than the Bridgeport loss and left a sour taste in the mouth of every player, coach and fan.

Coach Perry questioned when his

team would be ready to handle high-pressure games. He wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.

What came next was my personal favorite game of a historic season and eas-ily the most exhilarating broadcast I’ve ever been a part of. There’s so much about that night I will simply never forget.

The dreaded Graham Steers were in town, a team Mineral Wells had not beaten in 27 years – or even come close to beating in three. A highly-anticipat-ed game would have to wait as buckets of rain and lightning filled the skies and delayed kickoff two hours – also turning the press box windows into an oversized fog shower door, adding con-siderable difficulty to the broadcast.

When things finally got going, the first half was fun to be sure, but noth-ing spectacular for the Rams. The defense looked outstanding, but the offense largely struggled, leading to a 12-3 halftime lead for the Steers.

That’s when things got really interesting.

DAVID MAY/INDEX

A long-awaited victory over arch-rival Graham in a torrential downpour pro-vided the seminal moment of a regular season that won’t soon be forgotten.



Mineral Wells legend and Super Bowl champion Alvin Garrett had agreed to join me on air for a halftime interview after presenting a commemorative gold-en football to the school that night. Alvin is a joy to talk to and it was a wel-come addition to our halftime show to have him reminisce – both on and off the broadcast – about his time in the NFL and share lessons he’s learned.

At one point on air, we were talk-ing about the game – the first Rams game Alvin had been able to attend since his graduation – when Alvin made a bold prediction.

“The Rams are going to come back and win this game,” he declared. “You just watch.”

My partners and I kind of laughed him off. OK, Alvin. It’s kind of like how Lou Holtz would pick Notre Dame to win even if they were winless and play-ing the ’85 Chicago Bears, right?

Well, whether Alvin is related to Nostradamus or he’s just one heck of a good luck charm, he turned out to be right!

After all, if you’re reading this, you almost certainly know the rest. The Rams rallied from 18 down to beat the Steers, 31-27, and effectively turn the page on a new chapter in Mineral Wells history.

The final plays are etched in the mind of every Rams fan.

After scoring to go ahead, 27-24, with 1:08 left, Graham practically giftwrapped a program-defining moment for the Rams on a flubbed onsides kick to give Mineral Wells the ball at the Steers’ 42-yard line. With steady rain falling once again and the scoreboard no longer working, Trent Guinn scrambled 27-yards on the first play before finding Jordan Duckett for the 15-yard game-winner.

With an undetermined amount of sec-onds remaining, Graham threw for two first downs in their own comeback attempt before Cameron Weiss snagged his second interception of the night to secure the ball game and wash away the mire of a quarter century of suffering.

In the final two weeks, Guinn shined, having taken sole possession of

the starting role after Perry broke two fingers on his non-throwing hand.

Under Guinn’s command, the Rams survived a 29-21 Thursday night game in Burkburnett – a dogfight in the tru-est since of the word – and capped off an 8-2 regular season with a 44-6 drub-bing of Gainesville in Ram Stadium. Against the Leopards, Guinn was an eyelash shy of perfect, with 244 yards and four touchdowns on 22-of-23 pass-ing and three carries for 45 yards, all with a stinger in his back.

But perhaps even more memorable than Guinn’s gallant performance that night was the scene that unfolded immediately after the game. After com-ing out on the wrong end of a three-way tie for third, fourth and fifth place last year because of point differential, the Rams again found themselves hav-ing to scoreboard watch to find out their playoff fate. This time, Mineral Wells was guaranteed a spot in the postseason, it was a matter of whom they would play in the first round:

Snyder or Brownwood.Coaches huddled around phones to

listen to updates from the Graham/Decatur game and their rooting inter-ests changed on a dime depending on the situation. If Graham won by two touchdowns – which they had most of the game – the Rams would have a share of the district title, a No. 2 seed and a first-round date with Snyder. If Decatur won, the Rams would finish second in district, again assuring them-selves a game against Snyder. However, if Graham won by less than two touchdowns, the Rams would, again, have a share of the district title, but it would feel rather hollow with a No. 3 playoff seed and a game against top-10 Brownwood.

Late in the game, Graham led by one touchdown – the worst possible scenar-io. But Rams coaches were overjoyed when the Eagles scored to make it 42-41 and later got an interception to seal the deal.

As Olson put it, “I’ve never been so


Sports Editor and Voice of the Rams Clint Foster remembers... Sports Editor and Voice of the Rams Clint Foster remembers...

Snyder or Brownwood.Coaches huddled around phones to

listen to updates from the Graham/Decatur game and their rooting inter-ests changed on a dime depending on the situation. If Graham won by two touchdowns – which they had most of the game – the Rams would have a share of the district title, a No. 2 seed and a first-round date with Snyder. If Decatur won, the Rams would finish second in district, again assuring them-selves a game against Snyder. However, if Graham won by less than two touchdowns, the Rams would, again, have a share of the district title, but it would feel rather hollow with a No. 3 playoff seed and a game against top-10 Brownwood.

Late in the game, Graham led by one touchdown – the worst possible scenar-io. But Rams coaches were overjoyed when the Eagles scored to make it 42-41 and later got an interception to seal the deal.

As Olson put it, “I’ve never been so

happy to lose a district championship.”Far from losers, the table was set for

the Rams with the opportunity to do something truly special.

RAMS, MEET HISTORY – THE PLAYOFFS

For the first time since 2011, the Rams were in the playoffs. The community was already abuzz, the town painted red and droves of fans lining the streets of Mineral Wells to bid the team buses farewell on game day – which would become a playoff tradition.

But in order to do something truly special, the Rams had to go through the Snyder Tigers – a third-place team from an outstanding District 3-4A-DI. In the historic confines of Abilene’s Shotwell Stadium, Mineral Wells football added a significant page to its own history.

Guinn answered an opening-drive Snyder score with three straight touch-down passes and the Rams appeared to be in complete control. The tide began to turn when Snyder found its way into the endzone on a fourth-down pass right before halftime to bring the score to 21-12.

The second half was all about run-ning and defense – both of which would ultimately win the day for the Rams. As the Tigers gradually clawed to within five points, the Rams looked to its power back to bleed the clock.

Johnny Morales answered the call – finishing the game with 23 carries for 116 yards – and helped tick 4:38 off the fourth-quarter clock before Tristan Perry pinned Snyder deep with an outstand-ing punt that hung in the air for eight seconds to leave Snyder with just eight seconds on the clock to try for a miracle.

With time for two plays, Snyder quarterback Logan Tate dropped back to pass when he was almost immedi-ately pulverized by a free-running Stefan Sandoval, who forced an incom-plete pass. On the final play, Snyder tried for a hook-and-ladder, but fum-bled instead. As senior defensive tackle David Garcia dove onto the loose pig-skin to secure the 2015 Rams’ place in school history, the Black and Red side-line and a packed home side of Shotwell erupted.

The Rams had finally done it. For the first time since 1985, Mineral Wells had won a postseason football game – their

first bi-district championship since 1928. The scene of celebration on the field when the Rams players finally took hold of that trophy was a memo-rable one to say the least.

But the Rams weren’t done.Mineral Wells was bound for

Lubbock to play their second-round game against Pampa on the big stage of Texas Tech’s Jones AT&T Stadium – the turf of which many Rams likely grew up only dreaming they might play on some day. With the Jumbotron running and the Rams clad in all black, Mineral Wells looked right at home.

Each member of Rams Nation that made the long trip was in for a treat.

While Rams fans got their pick of the litter of the best seats in the house, I was perched high above the field level on the top floor of the press box, where Tech officials warned me I would need binoculars – they weren’t kidding.

Our radio suite, complete with auto-matic windows, a TV for replays and live in-game stats delivered from media relations was certainly a far cry from the roof at Decatur or the Godley stu-dent section. Lubbock’s flat surround-ings filled with twinkling lights both provided a picturesque setting and gave new meaning to the Bob Wills song “Miles and Miles of Texas.”

From the stadium, to the amenities and the stakes, it was the result on the field delivered by a Rams team bent on making school history that made that night one I – nor likely anyone else in attendance – will ever forget.

From the opening whistle, the Rams played like a team possessed – pos-sessed with a single-minded determi-nation to achieve what their communi-ty has been starved for for far too many years. The game never felt in doubt.

The Rams took a 21-point lead out of the gate and never looked back. The Rams, again, leaned on Morales in the second half to close things out and when the offense wasn’t on the field, Kaine Carraway was busy slamming the door in Pampa’s face with back-to-back interceptions in the endzone.

The 41-20 win felt almost perfect and when it came time to hoist another tro-phy, signaling the Rams’ first-ever trip to the third round in school history, an entire community gathered on the field around the “Double-T” could soak in a truly beautiful moment.

Even when Mineral Wells’ season ended the following week against a stout Brownwood squad – a game that still never felt out of reach despite mis-erable winter weather that grounded Mineral Wells’ pass-heavy offense – you couldn’t shake the good feelings about this team.

They accomplished so much, over-came so much and did it the way you’re supposed to – as a family. Week in and week out, the impression you got from that locker room was the most

important person to each kid was their brothers to their right and left. It’s that attitude that breeds champions.

It feels as though the days of football purgatory in Mineral Wells are long past, and if you thought this year was fun, just wait until next year. Countless key play-makers return for their seniors seasons with many more promising youngsters rising in the ranks. These Rams are hun-gry and they’re here to stay.

Strap yourselves in, folks. Only eight months until August.

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Seniors like Richard Munoz, Tristan Seargeant and Douglas Stevens have left a legacy in Mineral Wells that will live on forever. The juniors that will take their place next year could have even bigger things ahead.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 1 vs. BRIDGEPORT

Rams lose opener in shootout, 42-41By CLINT [email protected]

Shock. Stunned silence. Heartbreak.A tidal wave of emotions eclipsed the

Mineral Wells sideline and a packed house at Ram Stadium Friday night when the Mineral Wells Rams’ 2015 wild season opener – yet another instant classic in the ever-thrilling series with the Bridgeport Bulls – ended in perhaps the most bizarre, gut-wrenching way imaginable.

Perhaps never before had the oft-over-looked extra point seemed so crucial.

After a back-and-forth game with five ties, Mineral Wells found itself in the bot-tom half of a second overtime period in need of seven points. Junior wide receiver Jordan Duckett supplied the first six on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Tristan Perry out of the gate. Then disaster struck.

Newly minted senior kicker Zach Gray

lined up for the extra-point, having gone 5-for-5 on the night so far. But something was awry. Star running back Johnny Morales came rushing onto the field as the Rams’ 11th man. Seemingly in an instant, a whistle blew, the ball was snapped as Morales pulled up to the line and the kick fluttered lifelessly to the right of the uprights as penalty flags careened through the air.

What was the call? A dead-ball false start? Illegal procedure? Illegal motion?

Confusion swirled like a whirlwind throughout Ram Stadium, when sudden-ly the Bulls and their fans erupted as the officials declared them victorious. 42-41. The Bulls got their revenge from last year’s 27-20 overtime win by Mineral Wells and Ram Nation began filing out of the stadium, struggling to allow what had just happened to sink in.

But what did happen on that fateful

Mineral Wells run-ning back Johnny Morales watches as junior receiver Jordan Duckett fights through a tackle attempt by Bridgeport's Efrain DeLuna during the epic, double-over-time battle between the Rams and Bulls in the season opener.

DAVID MAY/INDEX

extra-point attempt? Head coach Gerald Perry explained the Rams’ side.

“We’d had some cramping on the side-lines,” Perry said. “We were trying to sub-stitute and we had one that we knew was cramping and when he didn’t go out there, we weren’t prepared as a coaching staff to have his backup in there. We were running a guy out on the field – and I didn’t even see the kick – but it was basically illegal procedure and they declined it.

“You’re hearing whistles like it was dead before the snap, but they said the whistles were to start the clock, even though it was already going. I don’t know.

“Whether it’s the right call or not, that’s on us. Ultimately, it’s on me. We had too many situations where we didn’t have enough guys on our special teams. That’s discipline. It’s very frustrating that we allowed some of those things to happen. I’ll take responsibility for that and that will be fixed.”

Bridgeport head coach Danny Henson’s camp told the Index the penalty was illegal motion, as Morales was in the game but moving toward the line of scrimmage at the snap. As illegal motion is not a dead-ball foul, Bridgeport was able to decline the penalty and accept the win.

Regardless, it was an ending – while wild – that didn’t seem to befit the intense six periods of action that transpired between the Rams and Bulls Friday night. It was the kind of game that has typified the rivalry series between Mineral Wells and Bridgeport since 2006.

“I was talking to [Henson] and he said as far as he can remember, just about all of Mineral Wells’ games with Bridgeport have been overtime or seven-point games. He said he’s had enough of them,” Perry said with a bit of a laugh.

Mineral Wells’ home opener Friday with all its excitement was enough to put anybody in an early grave. From begin-ning to end, it had the feeling of a heavy-weight fight that would come down to the very last play.

With the exception of the ending, the feeling for any Mineral Wells fan had to be overwhelmingly positive.

After months of speculation, Mineral Wells ended up starting both its junior quarterbacks, Tristan Perry and Trent Guinn, who rotated series and both played outstanding. Perry in particular, hurled all six of Mineral Wells’ touchdown passes: three to Duckett, two to senior Douglas

Stevens and even one to fellow trigger man Guinn in the first overtime.

The game was chock full of superlative individual performances for the Rams. Junior defensive backs Cameron Weiss and Kaine Carraway both had intercep-tions. Mineral Wells’ linebackers and defensive linemen stepped up. The receiv-ing corps’ depth was on full display and running backs Morales and Tristan Seargeant ran strong.

“Everyone had flashes,” Perry said. “I praise both quarterbacks. Going into this thing, we had all the issues – the quarter-backs were never the issue. We had great quarterback play and both of them are special. Now you’ve got to figure out how you get both of them enough reps. Both those kids can win.”

However, for all the positives, what irked

Perry the most were the little mistakes.“Too many errors that cost us,” he said.

“We played well at times on both sides of the ball. But we had some mistakes and we’re not good enough to overcome those mistakes right now. We’ve never had that many problems with special teams.

“It was a heck of a football game. Someone’s got to win and someone’s got to lose. You don’t want to lose, but you can’t make those mistakes at critical times and we did.

“We got a little more winded than I thought we would. I’m concerned about the cramping. We didn’t have a single cramp until the last game last year and we had some already this year. I’ve got to evaluate what we’re doing in practic-es. Those things all fall back on me. We’ll get it right.”

Even so, Perry acknowledged that the ceiling looks incredibly high for this team after the way they played against Bridgeport. As heartbreaking as the loss was, at the end of the day, it’s just a non-district game and nothing more. Mineral

Wells proved Friday night it has the chops to be a very special team this year.

“We’ve got a dang good football team,” Perry said. “I’m proud of our kids. They fight and fight and fight and they don’t care how big the kid is across from them. The effort’s there. But we can’t make mistakes.”

NOTES• Gerald Perry seemingly had an

impressive moment of salesmanship with the officiating crew Friday night when the referees reversed what was initially called a fumble to an incomple-tion fairly long after the fact. Perry described the moment.

“Well, officials usually listen to me,” he said. “What I saw was the official on [Bridgeport’s] sideline came in waving his hands as incomplete. The back judge called it a fumble. Well, they didn’t com-municate – that was my thing. If you make a bad call, at least get together and talk. They did after I reminded them and they changed it.”


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 1 vs. BRIDGEPORT

B’port 7 0 7 14 7 7 –42M. Wells 7 7 7 7 7 6 –41

Scoring SummaryM–TristanPerry66passtoJordanDuckett(ZachGraykick)B–CorbinColeman53passtoColtenWaters(EfrainDeLunakick)M–Perry15passtoDouglasStevens(Graykick)B–Coleman4run(DeLunakick)M–Perry33passtoDuckett(Graykick)B–BrazierTalley12run(DeLunakick)B–EricStonechek18INTofPerry(DeLunakick)M–Perry7passtoStevens(Graykick)M–Perry7passtoTrentGuinn(Graykick)B–GraysonMathes1run(DeLunakick)B–Coleman12passtoKeenanHoldman(DeLunakick)M–Perry25passtoDuckett(kickfailed)

Mineral Wells Stats(unofficial)Rushing:150yardsPassing:25-for-35for300yardsInterceptions:3Fumbles:2

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Sophomore receiver Carlos Gray seeks yards after hauling in a catch against Bridgeport.


The Mineral Wells Rams shirked the disappointment of last week’s double-overtime loss to Bridgeport with a much-needed victory over the 5A Joshua Owls, but it didn’t come easily.

After jumping out to a command-ing 21-0 lead, Mineral Wells (1-1) fell victim to a miraculous 14-point surge by Joshua (0-2) in the final 30 seconds of the first half. The Owls made things uncomfortable for a while for the fans in attendance at Ram Stadium Friday night, but ulti-mately the team with only one win in the last two years couldn’t close the deal and the Rams cruised to a 35-17 win behind a dominant rush-

ing performance.“It was a little concerning in the

second quarter when they scored and then turned around and kicked the onside kick, recovered it and scored again,” head coach Gerald Perry recalled. “That was disheartening going into halftime. It was a big momentum shift. But the kids came back out, we made some stops when we had to and did some good things. Rushing yards were a lot better tonight. They put a lot of pressure on us with blitzing and we didn’t con-nect on a lot of long balls like we were hoping to do, but we made plays when we had to.”

With junior quarterback Tristan Perry’s record-breaking, six-touch-down performance against Bridgeport in the rearview mirror, Mineral Wells’

tale of two QBs continued against Joshua. In this chapter, it was all Trent Guinn.

The junior signal caller was in com-plete control of the offense during his designated series, consistently hurt-ing the Owls with both his legs and arm. He ran the zone read to perfec-tion and gave the Joshua defense fits when they had to concern themselves with defending against both him and junior running back Johnny Morales on the ground.

Guinn and Morales supplied the Rams’ first two scores on runs – the first an 8-yard read by Guinn and the second a Herschel Walker-esque

34-yarder in which Morales bull-dozed every defender in his path. Guinn stretched Mineral Wells’ lead to 21 in the second quarter when he found senior receiver Douglas Stevens in the corner of the end zone for a 15-yard score.

Then, with half a minute until half-time, the momentum flipped a com-plete 180.

When a surprise onside kick by the Rams was called back because of an offsides penalty, Mineral Wells opted to pooch kick into the wind. The ball stalled and gave Joshua out-standing field position and the Owls took advantage.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 2 vs. JOSHUA

Rams get first win in 35-17 defeat of Joshua

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Junior quarterback Trent Guinn and his legs were in complete control of the Mineral Wells offense against Joshua. He supplied two touchdowns on the ground and another through the air.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 2 vs. JOSHUA

The usually slow-paced, plodding Wing T offense of the Owls opted for a para-digm shift and took to the air. Quarterback Josh Kelso found Dakota Jones on a 26-yard scoring strike, then Joshua kicked it onside, recovered and with about 15 seconds tried to do it again.

As the clock struck zero, Kelso heaved the ball into double coverage around the 10. Junior safety Kaine Carraway elevated, seem-ingly snagging his second interception of the night. But out of nowhere came Jones again, who snatched the ball from Carraway’s grasp and trotted into the end zone untouched.

“Basically they just threw the ball up and made the catches,” Perry said. “You go into practice all week and you may only see three or four balls a day being thrown at you. Everything was geared to the run. But they made some adjust-ments and threw the ball a little bit. You’ve got to tip you hat to them for making some adjustments and put-

ting points on the board. No matter what they throw at you, you’ve got to play your fundamentals and what you’re coached to do. You’ve got to make plays out there.”

Joshua was first to score out of the locker room, as Raul Miranda nailed a 28-yard kick to make the score 21-17, but the rally ended there.

On Guinn’s next position, he broke the defense wide open housing yet another zone read from 71 yards out. All-State cornerback and holder Cameron Weiss added two points on an impromptu rush when the ensuing extra-point attempt went awry.

Morales then provided

the exclamation point in the fourth quarter with an 11-yard ramble to pay dirt.

Morales led the Rams with 143 yards on 20 carries for a 7.15 yards-per-carry average. Guinn added 97 rushing yards on eight attempts and 77 yards on 4-of-6 passing.

“[Guinn] played well,” Perry said. “The way they play their defense, the

threat of a quarterback run was big. He maximized his opportunities and had some nice balls as well. We’ve said all along, both quarter-backs can win. Rotating them like this, one of them’s going to get hot. It just is what it is.

“Johnny ran a lot better,” Perry continued. “The line played well. Our pass pro-tection is getting much,

much better. We’ve still got to hit some of those deep balls, too, to open the offense up. Carlos [Gray] played well, made some big catches for us.”

Joshua’s 250-pound full-back Nathaniel Rutherford led the Owls’ rushing attack with 25 carries for 113 yards. Mineral Wells’ undersized defense bent, but rarely broke, as the group forced four turn-overs including intercep-tions by Caraway and David Howeth.

“We’ve just got to keep getting better,” he said. “Our schedule’s just going to get tougher from here on out. We’ve got some good opponents coming up and we can’t let them have 14-point swings like we did tonight. We played a lot of kids tonight and that helps us build depth. We should be pretty healthy coming out of this. We’ve just got to keep getting better.”

NOTES• Both Mineral Wells

quarterbacks missed a num-ber of wide open receivers on the night. Junior receiver Jordan Duckett in particular was all alone or in single coverage on numerous occa-sions, but was frequently overthrown save one catch for 35 yards. Sophomore Carlos Gray led the receiv-ing corps in catches with three grabs for 34 yards.

• The Mineral Wells front seven deserves a lot of cred-it for preventing any rush-ing scores by the run-heavy Joshua offense. Altogether, the Owls racked up 191 yards on the ground, but Mineral Wells’ defenders did a good job of swarming to the football, gang tack-ling and limiting big plays. Two fumble recoveries for this group was the icing on the cake.

Josh 0 14 3 0 – 17MW 14 7 8 6 – 35

Scoring SummaryM–TrentGuinn8run(ZachGraykick)M–JohnnyMorales34run(Graykick)M–Guinn15passtoDouglasStevensJ–JoshKelso26passtoDakotaJones(RaulMirandakick)J–Kelso49passtoJones(Mirandakick)J–Miranda28fieldgoalM–Guinn71run(CameronWeiss3runfor2pt)M–Morales11run(kickfailed)

MW Team Stats Josh 16 FirstDowns 13 243 RushingYds 191 90 PassingYds 133 6-16 Comp-Att 4-15 0 INT 2 0 LostFumbles 2

Individual StatsPassing:MW–TrentGuinn4-6,77yds,TD;TristanPerry2-10,13yds.Joshua–JoshKelso4-15,133yds,2TD,2INT.Rushing:MW–JohnnyMorales20-143,2TD;TrentGuinn8-97,2TD;TristanSeargeant1-8;CameronWeiss1-3;MatthewLawhon1-(-1);TristanPerry3-(-3);JordanDuckett1-(-4);TyrelHulin1-0.Josh–NathanielRutherford25-113;HaydenChittum16-65;HunterSchneck7-9;BradleyReid1-3;JoshKelso1-1.Receiving:MW–JordanDuckett1-35;CarlosGray3-34;DouglasStevens1-15,TD;DomingoTamez1-6.Josh–DakotaJones2-75,2TD;JeremiahBiggs1-38;HaydenChittum1-20.

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Junior safety Kaine Carraway skies for an interception of a pass intended for Jeremiah Biggs on Joshua’s opening drive of the game.

NEXTTheRamsinWeek3hittheroadforthefirsttimein2015totakeonthe2-0GlenRoseTigers.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 3 at JOSHUA

Rams race past Glen Rose, 41-26By CLINT [email protected]

GLEN ROSE – Mineral Wells marched into the Tigers’ lair Friday night, but they were anything but lambs to the slaughter. Oh no. This time, it was the Rams that were hungry. And did they ever eat.

The Mineral Wells Rams (2-1) began a three-game, non-district road trip Friday against 24th-ranked Glen Rose of Class 3A and dominated their southern rivals in every phase of the game, holding off a late Tigers rally for a 41-26 victory – thus breaking a three-game losing streak in the series.

Head coach Gerald Perry said he told his club before the game there’s very little Mineral Wells has that Glen Rose doesn’t, but that hunger and need to win is the one thing that separates them.

“We talked to our kids about being hungry,” Perry said. “They’re a winning program and we haven’t been. But the one thing we have that they don’t is we’re hungry. Use that to your advantage and be hungry for success.”

As if the cross-classification rivalry in itself wasn’t enough to get the Rams fired up, they got some added motivation from an unlikely source: the Glen Rose Reporter newspaper.

“Line play is not a strength of the young team,” the paper declared in its preview of the Rams. “Mineral Wells will keep things interesting for the first half … but the Tigers’ big fellas up front will eventually wear down the younger Rams’ line. The game has potential to turn into a one-sided affair.”

Mineral Wells, and the Rams’ offensive linemen in particular, didn’t take too kindly to the remarks. The sarcastic rallying cry of Mineral Wells offensive line – featuring four senior starters – was to the tunes of “young and inexperienced” and “the O-line stinks.” In the end, they proved their point.

“The Glen Rose paper went ahead and said some-thing about that my O-line was a weak link,” offen-sive coordinator Chris Olson said with a wry smile. “Really not a lot of motivation needed toward the end there. They were begging me to go in there and finish the game off. They did a fantastic job.

“Coach [Sean] Harvey does wonders with the O-line. They made great adjustments, gave us enough time to get those passes off and that was the difference in the game.”

“We talked about that all week and all game long,” Perry added of the article. “I thought the O-line and d-line did a tremendous job.”

The game began with a bang for Mineral Wells. After each offense took a series to feel its opponent out, junior quarterback Trent Guinn tossed a 96-yard bomb to Jordan Duckett, who streaked into the end

zone untouched to give the Rams a 7-0 lead.After a quick defensive stop, junior quarterback

Tristan Perry took control of the offense and pound-ed his way into the end zone for a 2-yard score to make it 14-0.

A 4-yard touchdown run by Glen Rose quarter-back Ethan Hartman was just about the only bright spot for the Tigers in the first half as Guinn answered with a second touchdown pass to senior Douglas Stevens to give Mineral Wells a 21-6 lead and allow the defense to take over until halftime.

Defensive coordinator Seth Hobbs’ bunch execut-ed their game plan to perfection, keeping everything in front of them, apparently unfazed by Glen Rose’s countless formations, motions and fake handoffs. The defense’s effort was the epitome of the “bend but don’t break adage,” typified by a 17-play drive to end the first half in which the Rams not only kept Glen Rose out of the end zone, but forced a turnover on downs.

“That’s exactly what our plan was going in,” Hobbs said. “We wanted to make sure we were solid against the run, and when you do that, you see the ball thrown 5 yards outside time after time. We just had to keep them in front of us, especially once the offense got the lead.

“Everybody did their job. I’m very proud of our defensive coaching staff. Those guys do an absolute-ly outstanding job. I can’t say enough about coach [Neil] Mesler, coach [Kelly] Wilson, coach [Matt] Williams and coach [Bret] Barrick. Everybody does exactly what they’re supposed to do and our kids are prepared. Especially against somebody that runs as many different things as Glen Rose. I couldn’t do it without those guys.”

Hobbs was especially pleased with his defense’s physicality, as plenty of players like junior lineback-er Stefan Sandoval and junior safety Derek King came away with authoritative big hits on the night and Sandoval, Tristan Seargeant, Richard Muñoz and James Gonzales all had sacks. It’s proof that a defense full of new starters is really starting to come into its own.

“That’s what we preach everyday,” Hobbs said of the physicality. “Part of what we practice every Monday is just a one-on-one drill where they just line up across from one another and kick each oth-er’s butt. That’s starting to show up, especially in some of those skill positions. Now they’re starting to get the strength to go along with the mentality.”

Mineral Wells came out firing in the second half as Perry connected on his own long touchdown

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Mineral Wells linebackers Jackie Dooley (20) and Stefon Sandoval (2) take down a Glen Rose ballcarri-er in the Rams' 41-26 road win over the Tigers.

pass, this one a 67-yarder to Stevens. In a game full of outstanding per-

formances, Stevens was a constant go-to guy. The Allen move in led the Rams with six catches for 143 yards and two scores and was an excellent safety valve on in the flat. With the ball in his hands in open space, he continually made noise.

“He did a phenomenal job,” Olson said of Stevens. “He’s a perfect com-pliment to Jordan Duckett on the other side. You’re kind of danged if you do, danged if you don’t. You can either double him and let Johnny [Morales] run up the middle, or you can single cover him and let him make plays. It was his turn tonight, and he made the most of his opportunities.”

“He’s a great kid first of all,” coach Perry added. “He’s very smart and understands football. They have to decide, are they going to bump and run with us or are they going to back off. Trent did a good job a couple of times pulling on inside zones and hit-ting those little hitches when the cor-ner backs off. Quarterbacks do a great job of reading the field.”

After another Hartman rushing score, Mineral Wells kept the Tigers at arm’s length with a 25-yard Perry pass to Duckett for a touchdown – Duckett’s second catch of the night and second score.

Then, with the score at 34-13, things took a bit of a turn. Hartman began to put Glen Rose on his back for a come-back attempt – much akin to the Rams’ late surge against Glen Rose last year.

He led the Tigers down the field on an 11-play drive, capped off by a 5-yard rushing score of his own. Then, after a perfectly executed onsides kick, Hartman again marched Glen Rose down the field and punched the ball in himself from 3 yards out. Once again though, the momentum swung.

Glen Rose lined up for the extra point and nailed the upright after a bad snap. But an offsides penalty on the Rams gave the Tigers a second chance. Again, the snap was bad and Glen Rose’s holder tried to make something happen, but he was wres-tled down in the backfield. Still, a sec-ond offsides penalty on Mineral Wells gave the Tigers another chance – and with the ball at about the half-yard

line, the Tigers decided to go for two, trailing 34-26.

Luckily, the third time wasn’t a charm, as sophomore linebacker James

Gonzales grabbed hold of Hartman and slammed him to the turf. This time, there was no disputing the failed conversion – in a moment, it seemed the point-after demons of the overtime disaster against Bridgeport had been exorcised.

The Rams got the ball back and let the offensive line and power back Johnny Morales close things out, as Morales iced the game with a brutal 8-yard charge to pay dirt. Down two scores, with about a minute and a half remaining, Glen Rose’s ensuing pos-session was futile.

The win was a significant moment for Mineral Wells, showing how far the program has come in just over a year ’s time and exhibiting what they could be capable of in the very near future.

“We’ll watch tape and keep getting better and better, but we’re starting to show some flashes,” Perry said. “Last week we had trouble with all the blitz-ing. They got to us a couple times, but

we made them pay this week. And we ran against them. Last week we couldn’t run against the blitz and this week we were able to do some things. Our conditioning held up a little better this game. We got a lot of guys in the game, too.”

In all, nine offensive players touched the ball for the Rams and plenty more got valuable playing time. It plays right into Mineral Wells offen-sive philosophy.

The Rams also made a huge impact on special teams, as Zach Gray went 5-for-6 on extra points and Muñoz, Matthew Lawhon, Jerome Johnson and Carlos Gray all recovered fumbles on muffed kicks and punts.

From stem to stern, things are look-ing up for the Rams and with an upcoming match up against a floun-dering Iowa Park squad, Mineral Wells’ stock should only continue to rise. The Rams have only to stay hun-gry. After all, they are the hunters this football season.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 3 at JOSHUA

MW147614–41GR06713–26

Scoring Summary

M–TrentGuinn96passtoJordanDuckett(ZachGraykick)M–TristanPerry2run(Graykick)G–EthanHartman4run(kickfailed)M–Guinn4passtoDouglasStevens(Graykick)M–Perry67passtoStevens(kickfailed)G–Hartman1run(CashonKlipfelkick)M–Perry25passtoDuckett(Graykick)G–Hartman5run(Klipfelkick)G–Hartman3run(conversionfailed)M–JohnnyMorales8run(Graykick)

MW Team Stats GR13FirstDowns2850RushingYds150295PassingYds27613-25Comp-Att34-590INT11FumblesLost4

Individual Stats

Passing:MW–TrentGuinn9-13,174yds,2TD;TristanPerry4-12,121yds,2TDs.GR–EthanHartman34-59,276yds,INT.Rushing:MW–JohnnyMorales21-58,TD;CameronWeiss1-2;TristanSeargeant1-1;TrentGuinn5-0;TristanPerry2-(-11),TD.GR–EthanHartman22-69,4TDs;ChasenMonk7-39;DakotaPrcin8-21;TylerTorres3-14;TannerStroud4-7.Receiving:MW–DouglasStevens6-143,2TD;JordanDuckett2-121,2TD;JohnnyMorales3-19;CarlosGray2-16;DomingoTamez1-10;CameronWeiss1-4.GR–CashonKlipfel7-76;BrazosOverton5-56;TylerTorres7-27;DakotaPrcin3-26;AustinMullins2-20;KullyReynolds3-13;ChasenMonk1-9;TannerStroud2-9;Other1-4.

Rams Defensive LeadersINT:CameronWeiss(1)FR:JeromeJohnson,RichardMuñoz,CarlosGray,MatthewLawhon(1)Sacks:StefonSandoval,TristanSeargeant,JamesGonzalesRichardMuñoz(1)


IOWA PARK – In a tale of two halves, the Mineral Wells Rams outlast-ed an early offensive onslaught from the Iowa Park Hawks and their power-ful offensive line, only to run rough-shod over the home team in the second half and spoil Iowa Park’s homecom-ing, 42-27, Friday at Hawks Stadium.

The win moved the Rams to 3-1 on the year, while Iowa Park fell to 1-3, with all three losses coming against teams from District 4-4A-DI.

Mineral Wells revved up their diesel engine of a running back Johnny Morales and rode the junior the way to victory, as the workhorse back racked up 150 yards and two scores on 21 car-

ries. Fellow junior quarterback Trent Guinn was the lightning to Morales’ thunder, adding an additional 134 yards and two rushing scores on seven tries.

Altogether, Mineral Wells piled up 300 rushing yards on Iowa Park’s defense.

The Rams may not have gone into Friday’s game with a run-heavy philos-ophy in mind, but offensive coordina-tor Chris Olson said, once they saw it was working, there was little reason to abandon it.

“They came out and did some differ-ent things to us than what we were expecting. They put five in the box, which I expected to have seven,” Olson explained. “I have to credit [special teams and running backs] coach [Quinton] Jones for keeping me grounded, literally. He said, ‘Run the

ball. They’re not adjusting.’ So, we stuck with it. We played that in-and-out game with our [run-pass options] and really chewed them up on the ground. It was good to see.

“What’s even better is the kids are starting to understand if you try to shut down one part of the offense, another one is open. They’re getting excited for each other doing that.”

Mineral Wells’ bruising rushing attack also did a lot to exhaust an Iowa Park team with multiple two-way start-

ers as the game wore on. “Just from my vantage point, I think

they wore down,” head coach Gerald Perry observed. “It’s to our advantage having a lot more kids and we don’t go both ways. I think conditioning, for us, played a big role in that. We kept get-ting better and better as the game went on and I’m proud of our team.”

At first, the Rams and Hawks were locked in a pure shootout and it looked as though the game might come down to whichever team held the ball last –


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 4 at IOWA PARK

Rams bulldoze Iowa Park, 42-27

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Rams running back Johnny Morales carved his way through the Iowa Park defense, racking up 150 yards and two scores on 21 carries in the win.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 4 at IOWA PARK

much like Mineral Wells’ season-open-ing loss to Bridgeport.

After Mineral Wells opened the game with a three-and-out, quarterback Landen Kimbro put Iowa Park on the board first, capping off an eight-play, 63-yard drive with a two-yard touch-down dive.

Guinn then came out to lead the Mineral Wells and immediately set the offensive tone for the game. Captaining his own eight-play drive, Guinn marched the Rams 84 yards down the field – with a drive highlighted by a 41-yard scramble – before punching the ball into the endzone himself on a 1-yard plunge.

The very next possession was another long one for Iowa Park, before running back Bowie Franks broke loose for a 39-yard score to put the Hawks up 14-7.

Again, Guinn answered, this time with a 47-yard run to pay dirt. Iowa Park delivered the next punch on a 74-yard bomb from Kimbro to Cole Oxford – his favorite target on the night with 13 catches for 185 yards – but Mineral Wells countered with a thunderous Morales touchdown run from 33 yards out to knot up the score heading into the halftime locker room at 21-21.

Iowa Park never punted in the first half, scoring on three of their five pos-sessions and surrendering turnovers on the other two – the first a fumble recov-ered by Derek King after a 12-play drive and the second and interception by all-state cornerback Cameron Weiss deep in Rams territory.

“At some point in time, people are going to figure out it might not be the best idea to throw at Cameron Weiss,” defensive coordinator Seth Hobbs said with a grin. “But I’m cool with it if they want to keep doing it.”

Turnovers aside, the first half was less than ideal for the Mineral Wells defense.

“Defensively, we did not tackle or get off blocks well, especially in the first quarter and a half,” Perry said. “It got better as we went on, but that was disappointing early on. We knew going in they were going to be a physical team, they always are. We didn’t match it early on. But we scored points.”

In the second half, Mineral Wells’ defense looked like a completely differ-ent group, forcing two turnovers on downs and a punt compared to one

scoring drive. Hobbs said the main adjustment was really pretty simple.

“We got lined up right,” he said. “Most of our mistakes came from not being lined up correctly. They threw a bunch of formations at us, just like last week, and some new ones and we did not get aligned correctly. Whether it was in the secondary, the front or both. That was the key to most of it. Once that started, we had the deer-in-head-lights look. We were playing slow. Once we got everything figured out, we really started playing faster. It really started to happen toward the end of the second quarter.

“To their credit – and it sounds silly as much as they run the ball – but it wasn’t necessarily the strength of their offensive line, it was their speed. They were zon-ing our defensive linemen and lineback-ers, building a wall, and that’s what hurt us the most. So, credit to them for what they do with their offensive linemen. As fast as those guys move, that was the part – in addition to getting lined up – that we had to get used to as the game went on.”

As the defense finally started to clamp down, the offense just kept rolling.

After the defense forced its first three-and-out of the game to start the second half, Mineral Wells’ offense stalled and had to punt, but – for the second time in as many weeks – deep snapper Zach Elder streaked down the field and jumped on a muffed punt to give the Rams a fresh set of downs deep in Iowa Park territory.

On the very next play, Morales rum-bled 16 yards into the endzone and the second-half avalanche began.

Guinn and fellow junior quarterback Tristan Perry traded touchdown passes to senior Douglas Stevens – Guinn’s from 10 yards out and Perry’s from 25 yards – to cap off a string of five unan-swered scores for the Rams.

Kimbro engineered a 13-play drive in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 7-yard run to attempt to start a rally, but it was too little, too late.

With a third straight win under their belt, reality begins to set in that this Mineral Wells team is not just good, they’re a couple missed plays in a dou-ble-overtime loss to Bridgeport away from being undefeated with a strug-gling Godley (1-3) squad awaiting them in their non-district finale on the

road next week. But the Rams don’t appear to be

buying into the hype, or “taking the cheese,” as TCU baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle would say.

“It says that we’re headed in the right direction, but that’s all it says,” Hobbs said. “In our minds right now, we’re still 0-0 in district, and that’s the way we have to look at it. We’re happy where we’re going and we’re seeing gains and good things playing good teams. But, in the end, they don’t really count until we start playing Hirschi. That’s the way I can look at it and be humble about it.”

“Everyone is buying into what we’re doing,” Olson added. “The kids work hard for one another and they truly want to do well for one another. The work doesn’t seem like work and it’s a lot of fun right now. Last year was the same way, they were just young. Now you’re coming with that attitude along with the experience and it’s paying off.”

Like he said after the Glen Rose win, Perry said they lynchpin holding everything together is that the Rams stay hungry. As the Rams rolled into Iowa Park’s recently-renovated stadi-um Friday before the game, Perry soon found a new means to pique his team’s appetite.

“We drove into this nice stadium here and you look at all the playoff wins on that big board and I said, ‘Guys, that could be Mineral Wells. There’s no reason we can’t do that,’” Perry said. “Our goal is to stay hungry. We want to put a record board up there in Mineral Wells so you can see what we can do and what we’ve done in the past as well.”

If the Rams continue on their current trajectory, Mineral Wells could soon have a few new impressive skins to add to such a wall.

NOTES• Perry was very complimentary of

Mineral Wells’ special teams Friday night, which posted a 100-percent con-version rate on extra-point attempts for the first time this year in addition to recovering a fumble on a punt yet again. Senior Zach Gray and junior Ruben Castorena split the kicking duties, with Castorena nailing four con-version kicks to Gray’s two. Gray and Tristan Perry also had excellent place-

ment on kickoffs and punts.“The kicking game came through

tonight,” Perry said. “We rolled both kickers and had some competition there. Special teams came up big for us. We’ve just got to keep getting better on all phases.”

MW 7 14 7 14 – 42 IP 14 7 0 6 – 27Scoring SummaryI–LandenKimbro2run(DylanMeyerkick)M–TrentGuinn1run(ZachGraykick)I–BowieFranks39run(Meyerkick)M–Guinn47run(Graykick)I–Kimbro74passtoColeOxford(Meyerkick)M–JohnnyMorales33run(RubenCastorenakick)M–Morales16run(Castorenakick)M–Guinn10passtoDouglasStevens(Castorenakick)M–TristanPerry25passtoStevens(Castorenakick)I–Kimbro7run(kickfailed) MW Team Stats IP 20 FirstDowns 23 300 RushingYds 295 166 PassingYds 235 13-20 Comp-Att 18-30 0 INT 1 0 FumblesLost 2Individual StatsPassing:MW–TristanPerry6-9,84yds,TD;TrentGuinn7-11,82yds,TD.IP–LandenKimbro18-30,235yds,TD,INT.Rushing:MW–JohnnyMorales21-150,2TD;TrentGuinn7-134,2TD;TristanSeargeant2-7;TyrelHulin1-5;BrandonHinojos1-3;TristanPerry2-1.IP–BowieFranks24-163,TD;LandenKimbro17-90,2TD;ColeOxford2-22;ColtonDickerson6-20.Receiving:MW–JordanDuckett4-75;DouglasStevens4-63,TD;CarlosGray5-28.IP–ColeOxford13-185,TD;ColtonDickerson2-30;DylanMeyer1-22;GerritDeatherage1-2;BowieFranks1-(-5).Defensive LeadersINT:CameronWeiss(1)FR:DerekKingandZachElder(1)


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 5 at GODLEY


GODLEY – The Mineral Wells Rams ended their non-district schedule in style Friday, marching onto Godley’s home turf for the final game of a three-game road trip and pulverizing the Wildcats, 54-7, in Mineral Wells’ most lopsided victory in two years.

With the win, Mineral Wells captured its first 4-1 start in almost a decade, stringing together four straight wins for the first time since 2010. The area around the visiting locker room was waist-deep in good feelings as the Rams changed, earned congratulations from family and fans and loaded the buses.

“The main thing is you want to have some excite-ment and right now we’re all happy,” head coach Gerald Perry said of the Rams’ standing before district. “That’s how important that game is going into the bye.”

Mineral Wells was virtually unstoppable on both sides of the ball.

After Mineral Wells exploded on its first drive – a three-play, 75-yard march capped off by a 56-yard touchdown bomb from Tristan Perry to Douglas Stevens – things stagnated a bit. Both teams exchanged punts and Perry threw the first of two interceptions on the night in the red zone. But the tide quickly turned and the floodgates opened.

The Rams defense got one of many crucial three-and-outs following the interceptions and the offense pro-ceeded to score on its next six drives. Meanwhile, Mineral Wells’ defense forced Godley (1-4) to punt 10 straight times from the opening kickoff well into the second half, before two turnovers on downs would end the night for the Wildcats offense.

For all the points on the board, defensive coordinator Seth Hobbs’ unit were truly the stars of the show. The Rams lived in Godley’s backfield, scarcely allowing the Wildcats a breath and holding Godley’s vaunted rush-ing attack to negative 4 yards. Quarterback Kaid Dalton was wrestled down nine times in the backfield, as junior linebacker Stefan Sandoval stood out with at least a piece of three sacks, Andy Garcia with two and Jerome Johnson, Richard Muñoz, Jackie Dooley and David Garcia joining the carnage, to name a few.

Although the scoreboard didn’t show it – Godley’s touchdown in garbage time came when Will Buchholz returned a Perry interception 29 yards to pay dirt – the Mineral Wells defense pitched a shutout and Hobbs couldn’t have been more pleased.

“I’m really happy about [the shutout],” Hobbs said. “I thought we played pretty well. They were a little bit beat up, so that kind of changed what they wanted to do. But our kids stepped up and did what they were supposed to do. With the exception of the first couple

series, I thought we played extremely well.“We played a lot of second-team guys and we want-

ed [the shutout] to be a point of emphasis with them. They really did play at a high level.”

One of the many young players to see some game action on defense was junior K’Yondric Cotton, who actually made his first varsity start at cornerback oppo-site of Cameron Weiss. The coaches were pleased with his production against a Godley offense that actually aired out the ball quite a bit.

“He did well, especially for a guy that kind of got thrown into the fire like that,” Hobbs said. “K’Yondric stepped up to the challenge. He had that wide-eyed look a little bit, but he stepped up and did his job and made some really nice tackles.”

“They exposed him a little bit early, but he settled down and did some good things,” Perry added. “We played a lot of guys and got some good experience.”

Another young player to raise eyebrows on the oppo-site side of the ball was freshman running back Brandon Hinojos. After a fumble on his first carry, Hinojos came on strong in the second half and essentially looked like

Johnny Morales Jr., while the real Morales rested on the sidelines after 12 carries for 99 yards and two touch-downs.

Hinojos finished with 10 carries for 60 yards and even added a goal-line touchdown on a prom-ising night.

“Other than fumbling the ball that one time, he did a great job,” Perry said of Hinojos. “He gets down when he makes mistakes, but he’s got to learn to just brush that off. He’s going to be a good one for us.”

“Hinojos is an exciting little freshman,” offensive coordinator Chris Olson added. “It was good to see what he could do tonight.”

Elsewhere on the offense, the passing game shined. Both quarterbacks – Perry and Trent Guinn – finished the night with two touchdowns apiece and a combined 248 yards. As he did against Glen Rose, junior receiver Jordan Duckett needed just two catches for his two touchdowns and 60 yards, putting him not far behind Stevens, who led the team with 89 yards and a score on three grabs.

But while Mineral Wells’ deep threats continued to

Rams’ win at Godley a good sign

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Mineral Wells defenders Richard Muñoz (50), Stefon Sandoval (2) and Tristan Seargeant (32) swarm Godley's Jeremy Carter during a 54-7 blowout to close out the Rams' non-district schedule.

score, the slots finally got a chance to really shine. Domingo Tamez hauled in his first varsity touchdown on a 30-yard pass and fell just short of the goal line on his second reception for 32 yards. Carlos Gray continued to be a stalwart outlet, hauling in five passes for 30 yards.

Back outside, senior Matthew Lawhon finally got in on the receiving action as well, with two catches for 10 yards.

“I was real pleased to see the slots get involved with the vertical game,” Olson said. “That’s something I’ve been waiting on. I was glad we were able to get some other players in tonight, too. Matt Lawhon has been due to get some catches in.

“I can’t give enough credit to my new wide receiver coaches [Kevin Harvey and Kevin Domingue]. They’re learning and working their tails off for me and it’s showing with the wide receivers.”

After such a dominant win and out-standing start for the season, it would be almost impossible not to be inundated with confidence for the final five games of the regular season. Although Mineral Wells’ coaches will be quick to remind their players that the Rams are 0-0 in the games that matter when Wichita Falls Hirschi comes to town for a long-awaited home game, Oct. 9, they acknowledge that the Rams are in an exceptional spot as a team.

“As long as they continue to do what they’ve been taught to do and work hard and play hard for each other, the sky’s the limit for this team,” Olson said. “Hirschi will bring on another test, because you know they’ve got athletes across the board. We’re 0-0 now, that’s what we’ve got to preach.”

“It’s a great time for the bye week to come,” Hobbs added. “We’ve got to make sure that we do right in the class-room and get everybody healthy – get-ting David Howeth and Kaine Carraway back to be at full strength by the time we get to the meat of our schedule. And we can’t overlook Hirschi either.

“It really is 0-0 as far as I’m concerned. If anything shows that, it’s last year when we thought we were in and then we were out. The last thing we’re going to do is look at it any other way than that we’ve got to win every one of them.”

For the first time in a very long time, Mineral Wells has the look of a team with a realistic shot to be in every game from here on out.

“We’re off to a good start,” Perry said. “The main thing is we’re healthy and we’re getting better and better. That’s

what we need going into the bye to get ready for that first district game.”

NOTES• Godley’s stud Kansas State commit

Blake Hickey switched his jersey with a teammate’s before the game and spent most of the night at fullback and H-back rather than on the O-line, where he’s usually found. As a result, he had a relatively quiet night, usually working as a lead blocker and being targeted for two passes, but catching neither. Hobbs said the move worked out well for the Rams defense.

“He’s not a real big receiving threat, so that kind of freed up our safeties to be able to play both the run and the pass more,” Hobbs explained. “If the game would have turned a little bit differently and they could have used him more as a run blocker, you never know. In the end, we told them all they did was switch jer-seys with another kid. It’s the same thing: one guy’s coming to kick out, one guy’s coming to roll up.”

• Mineral Wells got some extra moti-vation before the game from a number of colorful student-made signs in front of the Godley stands. As some fans found many of the messages offensive, the Godley administration quickly removed the signage and Godley’s middle school principal David Williams publicly apolo-gized to Mineral Wells’ students, alums, parents and fans.

• Mineral Wells’ blowout win came in spite of three turnovers – compared to none by Godley. It was the first time the Rams yielded a single turnover since Glen Rose and the first interceptions since the season-opener against Bridgeport. Olson joked bad karma might have been partially to blame.

“I shouldn’t have said anything about those turnovers,” he laughed. “It’s like a dog-gone no-hitter, as soon as you say something about it, something happens. But the defense played outstanding tonight. I was real disappointed we weren’t able to keep the goose egg up there for them.”


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 5 at GODLEY

MW 14 26 14 0 –54 Godley 0 0 0 7 – 7Scoring PlaysM–TristanPerry56passtoDouglasStevens(ZachGraykick)M–TrentGuinn11passtoJordanDuckett(Graykick)M–Perry30passtoDomingoTamez(Graykick)M–JohnnyMorales3run(kickfailed)M–TristanSeargeant3run(kickfailed)M–Guinn49passtoDuckett(Graykick)M–Morales5run(RubenCastorenakick)M–BrandonHinojos3run(Castorenakick)G–WillBuchholz29INTofPerry(AdrianSotellokick) MW Team Stats Gdly 18 FirstDowns 8 200 RushingYds -4 248 PassingYds 143 15-24 Comp-Att 17-27 2 INT 0 1 FumblesLost 0

Individual StatsPassing:MW–TristanPerry7-11,140yds,2TD,2INT;TrentGuinn8-13,108yds,2TD.Gdly–KaidDalton17-27,143yds.Rushing:MW–JohnnyMorales12-99,2TD;BrandonHinojos10-60,TD,Fum;TrentGuinn5-32;TyrelHulin3-9;TristanSeargeant1-2,TD;TristanPerry3-(-2).Gdly–JeremyCarter14-20;JohnnyDavis2-15;TaylorGrimes1-(-1);KaidDalton9-(-38).Receiving:MW–DouglasStevens3-89,TD;DomingoTamez2-62,TD;JordanDuckett2-60,2TD;CarlosGray5-30;MatthewLawhon2-10;DannyWhite1-0.Gdly–TaylorGrimes5-37;DylanErwin6-36;JohnnyDavis1-29;WillBuchholz2-21;JeremyCarter3-19.Defensive LeadersSacks:StefonSandoval,3Up Next:vs.WFHirschi(0-5),Oct.9.IowaParkdef.Hirschi,50-26.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 6 vs. HIRSCHI


Mineral Wells alums that came home Friday night got an extra special treat.

Coming home themselves for the first time since a three-game road trip to close out non-district, the Mineral Wells Rams made this year’s homecoming one to remember with a 64-37 thumping of the Wichita Falls Hirschi Huskies to open District 4-4A-DI with a resounding statement in front of a packed house at Ram Stadium.

The Rams (5-1, 1-0) clearly established themselves as one of the district’s top three teams, making it look easy against an athletic and underrated 0-6 Hirschi squad that refused to die. The Rams tied a modern-era school scoring record – set last year in a 64-21 win over Burkburnett – and put the rest of the district on notice as to just what this offense is capable of.

“For the most part, we were firing on all cylinders on offense. We had just two punts,” head coach Gerald Perry said. “The defense gave up too many points early, but we’ll fix that. The main thing for us is we’re healthy and we’ve got some excitement going into next week. I think we’re getting better pretty much across the board.”

Much like last year’s record-setting romp, junior running back Johnny Morales and the offensive line played a massive role in the Rams’ success. As he did in last year’s 64-pointer, Morales scored four touchdowns, rumbling for a game-high 162 yards on 19 carries – an 8.5 yards-per-carry average – and adding a two-point conversion. He supplied 30 percent of the Rams’ 533 yards of total offense and 23 first downs compared to just two punts. The Huskies, for all their speed, simply couldn’t keep pace with Mineral Wells’ offensive firepower.

Offensive coordinator Chris Olson was quite pleased with the offensive production and Morales in particular.

“I was worried about the bye week and how we would respond after that, because we were on a roll offensively,” Olson explained. “We executed pretty well tonight. We’ll get into the video

room and I’m sure there’s still many things we need to work on, but overall, with all the hoopla and the week off, I was pleased.

“When [Morales] is rolling and the offensive line is blocking, it makes everything easier. It held true tonight. If we can continue that trend, we’ll be able to do some pretty special things.”

“[Morales] is getting better and bet-ter,” Perry added. “He’s gotten better because he’s been challenged. Our O-line’s doing a great job. You can’t say enough about what they’re doing. We’ve got so many weapons at receiver, you kind of have to pick your poison. Offensively, it was a really good game.”

Morales got the scoring started with a 31-yard scoring strike – his longest of the game. But the Rams quickly discov-ered the Huskies wouldn’t be lying down this year, as sophomore quarter-back Martez Vrana marched his troops down the field and hit a wide-open Zach Downing on a 29-yard score.

On the ensuing drive, Mineral Wells

senior Douglas Stevens supplied one of the plays of the game when he hauled in a 36-yard, one-handed grab from Trent Guinn to set up Morales’ second score from 4 yards out. The coaches were impressed, but by no means sur-prised by the play of a wide receiver who has yet to be held out of the end-zone in a Mineral Wells uniform.

“It was crazy,” Olson said of the catch. “He makes those plays all the time, just people don’t get to see them. You kind of take it for granted, because when he does stuff like that, it’s not like I haven’t seen him do it over and over. But it was a pretty awesome catch.”

“He’s impressive. He’s an impressive player,” Perry added. “It was a little bit overthrown, I didn’t think he was going to get to it, but he reached out and got it. Just a great catch by a great athlete. It’s good to have playmakers.”Mineral Wells got a break when Hirschi’s Matt Glenn tried to field the following kickoff around the 1-yard line after an odd bounce and ended up getting tack-

Rams steamroll Hirschi in district opener

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Junior running back Johnny Morales led the way with 162 yards, four touchdowns and a two-point conversion as the Rams tied Mineral Wells’ modern-era scoring record set last year with a 64-37 bludgeoning of Wichita Falls Hirschi in both schools’ District 4-4A-DI opener at Ram Stadium. It was Morales’ third straight game with at least 100 yards rush-ing and two touchdowns.

WFH130168–37MW1628146–64

Scoring SummaryM–JohnnyMorales31run(ZachGraykick)H–MartezVrana29passtoZachDowning(EzekielHolmeskick)M–Morales4run(Graykick)M–SafetyonMattGlennH–Vrana14passtoDominicDavis(conver-sionfailed)M–TrentGuinn15passtoDouglasStevens(Graykick)M–TristanPerry13passtoCarlosGray(Morales2pt)M–Guinn2run(Graykick)M–Morales27run(kickfailed)M–Morales1run(Graykick)M–Perry29passtoJordanDuckett(RubenCastorenakick)H–RomanTurner10run(GerrickMcKinney2pt)H–Vrana24passtoXavierWilson(VranatoDavis2pt)M–Perry25passtoGray(kickfailed)H–McKinney79run(VranatoWilson2pt)

WFH Team Stats MW16FirstDowns23224RushingYds251176PassingYds28216-31Comp-Att18-301INT01FumbleLost13-31.7Punts-Avg2-33.5

Individual StatsPassing:MW–TrentGuinn9-19,167yds,TD;TristanPerry9-11,115yds,3TD.WFH–MartezVrana16-31,176yds,3TD,22-ptconv,INT.Rushing:MW–JohnnyMorales19-162,4TD,2-ptconv;TrentGuinn6-75,TD;BrandonHinojos4-11;TyrelHulin1-3.WFH–RomanTurner18-130,TD;GerrickMcKinney14-84,TD,2-ptconv;MartezVrana10-5;TavionMcKinney1-2.Receiving:MW–DouglasStevens8-120,TD;JordanDuckett4-68,TD;CarlosGray4-65,2TD;MatthewLawhon1-17;DomingoTamez1-12;CameronWeiss1-12.WFH–XavierWilson4-70,TD,2-ptconv;ZachDowning2-43,TD;DominicDavis4-42,TD,2-ptconv;MattGlenn4-9;MychalLee1-(-2).

Defensive LeadersSacks:RichardMuñoz,StefonSandoval,AndyGarcia(1)INT:EzequielMorquecho(1)FR:MaxGrider(1)Blockedpunt:AndyGarcia


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 6 vs. HIRSCHI

led in the endzone for a safety. But the Huskies got new life again after Ezekiel Holmes recovered a Tristan Seargeant fumble to set up a 14-yard score from Vrana to Dominic Davis.

It was after Vrana’s second touch-down that the Mineral Wells defense finally began to settle in.

“First two drives, we kind of had to adjust to the speed of the game,” defen-sive coordinator Seth Hobbs said. “We weren’t fitting a couple things correctly and the inside running game was giv-ing us some trouble. We had two busts in the secondary. One was on me, the other, we didn’t play it right. After that, we were pretty sound, especially in the second and third quarters.

“We really made them throw it. We want to take away the run first, especial-ly with a team like that where most of the time, when they spread us out, they’re going it to run anyways. So, that wasn’t as big of a concern for us. When we fit all the gaps, there were no issues.”

With the defense’s help, Mineral Wells blew the game open in the sec-ond quarter with 28 unanswered points. Morales and Trent Guinn each ran for scores while Guinn and Tristan Perry also tossed touchdowns to Stevens and Carlos Gray, respectively.

From that point on, rally attempts by Hirschi proved futile in the second half as the Rams had plenty of cushion to work with – padded by Morales’ fourth score and two touchdown pass-es by Perry.

In addition to getting the opportuni-ty to rotate plenty of players in late for experience, perhaps the biggest posi-tive to come out of Friday’s district-opening win was the knowledge that the Rams don’t need to be intimidated by a team with world-class speed.

“The one thing I like is we don’t have to freak out when we see people that are fast,” Hobbs said, specifically referencing the defense. “After we adjusted to the speed of the game, our

guys saw that we can play with any-body speed-wise. If we do that, then it all comes down to execution. That’s a good thing when you’re going into Decatur and Graham. Those guys are execution guys that are also fast, but to know that we can handle the speed part, that means all we have to do is tune up execution and we should be able to play with anybody.”

With a trip to Decatur and a home game against Graham looming, Mineral Wells faces by far its two toughest tests and most-important games in the next two weeks. The dou-ble-header will go a long way toward determining how the top three spots in district shake out and, ultimately, who Mineral Wells might face in the play-offs if the rest of the season goes according to plan.

The Rams are ready to prove them-selves.

“Our kids have worked their tails off and it’s just paying dividends now,”

Olson said. “We haven’t changed any-thing from last year. They just under-stand how to make things work now. Once we have that going, we’re going to be tough to beat. The next two weeks could be pretty special. Next week, we’re going to find out how good we really are.”

“If you look in our trophy case, there’s a trophy in there with a ques-tion mark on it,” Perry said. “This past spring, they got T-shirts with big ques-tion marks on them. It’s about what are you doing to win a championship? We want to take that question mark off that trophy and put whatever we get. That was our discussion pregame. We’ve got big games coming up. We’ve just got to keep getting better.

“I’m excited about where we’re going. We still haven’t played our best game yet and we’re going to have to these next couple weeks. We feel like we’ve got a great opportunity. We’ll see what happens.”

ONE TEAM. ONE TOWN. ONE DREAM.

At First Financial Bank Mineral Wells, we’re filled with pride for the Mineral Wells Rams.Their strong spirit and dedication helps make our community great.

Congratulations on a job well done!

MEMBER FDIC

FFIN.COM | 940-327-5400

Mineral Wells native, former Ram and Washington Redskins and Super Bowl winner Alvin Garrett presents an NFL gold ball to the school.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : A SEASON TO REMEMBER IN PHOTOS

2015 Homecoming Queen and King Faith Moses and Ter’Sean Carter2015 Coming Home Queen Johnowene Moore Hall and her

grandson-in-law Wade Wiedebursch

Dad, Kayla, Averey, Landry & Aubrey


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 7 at DECATUR


DECATUR – A loss to your district rival always stings, but it hurts immeasurably worse when you had every chance to pull out a victory.

With the District 4-4A-DI driver’s seat in their grasp, the Mineral Wells Rams squandered opportunity after opportunity – coming up empty handed on four trips to the red zone – and fell short in a heart-breaking 20-12 defeat to the Decatur Eagles on a windy October night at Eagles Stadium.

At 5-2 with a 1-1 district mark, the Rams still have every reason to expect a playoff berth and are far from eliminated from the district title race. But a win against Decatur (6-1, 2-0) was not only one the Rams des-perately wanted, it was there for the taking. They simply couldn’t cash in.

“I feel bad for our kids,” head coach Gerald Perry said. “We didn’t take advan-tage of our opportunities. They made adjustments in the second half and we made mistakes.

“I don’t know if it’s just that our kids haven’t been in these pressure situations, these big games. Really, that’s a game we had a great opportunity to win and didn’t. That falls on me. It was a good ball game with two good teams, we just didn’t make the plays. We just have to learn from this game and hopefully the next pressure game we will have been there and done that and can handle that pres-sure a little bit better.”

The game’s first three drives made it seem as though a stadium packed full of fans would have a shootout on their hands, rather than the defensive struggle that resulted.

Mineral Wells came out firing, as junior quarterback Tristan Perry found speedy wideout Jordan Duckett for a 28-yard touchdown pass to cap off the game’s opening drive. But it quickly became apparent that stiff, chilly winds would play a role, as Zach Gray’s ensuing point-after attempt sailed no good.

Decatur answered on the very next drive, assembling a methodical march cul-minating in the first of three 1-yard touch-down runs by junior quarterback Tyler Ticknor. Another missed extra point kept

the score tied at 6-6 to end the first quarter.Keeping up the trend of junior quar-

terbacks scoring on their first drive of the night, Mineral Wells’ Trent Guinn took the reins on the ensuing possession and put the Rams back in the endzone with a 10-yard connection to senior Douglas Stevens.

Mineral Wells attempted to get its missed extra point back with a two-point conversion with junior power back Johnny Morales in the Wildcat, but couldn’t convert, making their lead 12-6.

That’s when the offensive fireworks stopped and the defenses took center stage.

On Mineral Wells’ next possession, Perry threw an interception to set up a Decatur drive that would push the Rams’ defense to the brink. But with their back against the wall in the red zone, Mineral Wells muscled up and stopped the Eagles on fourth down.

When Guinn couldn’t move the

Mineral Wells offense again, Decatur inherited another golden opportunity to tie deep in Rams territory, but senior line-backer Max Grider played spoiler with an interception to preserve Mineral Wells’ lead into halftime.

Defensive coordinator Seth Hobbs was complimentary of Grider, just one of many standouts in an awesome defensive effort.

“He was flying around making plays and that’s what those guys are in posi-tions to do,” Hobbs said. “He did a very good job. I was impressed with his play.”

After receiving the second half kickoff, Decatur came out with a vengeance. Ticknor completed a crucial fourth-down pass in the red zone to Ryan Durdon in high Mineral Wells coverage to set up his second rushing score and give the Eagles their first lead at 13-12.

On the following drive, Mineral Wells had a chance to regain the lead but lost the ball instead. Sophomore receiver Carlos Gray was in the midst of an out-standing run after a catch, breaking tack-les and darting through defenders on his way to the endzone, but as he dove and reached the ball out toward the goal line, it was snatched from his hands by a Decatur defender.

The Eagles had the ball at their own 1, but they had all the momentum as well, driving 99 yards to set up the Ticknor score that would ultimately put the game out of reach.

For Hobbs, that drive soured an other-wise outstanding defensive night.

“I didn’t think we played very well in the third quarter defensively,” he said. “When they get a turnover and have the ball on their own 1-yard line, that’s our chance to stop them and make them punt, instead of letting them drive all the way down the field. They did good things, but we had errors at critical points that broke us.”

For offensive coordinator Chris Olson, the many red zone miscues were almost too much to bear – a shocking about-face for an offense that had seemed almost unstoppable, averaging 46 points per game.

“We got down into the red zone, and Decatur did a heck of a job, but we made uncharacteristic mistakes that we haven’t made the last four or five games,” Olson

said. “You can’t turn the ball over. We’ve been preaching that whoever made the least amount of mistakes would come out on top and that was Decatur tonight. [Not converting in the red zone], that’s an issue. We’ll head back to the drawing board, take a look at what we do down there and just make sure it doesn’t hap-pen again.”

Missed opportunities hurt in Decatur loss

MW6600–12Dec60140–20

Scoring SummaryM–TristanPerry28passtoJordanDuckett(kickfailed)D–TylerTicknor1run(kickfailed)M–TrentGuinn10passtoDouglasStevens(cnv.failed)D–Ticknor1run(BrandonGarzakick)D–Ticknor1run(Garzakick)

MW Team Stats Dec 23 FirstDowns 20 197 RushingYds 199 178 PassingYds 179 15-33 Comp-Att 18-30 3 INT 1 1 FumblesLost 1

Individual StatsPassing:MW–TrentGuinn9-17,96yds,TD,INT;TristanPerry6-16,82yds,TD,2INT.DEC–TylerTicknor18-30,179yds,INT.Rushing:MW–JohnnyMorales31-115;TrentGuinn8-58;BrandonHinojos3-14;TristanPerry3-10.DEC–TylerTicknor30-88,3TD,Fum;DylanNation6-88;DaneFitzgerald2-13;PaytonMcAlister4-5;RyanDurdon3-5.Receiving:MW–JordanDuckett5-71,TD;DouglasStevens7-70,TD;CarlosGray3-37,Fum;DomingoTamez1-6.DEC–RyanDurdon4-57;DylanNation5-55;MosesRamos3-29;GunnarParker3-14;AddisonNation1-11;DaneFitzgerald1-7;PaytonMcAlister2-6;ParkerHicks1-0.

Defensive LeadersINT:MaxGrider(1)FR:MaxGrider(1)

Up Next:vs.Graham(4-3,2-0),Oct.23.Grahamdef.Burkburnett,42-7.

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Decatur’s star all-purpose running back Payton McAlister is sand-wiched between Mineral Wells defenders Max Grider (11) and Andy Garcia. McAlister missed most of the game with an injury.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 8 vs. GRAHAM


October 23, 2015, will be a date long remembered in Mineral Wells lore.

After 13 straight losses to their rivals to the north-west, the Mineral Wells Rams turned the page on a new era in program history. After rallying from an 18-point halftime deficit, junior quarterback Trent Guinn drove the Rams down the field with a minute left in the ball game, finding fellow junior Jordan Duckett for a 15-yard score to give Mineral Wells a 31-27 victory in the Possum Kingdom Clash – the Rams’ first over the rival Graham Steers since 1987.

As the clock struck zero at Ram Stadium, a steady rainfall seemed to wash away the grime of 27 years of jeers, scorn and disappointment as the Rams secured their first true marquee victory since head coach Gerald Perry and his staff arrived in Mineral Wells last year. It was a win that made a statement to both the Rams’ rivals on the other side of PK Lake and a state at-large full of doubters: these aren’t the same, old Mineral Wells Rams.

It was all made possible by a little belief and a lot of guts.

“The kids had it in them all the time, they just had to get over that hump and truly believe,” offensive coordinator Chris Olson said. “When you have that level of belief in what you do, the sky’s the limit. Tonight, through all the struggles, they never gave up. It’s a testament to the type of kids we have. They’re a special group.”

“Our kids just had to settle down and believe,” coach Perry added. “When you’ve been down for so many years, there’s always that doubt. That stuff starts to creep in at times. We just had to get that out of our minds. We had some leaders step up in the locker room, too. Just a gutty effort. It typifies the way our kids are.

“We are proud for this community. It pisses me off when I hear ‘Miserable Wells.’ I heard that when I got hired, ‘Why are you going to Miserable Wells?’ It’s not. It’s a great place. I’m just proud of these kids and every-one involved. We’re trying to change not just this locker room and this high school, we’re trying to change a community. We’ve had bumps in the road, but we’re doing things right. It’s just a tremendous change in this community and something I cherish.”

In the first half, Mineral Wells’ defense came out strong, but the Rams’ offense was almost completely stymied by an experienced, physical Graham defense. Outside of a 57-yard connection from junior quarter-back Tristan Perry to Duckett, the Rams could barely muster any yardage and were held to a total of just 5 yards rushing in the first two quarters.

Defensive coordinator Seth Hobbs’ unit kept the Rams in the ball game, but with the scoreboard read-ing 21-3, Graham, at half, changes had to be made and fast.

Hobbs’ halftime message to the defense was a famil-iar one.

“One of our mottoes is ‘Pull the Rope.’ We’re always going to hold on, no matter what,” Hobbs explained. “I told them today, they were holding on for more than just them. They were holding on for the last 27 years of guys that had come before them and all the people in the stands. I told them, ‘The pressure’s not on you. The pressure’s on those guys who are scared of losing to you.’

“You can call it halftime adjustments if you want

to, but it was really just our kids decided to play. We didn’t change a whole lot. Really, it was just our kids executing. They deserve it.”

Meanwhile, for Olson and the offensive coaches, the key adjustment revolved around manufacturing a rush-ing attack to keep a Graham defense that had keyed onto junior power back Johnny Morales honest. They looked to their quarterbacks, who essentially gave the Rams 104 yards on the ground in the second half.

“We knew the quarterback had to run,” Olson said. “As many as they had in the box, we had to spread them out with four wide receivers and they still kept six in the box, so the quarterback had to run. One of the adjustments we decided to make was just run a lot more draw. We ran it at least seven or eight times, including that last drive with Trent. That seemed to spark what we needed on the ground.”

The results were immediate, as Guinn capped off the Rams’ opening drive of the second half with a 42-yard run to pay dirt to make the score 21-10 and give Mineral Wells some much-needed momentum and confidence.

After the defense forced Graham to punt on the ensu-ing drive, junior cornerback Cameron Weiss sparked the Mineral Wells offense with back-to-back first-down catches for 27 and 33 yards. Perry then took on the rush-ing mantle and scored from 25-yards out to make the score 21-16 following a missed extra-point.

Suddenly, it was a ball game.A couple of drives later, Weiss snagged the first of

two game-changing interceptions, taking the ball back 34 yards to give the Rams offense a short field. Perry put the Rams ahead for the first time in the ball game at 24-21, finding Douglas Stevens for a 7-yard touchdown to open the fourth quarter.

The game was far from over, however.Both teams exchanged turnovers until Graham got

the ball with a chance to bleed clock on a potentially game-winning drive. The Steers did exactly what they needed to, methodically marching down the field while the Rams’ defense strived – as they had all game – to prevent the big play.

Graham converted six first downs on that drive and ran four plays inside the 15-yard line before Graham quarterback Landry Turner finally punched the ball in from 1 yard out to put the Steers ahead 27-24 with 1:08 left to play. Weiss blocked the extra point to ensure the

BELIEVE IT!Rams erase 18-point deficit, 27 winlessyears with 31-27 defeat of rival Graham

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Rams defensive back Tristan Seargeant upends Graham quarterback Landry Turner.

Rams could still tie with a field goal.With so little time remaining to mount

a comeback, Hobbs said it crossed his mind to let Graham score late in that drive.

“We actually talked about it,” he admitted. “It was discussed, but it was a quick discussion. We thought, with the rain, we didn’t want to concede anything. When you’re up, you’re up. We just felt like we needed to conserve a little time with a timeout, but then also try and get lined up to where we could maybe stop them. You never know, a fumble or anything could have occurred. We didn’t [stop them], but credit to them. They’ve won games like that before and they knew what to do. It was just unbelievable for the offense to just go right back down the field and make it happen.”

Incredibly, Graham virtually gift wrapped a program-defining moment for Guinn and the Rams offense. In an odd twist, Graham opted to try for an onsides kick after the score, but the ball didn’t roll the required 10 yards before meandering out of bounds to give Mineral Wells the ball at the Steers’ 42-yard line.

With the scoreboard no longer work-ing and officials keeping time, Guinn called his own number to start the drive, scrambling 27 yards to set up the game-winner that will live forever in Mineral Wells history.

Olson said another halftime adjust-ment prepared Duckett – and Stevens on his earlier touchdown - for the shin-ing moment.

“We had told them at halftime they were going to continue to press-man us the whole time,” he said of the Graham defense. “I told them we have to be physical. On both of those routes, you can see them get into the defensive back before they broke on the route and that was the key. You get them on their heels and finish your route and good things happen. I have all the faith in the world in those two. If you’re going to man us up like that, you’re taking a chance of getting beat.”

Following Duckett’s quick score, the Steers had an indeterminable amount of seconds to take a few last heaves at the endzone. Heave Turner did, for back-to-back first downs, but he couldn’t escape the grasp of Mineral Wells’ backfield bulldog. Weiss climbed

the ladder for his second interception and all there was left to do was take a knee and celebrate.

Hobbs recalled the drama of the final drive.

“We had two second-team corners in for the last 20 seconds of the game. We were rolling people in and out with people everywhere cramping up. Then tiny kid makes a giant play again,” he said, referencing Weiss with a smile.

“The kid played both sides of the ball tonight dang near the whole game. Just unbelievable. I can’t put it into words.”

For all the historical significance of Friday’s win, perhaps the most impor-tant element was it kept the Rams alive in the District 4-4A-DI title hunt this season. At 6-2 with a 2-1 district mark, the Rams are all but guaranteed a play-off spot and if Graham (4-4, 2-1) beats Decatur (7-1, 3-0) and Mineral Wells wins out, the Eagles, Steers and Rams will be tied for the district champion-ship – with point-differential likely determining playoff seeding.

It would be an intriguing twist of fate after a three-way tie kept the Rams out of the playoffs last season. But the first component in that scenario is the Rams have to take care of business in their final two games.

“While it is a big win, we’re going to enjoy the heck out of it for about 24 hours,” Olson said of the Graham vic-tory. “We’ve got bigger fish to fry down the line. Hopefully this is just the

beginning of big-game wins for them now that they know they can do it.”

“We’ve got bigger things ahead of us,” Perry added. “We’ve just got to keep building.”

Keep building, keep working and, most of all, keep believing.

NOTES• Super Bowl Champion and Mineral

Wells Hall of Famer Alvin Garrett joined the game broadcast on 88.5 FM at halftime and predicted a comeback victory when the Rams were down 21-3. After learning that Garrett’s prediction came true, coach Perry said the former wide receiver might need to be at Rams games more often.

“He needs to start being here for every game,” Perry joked. “I’ll just start giving him a ball and he can come out and pres-ent one every game.

“Just seeing the Hall of Fame [induct-ees] and hearing his presentation,” Perry continued on a more serious note. “There have been great things in Mineral Wells. That’s what we’re trying to bring back.”


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 8 vs. GRAHAM

Grm14706–27MW301315–31

Scoring SummaryG–JustinEscalon2run(JesusHernandezkick)M–TristanPerry23FGG–LandryTurner7passtoJaxonBrockway(Hernandezkick)G–Turner7passtoCallenMills(Hernandezkick)M–TrentGuinn42run(Perrykick)M–Perry25run(kickfailed)M–Perry7passtoDouglasStevens(Perry2ptrun)G–Turner1run(kickfailed)M–Guinn15passtoJordanDuckett(Perrykick)

Grm Team Stats MW26FirstDowns13150RushingYds109267PassingYds25033-52Comp-Att8-242INT21FumblesLost050PenaltyYds43

Individual StatsPassing:MW–TristanPerry5-13,160yds,TD;TrentGuinn3-11,90yds,TD,2INT.GHS–LandryTurner33-52,267yds,2TD,2INT.Rushing:MW–TrentGuinn13-93,TD;JohnnyMorales7-9;TristanPerry9-7,TD.GHS–JustinEscalon24-88,TD;LandryTurner13-62,TD.Receiving:MW–JordanDuckett3-107,TD;DouglasStevens3-83,TD;CameronWeiss2-60.GHS–TuckerHorn7-74;CallenMills9-67,TD;JaxonBrockway6-44,TD;JustinEscalon6-36;ChanceHornsey2-20;KodyPerry2-18;AdamGroves1-8.

Defensive LeadersINT:CameronWeiss(2)FR:JeromeJohnson(1)


BURKBURNETT – For the first time this year, the Mineral Wells Rams were put on upset alert and did exactly what they needed to secure a crucial win.

The 21st-ranked Rams escaped Burkburnett Thursday with a hard-fought 29-21 win over a drastically improved and motivated Bulldogs squad, officially clinching their first playoff berth since 2011 and keeping themselves in the thick of the District 4-4A-DI title hunt with Graham and No. 19 Decatur.

It wasn’t particularly pretty, but it was a win. A win the Rams’ coaches were most certainly glad to get on the road in a situation in which so much could have gone wrong – playing on a short week right after one of the big-

gest wins in school history.“We knew coming in they had a lot

of weapons and we were pretty wor-ried about them,” head coach Gerald Perry said. “They had a lot to play for, just like us, so we knew it was going to be a battle. That was the most speed at the skill positions we’ve seen – disci-plined speed. It gave us fits. But that’s good. We need to see that.

“We tell our kids that before you become a champion, you have to learn how to be a champion. We’re getting there. There were mistakes out there, but most of the mistakes we made were based on what they were doing. They’re good.”

“You could tell it was kind of a trap game,” offensive coordinator Chris Olson added. “We weren’t as crisp as I want us to be. We got down to the red zone quite a few times and didn’t

punch it in. At this point in the season, we can’t accept that. If we’re going to be successful going forward, we have to convert on those.

“I’m happy for the kids and the com-munity. We’re in the playoffs now. That was a big hurdle. We’ve got an extra day to prepare for next week and we need to look a lot better than we did tonight.”

Things started out well enough for the Rams. Junior quarterback Trent Guinn engineered a 70-yard march on the game’s opening drive and punched the ball into the endzone on a 12-yard scramble to give the Rams an early 6-0 lead.

For the first time in his varsity career, Guinn took the reins of the offense all by himself – as fellow junior starter Tristan Perry kicked and punted, but couldn’t play quarterback after breaking two fin-gers on his non-throwing hand in last week’s win over Graham.

Olson said he thought Guinn – who fin-ished with the team lead in rushing with 137 yards on 23 carries and was 16-of-27 passing for 214 yards – looked good over-all with the added responsibility.

“He did well. There’s always things

we can work on,” Olson said. “He has such great desire to achieve and some-times he tries to do a little too much. I think when we get into film, we’ll see that and we’ll just continue to get him better. I think he was a little uncom-fortable with the role tonight. It was a little bit different for him. But he did well. It could possibly be that same situation next week. We’ve just got to make sure we’re on point from the quarterback position.”

Mineral Wells’ defense dialed up the pressure and stymied Burk’s new spread offense early on while the Rams offense padded its lead with a 43-yard pass from Guinn to Jordan Duckett – who finished the night with 135 yards and a score on eight grabs – and a 3-yard run by Johnny Morales, who once again topped the centu-ry mark with 123 yards on 19 carries after his string of four straight 100-plus-yard games was broken last week.

Defensive coordinator Seth Hobbs’ swarming 3-4 turned its aggressiveness up a notch with noticeably more blitzes that resulted in one of the unit’s best sack totals this season, in which six dif-


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 9 at BURKBURNETT

Rams escape Burk with hard-fought win

PHOTO BY RICHARD CLEAVER

Rams running back Johnny Morales topped the century mark in rushing for the sixth time this year against Burkburnett, after his string of four straight 100-plus-yard performances was broken last week.

ferent player brought the Burkburnett quarterback Mitchell Jennings down at least once.

“A lot of times we did a good job. It was just a matter of when to time it up and when not to,” Hobbs said. “I thought we didn’t take advantage of what they were giving us blitz-wise. I thought we could have gotten a little bit more pressure to them. But because of their quick screens, we had to be a little care-ful with that and it made us a lit-tle apprehensive. It seemed like every time we didn’t [blitz] was when they were sitting back there patting the ball and chunk-ing it down the field. We had just as many blitzes where we did come and they threw something quick and it put us in a bad posi-tion on the edge. Every time that happens, I’m tapping the breaks. But when we did do it and exe-cute it, it was effective. It’s a cat-and-mouse game and they do an outstanding job.”

Burk made the halftime score 20-7 when Jennings scrambled and found Darion Chafin in broken coverage for a 75-yard score. When Mineral Wells couldn’t capitalize on a scoring opportunity before the half, the ‘Dogs managed to ride that wave of momentum into the third quarter.

Jennings scored on back-to-back drives out of the gate – split up by a Perry field goal –

to make the score 23-21, Rams, and make even the most opti-mistic Mineral Wells fan worry that what happened to Graham last week might happen to the Rams this week.

But the Rams dug deep within themselves in the fourth quarter and, with the help of multiple key drops by Burk receivers, managed to get the key stop they needed

to set up Guinn’s third score of the night on a 2-yard rush to give Mineral Wells a more comfortable 29-21 advantage.

A turnover on downs on the ensuing Burk drive ensured the Rams could run out the clock and kneel their way to victory.

In addition to feeling grate-ful to escape with a victory and a ticket to the postseason, Mineral Wells’ coaches came away very impressed with Burk’s turnaround.

“That coaching staff deserves an unbelievable amount of cred-it,” Hobbs said. “That team ver-sus last year is night and day. Great job by them on just a total 180 in their program.”

Coaches were also pleased with the fight the Rams showed in what might have been their most physical game to date in addition to being emotionally charged – Burk had five personal fouls in a game with 19 total penalties.

“Overall, I thought we han-dled it well,” Hobbs said. “I thought a couple times we could have tackled a little bit better. It was a good perfor-mance, not a great perfor-mance, but in the end, we did what we had to do and had one point more than them.”

“We’re going to have to clean up the penalties,” Perry said, specifically referencing Mineral Wells’ 10 penalties for 85 yards. “That was very dis-appointing. We haven’t had that many penalties all year and they hurt our drives.”

For all the nit-picking, the overall feeling amongst the Rams and their fans after Thursday’s victory was over-whelmingly positive. The Rams won, they’re going back to the playoffs and with a win at home against Gainesville next week, they have a legiti-mate shot at a share of the district title.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 8 at BURKBURNETT

MW 6 14 3 6 – 29 Burk 0 7 7 7 – 21

Scoring SummaryM–TrentGuinn12run(kickfailed)M–Guinn43passtoJordanDuckett(TristanPerrykick)M–JohnnyMorales3run(Perrykick)B–MitchellJennings75passtoDarionChafin(MasonEverettkick)B–Jennings21passtoRizonnHendricks(Everettkick)M–Perry25fieldgoalB–Jennings5passtoBrandonIngram(Everettkick)M–Guinn2run(kickfailed)

MW Team Stats Burk24FirstDowns14260RushingYds50214PassingYds29716-27Comp-Att23-330INT00FumblesLost010-85Penalties-Yds9-85

Individual StatsPassing:MW–TrentGuinn16-27,214yds,TD.BURK–MitchellJennings23-33,297yds,3TD.Rushing:MW–TrentGuinn23-137,2TD;JohnnyMorales19-123,TD.BURK–MitchellJennings16-28;KolbyYoungblood3-16;TristanNiles1-6;MattAskew2-0;RizonnHendricks2-0.Receiving:MW–JordanDuckett8-135,TD;DomingoTamez1-38;DouglasStevens2-21;JohnnyMorales2-20.BURK–DarionChafin3-90,TD;BrandonIngram5-60,TD;KolbyYoungblood3-56;RizonnHendricks6-39,TD;AlexHirata1-22;BlairHawthorne1-16;TristanNiles4-14.

Defensive LeadersSacks:StefonSandoval(2)Fiveotherswithone


Jordan Duckett led Mineral Wells in receiving against Burkburnett with eight catches for 135 yards and a touchdown.

Mineral Wells students showed up loud and proud to cheer on the Rams in Burkburnett.



UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 10 vs. GAINESVILLE

RAMS GASH GAINESVILLEGuinn and Co. take down the Leopards, 44-6, in regular seasonfinale to lock up playoff date with Snyder thanks to Decatur win


With the result on the field in front of them a forgone conclusion during the fourth quarter, the focus of virtu-ally every one on the Mineral Wells side of Ram Stadium late Friday night was fixed firmly on a game 55 miles to the northeast.

The moment Mineral Wells’ 44-6 victo-ry over Gainesville went final, Rams coaches and fans alike drew their smart-phones quicker than an old sheriff could draw his six-shooter at high noon to fol-low the final moments of Graham/Decatur – a game that would ultimately decide Mineral Wells’ final district stand-ing and seed heading into the Rams’ first playoff appearance since 2011.

Graham led by two touchdowns most of the game – a scenario that would have granted Mineral Wells both a share of the District 4-4A-DI title as well as the sec-ond seed based on point differential – but as time wound down, Graham’s lead shrunk to a touchdown and the Rams shifted their allegiance to Decatur. A close Graham victory would mean a shared district title, but a much-less-desirable third seed for the playoffs, whereas a Decatur win would put the Rams all alone in second place – the less-er of two evils.

Decatur scored to make it 42-41 and sealed the victory with an interception, met by a celebration by Mineral Wells coaches.

“I’ve never been so happy to lose a district championship,” offensive coordi-nator Chris Olson joked after raising his hands in triumph and hugging his fami-ly. “I’m feeling pretty good.”

“I don’t know that I’ve ever been in that situation in my coaching career,” head coach Gerald Perry said after listen-ing to the final moments of the Decatur game on his phone. “At times, Graham

was up 14 and I’m rooting for Graham – which is hard to do. And then at the end, I was rooting for Decatur. I guess you give up a co-championship to get a better seed and, in the end, we want bi-district championships. That’s more important than sharing a title. It looks like every-thing’s going to work out for us with what we wanted for the next round.”

What the 20th-ranked Rams (8-2, 4-1) wanted, and what they got, is a date with the Snyder Tigers (5-5, 2-2) in the first

round of the playoffs – a much more favorable draw than No. 12 Brownwood. But before the Rams could think about Snyder or worry about one of their chief district rivals giving them a helping hand in the standings, they had to take care of business against Gainesville (1-9, 1-4) on senior night and take care of business – which they certainly did.

The Rams were simply outstanding on both sides of the ball, overwhelming Gainesville’s Wing T attack on defense

and scoring on every single drive until a kneel down on the final possession on offense.

“The kids worked hard tonight,” Olson said. “Everything was real crisp tonight, which was our goal going into the playoffs. We wanted to see consisten-cy throughout the evening and we did that. I’m real pleased.”

In his second game alone in the start-ing role, junior quarterback Trent Guinn was dang near perfect, completing 23-of-24 passes for 253 yards and four touch-downs – each to a different receiver – and rushing three times for 44 yards. He did most of it with a badly bruised back that tightened up periodically through-out the night.

“He played great,” Olson said. “He played within the offense this week. Last week, he pushed a little too much. His goal going into this week was just to work the system and trust in what we do. He was pretty dog-gone good.”

Guinn’s bruise came on a 35-yard scramble during the Rams’ nine-play opening drive culminating in a 6-yard Johnny Morales score. After the quar-terback was slow to get up, Olson and the offensive coaches decided to take a cautious approach with Guinn’s legs, particularly with fellow junior starter Tristan Perry already sidelined the last two games with broken fingers on his left hand.

“Some of what was open [all night] was quarterback runs, but we decided not to do that,” Olson explained. “There was no reason at that point. We just wanted to make sure we’re as healthy as we can possibly be going into next week.

“We’re going to have to work [on Guinn sliding],” Olson continued with a laugh. “It’s been a long time since he’s played baseball. We might have to take him over to the base paths and teach him how to do that.”

Guinn tossed touchdowns to Douglas

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Junior quarterback Trent Guinn was practically perfect in Mineral Wells' 44-6 win over Gainesville, completing 23-of-24 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns – each to a different receiver – and rushing three times for 44 yards.

Stevens, Jordan Duckett, Carlos Gray and Brandon Hinojos before his night ended in favor of getting sophomore slinger Seth Slack some work. Slack also per-formed well, leading the Rams on an 11-play, fourth-quarter drive ending in a field goal before taking two knees to run out the clock on the next possession.

The 27-yard field goal came off the foot of Gabriel Bonafacio, who was also a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points in his first varsity game. Equally impressive were sophomore Brand Bryant and freshman Bradley Aaron, who got starting nods on an offensive line that manhandled Gainesville up front.

They were just some of many Rams to see the field Friday and make an impact, as coach Perry said every single Mineral Wells player got playing time in the final home game.

On defense, the Rams were equally stellar. When Gainesville wasn’t shooting itself in the foot with six false starts and illegal motion penalties, the Rams were living in the Leopards’ backfield. It wasn’t until Gainesville’s final possession of the game that running back Calion Baker broke loose against the Rams’ backup defenders and took the ball 32 yards for a score on fourth down to end Mineral Wells’ hopes of a shutout.

Even without the goose egg, defensive coordinator Seth Hobbs couldn’t feel bad about his defense’s performance – which also included two turnovers.

“They did really well,” he said of his defense. “I’m very pleased with both the execution and the adjustments to the gameplan. We actually slid our defensive linemen in tighter and that made them block down, which freed up the lineback-ers and made it work out pretty well. Before too long, we got them out of what they wanted to do and that definitely played into our hands.”

Gainesville didn’t register a first down during the third quarter and didn’t top 100 yards rushing as a team until the fourth quarter.

Ultimately, Mineral Wells’ 44-6 pounding of the Leopards served not only as revenge for last year’s 31-3 loss – which kept the Rams out of the post-season. It also served as a final prelude for the most important part of Mineral Wells’ football calendar and one that Perry and all of Rams Nation hopes will be very special.

It’s been since 1985 that the Rams have

won a playoff game. But 30 years later, coach Perry feels good about his 2015 squad and knows from personal experience any-thing can happen in the postseason.

“We’re a good team. In my mind, we could easily be 10-0 right now and we’ve still not played our best. I’m happy for our team, our fans and our community.”


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 10 vs. GAINESVILLE

G’ville 0 0 0 6 – 6 MW 14 13 14 3 – 44

Scoring SummaryM–JohnnyMorales6run(kickfailed)M–TrentGuinn31passtoDouglasStevens(GuinntoJordanDuckettfor2)M–Guinn4passtoDuckett(kickfailed)M–Guinn21passtoCarlosGray(GabrielBonafaciokick)M–Guinn1passtoBrandonHinojos(Bonafaciokick)M–Hinojos7run(Bonafaciokick)M–Bonifacio27FGG–CalionBaker32run(kickfailed)

G’ville TEAM STATS MW 9 FirstDowns 26 183 RushingYds 196 28 PassingYds 273 2-5 Comp-Att 25-29 1 INT 0 1 FumblesLost 0

Individual StatsPassing:MW–TrentGuinn23-24,253yds,4TD;SethSlack2-5,20yds.GHS–ReddHarrison1-3,22yds;HunterTurbeville1-2,6yds,INT.Rushing:MW–JohnnyMorales16-100,TD;TrentGuinn3-44;BrandonHinojos6-18,TD;MatthewLawhon1-17;JordanDuckett1-14;DouglasStevens1-11;DomingoTamez1-1;SethSlack2-(-19).GHS–CalionBaker8-76,TD;MichaelBradley8-34;ReedHarrison10-31;HunterTurbeville5-29;ZukariLong5-11;SpencerPadgett1-2;Ja’HaudSpencer2-1;LuisHuerta1-(-1).Receiving: MW–DouglasStevens5-74,TD;CarlosGray6-61,TD;JordanDuckett6-47,TD;DomingoTamez3-42;JohnnyMorales1-28;DannyWhite1-12;TroyBradshaw1-8;BrandonHinojos1-1,TD.GHS–BryceRoyal1-22;MichaelBradley1-6.

Defensive LeadersSack:MaxGrider(1)INT:KaineCarraway(1)FR:JeromeJohnson(1)

Freshman Brandon Hinojos scored two touch-downs in the Rams’ 44-6 win over Gainesville at Ram Stadium, to close out the reg-ular season 8-2.

DAVID MAY/INDEX


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 11 vs. SNYDER at SHOTWELL STADIUM, ABILENE

Rams end 30-year postseason losing streak with 27-22 defeat of Snyder


ABILENE – For the first time since 1928, the Mineral Wells Rams are bi-district champions.

After 30 long years of waiting, the Rams exorcised their postseason demons with a gritty 27-22 victory over the Snyder Tigers on a chilly Friday night at Abilene’s Shotwell Stadium.

Before Friday, the Rams had only two playoff wins in school history: 1928’s bi-district championship and a zone playoff win in 1985.

“Three now,” Mineral Wells head coach Gerald Perry said with a grin. “I’m just happy for our com-munity and our team. It’s been a long time coming and it’s taken a whole lot of work.

“One year ago today, our kids were at a playoff game at Ram Stadium. We turned our pads in and were watching playoff games at our place just think-ing, ‘This is what we want to do.’ One year later, we’re here. It wasn’t a pretty game, but at this point you’re not worried about anything but getting that ‘W.’ I’m proud of our kids for finding a way to win.”

Appropriately, Brett Stagner – an offensive lineman for the ’85 Rams – spoke to the current team before they took the field against Snyder. His speech was simple: a reminder of just how proud the Mineral Wells community is of this team – a team that Stagner said reminds him a great deal of the 11-1 squad he played on.

That community support was palpable on Friday and the Rams fed off of it. A large and vocal crowd made the trip west, outnumbering Snyder’s fans significantly, after the entire city of Mineral Wells had already offered a tremendous outpouring of support as the Rams buses rolled out of town. Perry was almost speechless as he recalled the droves of Rams fans of all ages lining the streets of Mineral Wells to wish their team well as they set off to make school history.

“The send off today was incredible. I’ve been in state championship games and seen some really cool things, but I almost got a little emotional because that was amazing,” Perry said.

“Even when we got out of town, there were people pulled over and waving. These kids are blessed.”

As it should have been, Friday’s victory was the epitome of a team win for the 9-2 Rams. After Snyder (5-6) punched the ball in on the first drive, Rams

junior quarterback Trent Guinn engineered a string of 21 unanswered points in the first half on three touch-down passes to three different receivers.

While fellow junior starter Tristan Perry struggled to shake off the rust after missing two starts with bro-ken fingers, Guinn made the most of his possessions and gave the Rams some cushion it turned they would desperately need as Snyder began a second-half push.

“Trent continued to keep it rolling from last week and that was good,” offensive coordinator Chris Olson said, referencing Guinn’s career-game in the regular season finale against Gainesville. “[Tristan] needs game time to get the rust knocked off. But he did fine, he did exactly what I wanted him to do.”

The tide began to turn in Snyder’s favor in the final two minutes of the first half. Snyder quarterback Logan Tate found Dralon Jackson for 44 yards to put

the Tigers deep in Rams territory.At first, it seemed as though the Rams defense

would hold, stopping the Tigers on two runs inside the 5-yard line before a holding call backed Snyder up 10 yards on first and goal. But the Tigers clawed back and, on fourth down, Tate hit Abram Smith on a 4-yard slant for a touchdown to cut Mineral Wells’ lead to 21-12 going into halftime.

The Rams padded their lead on the first possession of the second half when Domingo Tamez capped off a long drive with a 17-yard jet sweep – his second touchdown of the game. Tamez’s play earned him high praise from coach Olson.

“You can’t say enough about Domingo Tamez,” Olson said. “Out of all the wide receivers, he gets the least attention and he’s the biggest grunt on the team. He does all the dirty work and, tonight, made some huge plays for us.”

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Junior linebacker Stefon Sandoval delivers one of many bone-jarring hits against the Snyder Tigers in the Rams’ bi-district win.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 11 vs. SNYDER at SHOTWELL STADIUM, ABILENE

Snyder answered with a 23-yard field goal by Jarrett Reneau to cut Mineral Wells’ lead to 27-15 and launch a Tigers rally.

Snyder’s defense stepped up, forcing two turnovers on downs and bailing out the offense after a David Howeth interception, to set up the offen-sive drive that made the score a bit too close for comfort. Tate heaved a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jackson and Snyder, now down just five, was breath-ing down Mineral Wells’ neck.

But the Rams stepped up to the challenge, first with a little help from outstanding junior running back Johnny Morales.

“The game plan kind of changed in the second half. We wanted to control the ball a lit-tle bit more and take time off,” Olson said. “We leaned heavily on the run game. We thought their big guys up front were getting a little tired.”

Morales more than answered the bell, finishing with 23 car-ries for 116 yards to put him well over 1,000 for the season.

“Johnny’s special, he truly is. I can’t say enough about the O-line either, particularly the two young cats up there now,” Olson added, referencing soph-omore Brand Bryant and fresh-man Bradley Aaron. “We have a motto when games get to that point and it’s ‘time to kill their will.’ They were begging for it. I don’t know how much time we marched off in the second half, but it seemed like we had it for a good majority.”

The Rams took a whopping 4:38 off the clock before they were forced to punt, when Perry became the next Ram to step up, delivering arguably the most important kick of his life – a high boot that hung in the air for eight seconds before finally bouncing into the endzone for a touch back.

With eight seconds showing on the clock, it would be up to Mineral Wells’ defense to pre-serve the history-making win.

On Snyder’s first play, junior linebacker Stefon Sandoval tore through the Tigers’ over-sized line like a missile and nearly broke Tate in half as he let go of a pass that fell incomplete. Time was left for one left Hail Mary down field.

“We were trying to keep at least four guys back to keep everybody contained and get a little bit of pressure from line-backer and widen out our ends,” defensive coordinator Seth Hobbs recalled of the pre-vent play call. “We told them, be ready for the hitch and pitch. We just told them to hang and not chase anything.”

Tate looked to Smith for a miracle, but when the receiver tossed the ball up to keep the play alive as he fell toward the turf, Mineral Wells senior nose guard David Garcia was the one to dive on the pigskin as time expired and the entire Black and Red side of Shotwell Stadium erupted, having taken the first big step into a bright future.

“It’s awesome,” Olson said

of the feeling after the win. “The kids have worked so hard. To see the look on their faces holding up the trophy is what you do it for. The com-munity support is awesome. The crowd was into it. The parade out of town was awe-some. This whole time of year is just special and to get the win tonight, it leaves you speechless.”

“I really am happy,” Hobbs added. “Defensively, I thought we played pretty well. We still have a lot of stuff to clean up, but that’s a tough football team. Give credit to Snyder. They did a lot of things we didn’t prepare for. I was really pleased our kids were able to react and play as well as they did in the end. For as much nonsense as was going on back there, the secondary did a real-ly good job.”

Next week, Mineral Wells will look to conquer previously uncharted waters as they face the District 1 Pampa Harvesters (8-3) in the area round on the

big stage of Texas Tech’s AT&T Jones Stadium in Lubbock.

The last time Mineral Wells was officially in the second round of the playoffs in 1928, they were called regionals and the Rams fell to Post, 21-20. But a lot has changed in 87 years and these Rams are ready and able to do something no Rams have ever done before.

“The kids believed this wasn’t their last night to play football,” Hobbs said. “These are the same kids that have been in the locker room forever. It’s just a matter of they finally believe they can do it. I’m very happy for our kids. They’re the ones that do it all. We’re just pointing them in the right direc-tion. All credit goes to them, because they’re awesome.”

NOTES• Mineral Wells’ quarterbacks

Guinn and Perry sported bleach blond hair – reminiscent of Southlake Carroll in the early 2000s – for the Rams’ first playoff game since 2011. Offensive coor-dinator and quarterbacks coach Olson laughed at the mention of his quarterbacks’ style choice.

“I knew that a lot of the players were doing special things with their hair,” he said. “My quarterbacks have a tendency to be a bit more conservative. I had no idea they were doing it until they showed up this morning and they were platinum blond. It’s a testament to the fact that, as many issues as people think we’ve had, those two boys are about as tight as you could possibly ask for. It’s been a real luxury.”

• After just one round of the playoffs, the Rams are already the last team stand-ing from District 4-4A-DI. Burkburnett fell to Abilene Wylie, 56-7, on Thursday and on Friday Stephenville crushed Decatur, 49-28, and Brownwood rallied past Graham, 29-26.

Snyder 6 6 3 7 –22 M. Wells 714 6 0 –27

Scoring SummaryS–LoganTate2run(kickfailed)M–TrentGuinn20passtoDomingoTamez(GabrielBonafaciokick)M–Guinn4passtoJordanDuckett(Bonafaciokick)M–Guinn33passtoDouglasStevens(Bonafaciokick)S–Tate4passtoAbramSmith(2-ptfailed)M–Tamez17run(kickfailed)S–JarrettReneau23FGS–Tate30passtoDralonJackson(Reneaukick)

SNY Team Stats MW 22 FirstDowns 13 88 RushingYds 131 293 PassingYds 25219-29 Comp-Att 22-30 1 INT 0 2-2 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 6-55 Penalties-Yds 6-45

Individual StatsPassing:MW–TrentGuinn12-17,151yds,3TD;TristanPerry10-13,101yds.SNY–LoganTate19-29,293yds,2TD,2INT.Rushing: MW–JohnnyMorales23-116;DomingoTamez2-15,TD;DouglasStevens2-1;TrentGuinn5-(-1).SNY–JadenZamora6-51;LoganTate16-37,TD.Receiving:MW–JordanDuckett8-126,TD;DouglasStevens4-57,TD;DomingoTamez5-48,TD;CarlosGray4-26;JohnnyMorales1-(-5).SNY–DralonJackson5-104,TD;JarrettReneau4-77;TaylorMunkres5-69;AbramSmith5-45,TD;JadenZamora1-(-2).Defensive LeadersINT:DavidHoweth(1)FF:DavidHoweth(1)FR:EzequielMorquecho,DavidGarcia(1)

Up Next: AREA ROUNDVs.Pampa(8-3)7p.m.Friday,Nov.20,atTexasTech’sAT&TJonesStadium

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Mineral Wells Rams head coach Gerald Perry hoists the bi-district trophy as players around him celebrate following the Rams’ 27-22 win over Snyder in Abilene.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 12 vs. PAMPA at AT&T JONES STADIUM, LUBBOCK

HISTORY ON THE PLAINSRamsgrabfirst-everareatitlewith41-20winoverPampa


LUBBOCK – The Mineral Wells Rams have never been better in November than they are right now.

Looking right at home in Jones AT&T Stadium on the campus of Texas Tech University Friday night, the black-and-red-clad Rams – and the sizable contingent of Rams Nation that made the four-hour trip to Lubbock with them – could revel in history before their eyes.

Mineral Wells (10-2) was domi-nant in every phase of the game, smothering the District 1 champi-on Pampa Harvesters (8-4) 41-20 to earn the first-ever area champi-onship and deepest playoff run in Rams football history.

“I’m excited. I’m happy for this community more than anything,” second-year head coach Gerald Perry said on the field at Texas Tech, surrounded by players, stu-dents, fans and family. “I was a little worried about the kids let-ting all this go to their head. But we scored on the first possession and it just kept going from there. It’s just a testament to our kids. They fight. Whether we’re up or down, we’re going to keep getting after you. We made plays when we had to. I’m just happy for every body.”

Just over a month after these same Rams appeared out of their element in a trip to play Decatur with first place in District 4-4A-DI on the line, Mineral Wells was immensely more mature and com-fortable in the moment and refused to shrink from the oppor-tunity to cement their place in Rams lore.

“I’m just happy that it was a

big stage, a big game, a big team and we didn’t let it be too big for us,” defensive coordinator Seth Hobbs observed. “We played the same game we’re capable of play-ing all year long. Hats off to those guys for stepping up and execut-ing the game plan. They just did what they were supposed to do.”

The Rams started hot out of the gate. Junior quarterback Trent Guinn led Mineral Wells’ on a nine-play scoring drive after the opening kickoff, culminating in a 5-yard touchdown pass to senior slot receiver Domingo Tamez.

It would be just one of many big plays for Tamez on the night, as he carried the passing game – particularly in the first half – with eight catches for 85 yards on the night, both team highs. Sophomore slot Carlos Gray was the second leading receiver on the team with three grabs for 62 yards and two touchdowns.

Offensive coordinator Chris Olson knew he would need a big night from his slots against Pampa’s Cover 3 and it was exact-ly what he got.

“They bracketed Jordan [Duckett] all night long, did some different things with Dougie [Stevens] and kept six in the box all night long, so the slots had to make a lot of plays tonight. I’m real pleased with the production,” Olson said. “[Tamez] showed the last two weeks you can’t judge somebody by their size. He’s got a real big heart and the offense tends to rally around him. He does a lot of the dirty work and now it’s pay-ing off for him.”

After the Rams’ defense forced a turnover on downs at the Mineral Wells 35-yard line, junior quarter-back Tristan Perry got the offense

DERRICK SPENCER/FOR THE INDEX

Mineral Wells junior safety Kaine Carraway makes one of two huge second half endzone interceptions that thwarted Pampa comeback attempts and helped the Rams secure its first-ever area football championship in Lubbock.

right back to work and connected with Gray for the first of his touchdowns from 45-yards out.

An interception by senior linebacker Tristan Seargeant on the ensuing Pampa drive and a 31-yard touchdown pass from Perry to Douglas Stevens three pos-sessions later gave Mineral Wells a com-manding 21-0 lead that Pampa could ultimately never recover from.

But it wasn’t as though the Harvesters didn’t try.

On Pampa’s first offensive play after the Stevens score, the Harvesters came out in a heavy package in the shadow of their own goal post and power running back Colten Thompson broke through the line for a 94-yard score.

After the second touchdown connec-tion from Perry to Gray made the score 28-7, Pampa cut Mineral Wells’ lead to a tenuous 14 points going into halftime when Thompson punched the ball in for a second score from 1-yard out with 19 sec-onds left.

Pampa and their fast-paced air raid offense were due to receive the opening second half kickoff and could have made things interesting, had it not been for the Mineral Wells defense supplying what Hobbs thought was the stand of the game.

Pampa marched all the way down to the Mineral Wells 35, but the defense held firm on fourth-and-1 to get the ball back and slow Pampa’s momentum.

“To me, that was the biggest drive of the game,” Hobbs said. “I thought that was unbelievable. Even though we didn’t score, the possible momentum shift didn’t occur and I was pleased with that.”

Pampa did manage to score two pos-sessions later when running back Bryce Parker got loose for a 15-yard score, but Mineral Wells answered with Perry’s fourth touchdown pass of the night, 17 yards to Cameron Weiss, and the Rams could breath a bit easier up 34-20.

Heading into the fourth quarter, it was time to close out the game and – for the second straight week – Mineral Wells turned to the only group that made sense, the offensive line and junior running back Johnny Morales.

After gaining just 34 yards on nine car-ries against Pampa’s run-focused 3-3 stack in the first half, Morales took control in the second, adding 105 yards on 11 sec-ond-half carries – including a 45-yard touchdown run with 3:21 left to ice the ball game.

“The last couple weeks we’ve gotten down to points where we needed to knock time off the board. Being able to do that is huge and it’s going to help us going forward,” Olson said of the Rams’ late rushing success. “We’re going to go against tougher competition and being able to run time off is going to be crucial. The execution down the stretch is what we needed to see.”

On Pampa’s final two possessions – immediately before and after Morales’ touchdowns – junior safety Kaine Carraway ended lengthy Harvester drives with two interceptions in the endzone to preserve the Rams’ lead. It was just one aspect of a night against Pampa’s pass-happy offense for Mineral Wells’ veteran secondary that Hobbs called “unbelievable.”

“All those guys in the secondary really played great,” Hobbs said. “Angel Garcia, who’s been a backup for most of the year, was unbelievable. Everybody just stepped up and did their job. Great job by the secondary.”

After Perry’s final kneel down, the

Rams could relish having made Mineral Wells history, hoisting a shiny new area championship trophy for the case high above their collective heads. But it wasn’t long before attention began to shift to the next round and word spread of the upcoming opponent.

Brownwood (10-2) had outlasted Andrews (10-2) in their area champion-ship bout in San Angelo and, just like that, the Lions – whom the Rams were so excited to avoid in the first round – were now on next week’s schedule.

But that was just fine by the Rams. A date with the Lions simply meant another goal had been met, with the ultimate goal now one step closer.

“Our team goals of a state champion-ship and practicing on Thanksgiving are still in our grasp. We’ve got one now,” coach Perry said, referencing a practice now scheduled for this Thursday. “That practice will be open to the public at 9 a.m. Come on out. We won’t have any helicopters landing that day, but just come out and we’ll have a good time this week and celebrate with family.”

“There’s no other way I’d rather spend Thanksgiving than with these boys,” Olson added. “It’s just been one of those years where, if there’s a time to be thankful, it’s with these kids. With everything we’ve been through, we’re going to celebrate it.”

The first third-round game in Mineral Wells football history against Brownwood is set for 1 p.m. Friday in Abilene’s Shotwell Stadium – the site of Mineral Wells’ first postseason victory in 30 years last week. If the stars remain aligned, the Rams hope an even bigger Shotwell cele-bration could be in the works.

NOTES• Trent Guinn’s day ended in the

beginning of the second quarter with an apparent minor ankle injury. Olson said Guinn rolled the ankle and implied it didn’t seem too serious.

“He’s able to walk on it, but it is pretty big, so we’ll get some ice on it,” Olson said.

The coach added it was a luxury to have a second quarterback like Tristan Perry who could take the reins after Guinn’s injury and drive the bus by himself to victory.

“Tristan, for having a couple weeks off there, he was pretty right on the money tonight,” he said. “I was real pleased with both of them.”


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 12 vs. PAMPA at AT&T JONES STADIUM, LUBBOCK

GAME SUMMARY Pampa 0 14 6 0 – 20 M. Wells 14 14 6 7 – 41SCORING SUMMARYMW–TrentGuinn5passtoDomingoTamez(GabrielBonifaciokick)MW–TristanPerry45passtoCarlosGray(Bonifaciokick)MW–Perry31passtoDouglasStevens(Bonifaciokick)P–ColtenThompson94run(TrevorTurnerkick)MW–Perry7passtoGray(Bonifaciokick)P–Thompson1run(Turnerkick)P–BryceParker15run(2-pt.failed)MW–Perry17passtoCameronWeiss(2-pt.failed)MW–JohnnyMorales45run(Bonifaciokick) Pampa TEAM STATS MW 18 FirstDowns 20 162 RushingYds 203 169 PassingYds 214 22-35 Comp-Att 17-27 2 INT 0 1-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 4-43 Penalties-Yds 8-85 2-33.5 Punts-Avg 4-37.5 20:38 TimeofPoss. 24:01

INDIVIDUAL STATSPassing:MW–TristanPerry8-16,130yds,4TD;TrentGuinn9-11,84yds,TD.PAM–ErikVizcaino22-34,169yds,2INT;BrendonWoelfle0-1.Rushing:MW–JohnnyMorales20-139,TD;DouglasStevens1-30;TrentGuinn4-23;JordanDuckett1-4;TristanPerry2-4;DomingoTamez1-3;CarlosGray1-1.PAM–ColtenThompson10-106,2TD;ErikVizcaino9-42;BryceParker4-15,TD;BrendonWoelfle2-(-1).Receiving:MW–DomingoTamez8-85,TD;CarlosGray3-62,2TD;DouglasStevens1-31,TD;CameronWeiss1-17,TD;JohnnyMorales2-15;TroyBradshaw1-4;JordanDuckett1-0.PAM–JasonThomas4-43;BrendonWoelfle4-39;JordanBaker3-35;AlecMcLendon3-22;DarrellFields2-16;BryceParker5-8;CyWood1-6.

DEFENSIVE LEADERSTackles:TristanSeargeant,CameronWeiss(8)INT:KaineCarraway(2)

DERRICK SPENCER/FOR THE INDEX

Mineral Wells receiver Douglas Stevens takes off for 30 yards on a sweep handoff. Stevens also scored on a 31-yard reception for the Rams’ third touchdown in the win over Pampa.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 13 vs. BROWNWOOD at SHOTWELL STADIUM, ABILENE


ABILENE – The Mineral Wells Rams’ historic 2015 campaign came to an end on a wet, frozen Black Friday afternoon under the same Shotwell Stadium lights in Abilene, where the Rams began to make history just two weeks before.

Up against a traditional power in the ninth-ranked Brownwood Lions, the Rams couldn’t stretch the deepest playoff run in school history past the third round, as a valiant second-half rally fell short and Brownwood advanced with a 23-13 victory.

For the Rams and the outstanding Mineral Wells crowd that braved the miserable elements to cheer them on, it was a somber ending to a magical 10-3 season – easily one of the best in over a century of Mineral Wells football.

“It’s been incredible,” second-year head coach Gerald Perry said of the season that was, as he warmed himself inside the coaches’ locker room. “Being here two years now and just seeing the change in our kids and how they fight, I’m as proud as I could be. It’s just been a complete turnaround in this community. It’s more than just a football team; it’s the cheerleaders, the band, the dancers, the trainers, our filmers, everyone involved in Friday night football. They all have a big part of this and I’m just proud of every-body. I wish we could keep playing.”

The game started out well enough for the Rams. Mineral Wells forced Brownwood to punt on the game’s opening drive after Stefon Sandoval, Tristan Seargeant and Richard Muñoz converged on Brownwood quarterback Grant Lewis for a sack. But the Rams’ rush of momentum disappeared when a diving Crystan Wright intercepted junior quarterback Trent Guinn to set up a 37-yard touchdown pass from Lewis to Rylee Gregory.

Junior receiver Jordan Duckett muffed the ensuing kickoff, but Mineral Wells got another breath of life when Muñoz recovered a fumble on the first play of the next Brownwood drive. The Rams marched into the red zone but couldn’t capital-ize on the opportunity to score and turned the ball over on downs.

The first half was downhill from there. Behind its physical running attack, Brownwood began to take con-trol, building a 20-0 lead by halftime and forcing Mineral Wells to punt twice and turn the ball over on downs a second time in the red zone before the half.

“Disappointing,” offensive coordi-nator Chris Olson said of the first-half performance. “We were able to move the ball in the first half and, for what-ever reason, weren’t able to put it in. That really was the difference. We kept the defense out there longer than they needed to be on a day like this and

you can’t have that.”“I wouldn’t say we necessarily

played a bad first half defensively, but we did have a couple blown assignments that led to big plays,” defensive coordinator Seth Hobbs added. “They’re a good football team, so if you give them that many oppor-tunities, they’re going to put the ball in the endzone.”

Hobbs said that Brownwood’s rush-ing success – the Lions finished with 353 rushing yards on the day – was due less to a size disadvantage for the Rams and more to Brownwood simply executing their run plays to perfection.

“It was just them doing their jobs and getting up to linebackers,” Hobbs said. “They did a lot of single block-ing on our defensive line. It was just them executing.“

Even down three scores, the Rams refused to quit. After all, the Rams had already rallied from an 18-point half-time deficit once this year to earn their

first win over Graham in 27 years.Junior quarterback Tristan Perry led

the Rams on a 16-play march down the field to open the second half before punching the ball into the end-zone himself on a 1-yard dive. When junior safety Kaine Carraway stripped the ball away from Brownwood run-ning back Harley Price on the ensuing possession, it felt like a totally differ-ent ball game for a moment. But, again, the Rams were forced to punt, ending a promising third quarter down 20-7.

Perry again took the Rams into the endzone on his next possession, con-necting with sophomore receiver Carlos Gray on a 14-yard scoring pass to give the Rams hope and a 20-13 def-icit. Brownwood did exactly what it needed to, however, milking the clock on an authoritative 12-play drive to set up a 26-yard field goal by Aaron Jimenez and push the total to a two-score game at 23-13.

With time running out as it was, a turnover on downs on the next Rams drive simply sealed Mineral Wells’ fate as the Rams could only watch as Brownwood kneeled to kill the clock.

Although the rally fell short, Mineral Wells’ coaches couldn’t help but be impressed with the tenacity that the Rams have continually shown throughout the year.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of the boys,” Olson said. “Down 20-0 at halftime, they very easily could have laid down. But that’s not the type of team we are. They refused to quit. They showed great heart, great deter-mination.

“Both [quarterbacks], all season long, have had to play their role and really step up at different times. I don’t know if we had done it any other way – other than alternating the two – if we would have had as much success. I’m very proud of both of them. I can’t say enough about either one of them. We just needed about five

BLACK FRIDAY BUMMERRams’rallyfallsshortasNo.9Brownwoodendshistoricseason,23-13

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Brownwood holds Mineral Wells running back Johnny Morales out of the endzone as the Lions ended the Rams' historic season in a 23-13 third-round defeat at Abilene's Shotwell Stadium.

more minutes today.”With two playoff wins to their credit

this year, the 2015 Rams have officially accounted for half of the postseason wins in the entirety of Mineral Wells football history. Perry and his staff hope that this year is only the begin-ning of a new era, as Mineral Wells hopes to one day attain the “tradition-al power” status that Brownwood enjoys.

“This is what we’re trying to build,” coach Perry said. “The expec-tation is to be here every year now. The first week I got here, I laid out our goals for this team. One of them was to practice on Thanksgiving Day and we did it. There’s just one goal left. We’re going to work our tails off to get to that. It’s tough to lose when you go this far, but we played a dang good football team. We fought and clawed and their kids knew it was a fight. I’m proud of our staff and everyone involved.

“The great thing is we’re young. We’ve got a lot of juniors coming back. I told our guys, ‘We’re going to be back. You guys know what it’s like and know how bad it feels to lose that last one. We’ve just got to get started to get back here.’”

Any road has to have a starting point and 10-3 will undoubtedly serve as a tremendous launchpad for a future that looks brighter with every passing day for the group of juniors, sophomores and freshmen that will carry the torch after the departure of an outstanding senior class.

But no matter what the future holds, Hobbs and Olson said 2015 will always hold a special place in their hearts.

“It’s meant a lot to me and to the town as well,” Hobbs said. “I was very happy to see this many people here and with the crappy weather. It’s been phenomenal. I’m very pleased with how everybody came together and everyone knowing their role as well. To a man, everybody knows their role and has done a great job. I know this is going to be something that will carry them now in the future. We’ve set a standard that is going to proliferate.”

“It’s been one of the best times of my life – not just because of the wins, but because of the kind of kids we have here and it means so much to them,”

Olson said, with a bit of emotion in his voice. “That kind of kid makes it easy to come to work and it resulted in the kind of season we had.”

Two years ago, when Perry and his staff rolled into Mineral Wells, they introduced a mantra that the Rams have eaten, slept and breathed: “We will win.” The Rams have done just that.

Now it seems the mantra is evolving.

“We’ll be back,” Perry said with confidence to conclude his postgame interview.

Let the countdown begin.


UPON FURTHER REVIEW : WEEK 13 vs. BROWNWOOD at SHOTWELL STADIUM, ABILENE

M. Wells 0 0 7 6 – 13 B’wood 7 13 0 3 – 23Scoring SummaryB–GrantLewis37passtoRyleeGregory(AaronJimenezkick)B–Lewis5run(Jimenezkick)B–BrandonDiaz1run(2-pt.failed)M–TristanPerry1run(GabrielBonifaciokick)M–Perry14passtoCarlosGray(kickfailed)B–Jimenez26FG MW TEAM STATS BHS 22 FirstDowns 20 163 RushingYds 353 132 PassingYds 4213-32 Comp-Att 2-6 1 INT 0 1 FumblesLost 2Individual StatsPassing: MW–TristanPerry8-20,91yds,TD;TrentGuinn5-12,41yds,INT.BHS–GrantLewis2-6,42yds,TD.Rushing:MW–JohnnyMorales22-93;TristanPerry9-51,TD;TrentGuinn3-11;JordanDuckett1-8;BrandonHinojos1-1.BHS–GrantLewis30-153,TD;HarleyPrice10-78;ConnorHoward7-74;BrandonDiaz14-48,TD.Receiving:MW–CameronWeiss2-40;DouglasStevens2-37;JordanDuckett6-32;CarlosGray3-26,TD;JohnnyMorales1-(-3).BHS–RyleeGregory1-37,TD;ConnorHoward1-5.Defensive LeadersFR:RichardMuñoz,KaineCarraway(1)Sacks:StefonSandoval,TristanSeageant,RichardMuñoz(1)

Rams junior signal caller Tristan Perry had a strong second half in trying to rally the Rams against Brownwood. While the Rams out-scored the Lions, 13-3, in the last two quarters, it would not be enough on a cold, blustery day in Abilene.

DAVID MAY/INDEX

Season Stats36sunday, deceMber 20, 2015 • a season To reMeMber • Mineral Wells index


A Season to Remember in Photos Seethe2015gamegalleriesatphotos.mineralwellsindex.com/events

LET NOTHING STOP YOU™

Electromedical Products International, Inc.2201 Garrett Morris Parkway • Mineral Wells, TX 76067 Phone: (940) 328-0788 • Email: [email protected]

For PainFor Anxiety

For InsomniaFor Depression

Alpha-Stim®

HELP FOR YOU IS HERETo get started, visit www.Alpha-Stim.com

or call (940) 328-0788

football keepsake 2015

Documents