The Olton Mustangs varsity football team had a scrimmage with Muleshoe last Thursday, while the Sudan Hornets took on Tahoka on Friday, as they look to tune things up for their season-opener this week.
Olton Head Coach Ross Lassiter talked about their scrimmage, saying, “Our scrimmage answered a lot of questions for us Thursday night. We go a chance to see some of our younger kids against varsity competition and make some decisions on who will be starting.”
He added, “It was a good scrimmage against good talent that will help us week one against Sudan.
Sudan Head Coach John Cornelius talked about his teams performance, saying, “It was good to get back out there in a game type situation against another opponent. I was really pleased with the effort and mentality of our players.”
He added, “We need to clean up some of the mental errors and cut back on the penalties.”
The Mustangs and Hornets will clash on Friday in Olton for the cross-county showdown.
“Offensively, we will need to see improvement in our running game and continue to pass effectively,” Coach Lassiter said. “Eliminating mistakes and putting drives together on Friday night will be important.”
He added, “Defensively, we will need to do a better job of tackling and be prepared for Sudan’s fast tempo on Offense.”
Coach Cornelius said, “We are looking for balance offensively. We just want to be able to take advantage of whatever the defense is giving us.”
Coach Lassiter said that he feels the keys to victory will be eliminating first game mental mistakes, putting drives together offensively and getting our defense off of the field.
“This game could come down to special teams play,” Coach Lassiter stated.
Coach Cornelius talked about what he feels the keys to a victory will be, saying, “It usually comes down to who can take care of the football, and who can run the ball effectively. Olton also throws the ball well and has several weapons on the outside. We have to limit the big plays.”
The contest is scheduled to kick-off at 7 p.m. in Olton.