Mustangs fall in tough battle to Eagles in opener

The Nixon-Smiley Mustangs traveled up Texas 80 Friday, Aug. 31 for the season opener against the Luling Eagles.

The Mustangs lost a close game to the Eagles, 21-12.

Mustangs head football coach Paul Kirby made his head coaching debut and he was impressed with how his team played against Luling.

“I was nervous pretty much the whole week, but right before the game, the nerves kicked in and it was game time. So just like every other game as a coach, you go out there and do the best you can for your kids. So it was fun, exciting. It was a tough loss for us, but we expect to bounce back,” Kirby said.

Kirby said the Mustangs started the game very well on defense, but offensively, they missed some executions.

“The first half was tough. Then we started getting into some injury bugs. We had a couple guys get injured, nothing serious, thank God. Had some cramping that hit us, took some of our key players out, and that was very tough on us, especially for the play calling, which limited our offense a little bit,” Kirby said.

“The biggest thing I was very proud of is how our kids did not respond negatively to anything. They stayed positive. They were continuously fighting to try to get back in the game, which they did at one point,” Kirby added.

The Mustangs will host the Three Rivers Bulldogs for their home opener Friday, Sept. 6.

“This Three Rivers team is very similar to some of the teams that we had in the past to come across our paths. As far as being a very tough team, they are physical, their quarterback is outstanding. He makes great decisions. He loves to run the football when his receivers aren't open,” Kirby said.

Kirby added Three Rivers has good defensive front on the line.

“We're preparing to do some good things against them, hopefully take advantage of their abilities, kind of push their abilities against them. If you say, I do think, like I said, this is one of the tougher teams that will play all year,” Kirby said.

The Three Rivers game kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

--STATS—

OFFENSE:

Passing:

Eric Rodriguez: 3/12 for 28 yards and one touchdown

Rushing:

1. Rodriguez: 14 carries for 31 yards and one touchdown

Julian Amaya: 12 carries for 68 yards

Garret Gonzales: 4 carries for 47 yards

DEFENSE:

Tackles:

Khali Jantes and Nicholas Martinez: five tackles

Aiden Flores, Carlos Carlos, Karson Rhodes, Davian Ramos: three tackles

Timothy McGlothine: two tackles

John Garza, Adrian Zamora, Jaylun Rodriguez, Ryan Paez, and J. Amaya: one tackle

Tackles for loss:

1. Carlos, N. Martinez, R. Paez, and K. Rhodes: one tackle for losses.