Mustangs roll past Bulldogs

The Nixon-Smiley Mustangs traveled to Flatonia for their last non-district game against the Bulldogs Friday, Sept. 13.

The Mustangs took home a 43-14 win over the Bulldogs, earning Nixon-Smiley head coach Paul Kirby his first career win as a head coach.

“I got one as an OC, but this one means a lot more to me. But, like I tell the guys, you know, I'm just so happy they got the W more than I am. It means a lot to me, obviously, but to see them just triumphantly come through so much adversity the past few weeks and put it together. Finally, it was a big deal to see that,” Kirby said.

Offensive lineman Gavino Moreno said he and his teammates wanted to get this win for their coach.

“It's absolutely amazing to see my coach win, to see a smile on his face and to be able just to be happy and cry for us. He loves us. We love him. So we're gonna do it for him. He's gonna do it for us too,” Moreno said.

The Mustangs scored five rushing touchdowns against Flatonia and combined for 408 total rushing yards on 50 carries — more than eight yards a carry.

“Obviously it starts up front. Offensive line is the key to every football game. So is the defensive line, and we do trust them. They are getting better each week,” Kirby said. “Now the backfield, I'm sure you said it already, Garet said that they have a tremendous relationship with each other, as far as they're blocking for each other, because they all want each other to score, which is very unselfish. It's hard to find that. So I'm very proud of them. They trust their offensive line.”

“They get better each day. They do the little things over and over and over until they finally get it right. So it's good to see it all come together,” Kirby added.

Senior running back Aiden Flores and junior running back Julian Amaya rushed for 100-plus yards on Flatonia’s defense.

Sophomore running back Garet Gonzales rushed for 82 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown.

“I felt great being able to spread the ball around. Because coach always tells us to not be selfish, that we have a great, great skill room, a great back room that we have. We have probably the best in the district. Coach tells us, which I believe so myself, with how hard we run. You know, sometimes we don't have a hole, but we find a way to get through that line and get some extra yards,” Gonzales said.

The Mustang defense only allowed one offensive touchdown and scored a defensive touchdown from sophomore Jaylun Rodriguez; he led the defense with eight total tackles, one tackle for a loss and one sack.

“It's unreal again, the adjustments we make. Coach  [James] McElroy is the dude. He is one of the best defensive minded coaches I've been around. He's finally got a big shot. He's capitalizing. So I'm proud of him, proud of all the assistant coaches, obviously, but that defense right there is fast, they're physical, they're mean, they're learning how to play the game of football. Finally, and I'm very excited to see what they can do once they put it all together throughout this year,” Kirby said.

The Mustangs will host the Cotulla Cowboys in the district opener Friday, Sept. 27 and Kirby knows it’ll be an electric atmosphere at Mustang Stadium.

“It's gonna be a packed house. We expect that we thrive off the energy from the citizens of Nixon and Smiley and the surrounding areas, but the way you prepare is day by day, period by period, week by week. We fortunately get two weeks to prepare for Cotulla, but unfortunately, they get two weeks to prepare for us. So we're going to watch film games from the night, games from the past few weeks, and continue to build off what we've already got going,” Kirby said.

Kickoff for the Cotulla game is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 27.

--STATS--

OFFENSE:

Rushing:

1. Flores: 11 carries for 131 yards and one touchdown

J.Amaya: 15 carries for 117 yard and one touchdown

1. Gonzales: 12 carries for 82 yards and one touchdown

Davian Ramos: three carries for 61 yards and one touchdown

Eric Rodriguez: three carries for 10 yards and one touchdown

Tackles:

1. Rodriguez: eight total tackles

Timothy McGlothine and G. Gonzales: six total tackles

1. Ramos and J. Amaya: five total tackels

John Garza, Ryan Paez and Karson Rhodes: four total tackles

Nicholas Martinez: three total tackles

Jaydin Munoz, Adan Zavala, Noe Hernandez and J.R. Paez: two total tackles

1. Flores, Noah Jenks and G. Moreno: one total tackle

Tackles for loss:

1. Zavala, J. Rodriguez and N. Jenks: one tackle for a loss

Sacks:

1. Rodriguez: one sack