The Mustangs have been knockin' out some great victories under the "Friday Night Lights" at Lowrey Field as they have been shuttin' down the competition.  This week the Mustangs were chosen as the "Area Team of the Week." 

Coronado outlasted Tascosa, 67-47, in a wild District 2-5A finale, giving the Mustangs their first undefeated district championship.  This week they are making final preparations and are heading into the playoffs this Friday in El Paso playing the El Paso Franklin team at the Sun Bowl.  Kickoff will be 8:30 Central time. 

The Mustangs finished 9-1 and became the only team in school history to go undefeated in district play.  Coronado High School has been opened since 1965, even though we have won or shared titles before, no other team has done what this "Friday Night Lights" team has conquered in 2007.  We are proud of our players and coaches for their tremendous season. 

On Friday, November 16, a new season begins for these young men.  New goals and dreams have been set for the 2007 Coronado Mustangs Football team.  As our players and coaches continue this storybook season, let's get behind these young men and our coaches and cheer them deep into the playoff run.  Good luck Mustangs!
 

Bragging Rights Continue for Another Year
 Coronado Dominates and Shutouts Monterey 20-0

By George Watson

Friday night's Coronado -Monterey football game was the highlight of the season for many.

The annual game generally draws the largest crowd for an area high school football game. And many fans said the screaming is always louder because beating the rival team is more important than beating any other.  The winning team has bragging rights for another year!

Those who questioned Coronado's season to this point might lose those doubts.

The Mustangs scored on their first three possessions of the game, and the defense did the rest by posting its first shutout of Monterey in almost 10 years. The result was a 20-0 win over the Plainsmen and a statement that the District 2-5A championship might go through the red and gold.

"It's a big deal, and we're playing to go 5-0. Coronado's never gone 5-0 in district," linebacker Matt Hasley said. "We just played as a team. We were talking about it before the game that our seniors have beaten these guys all through junior high and they couldn't quit now. We had to beat them a fifth year in a row."

The win sets up a huge showdown on Thursday as the Mustangs (6-1, 2-0 in 2-5A) entertain Amarillo, which beat Tascosa 27-23 to set up a clash of the league's two remaining unbeaten teams.

While it's the fifth straight win at any level for the seniors, it's the second straight in the varsity series between the rivals. It's only the third time in the 42-year history of the rivalry that the Mustangs have won two straight or more, and it's the first time since 1998 Coronado has pitched a shutout.

They did it by holding the Plainsmen (3-4, 1-1) to just 181 total yards and never letting their offense get any consistency going. Monterey never had more than 100 yards of offense in either of the halves.

That hurt even more after Coronado scored touchdowns on each of its first three drives to make Montereyplay catch-up, which it is not adept at doing this season. Coronado had 276 of its 343 yards by halftime.

"I thought the kids really came down and grabbed a hold of the momentum," Coronado coach Butch Henderson said. "They did a great job executing both offensively and defensively early, then just kept playing hard all the way through. Our defense played phenomenally all the way through."

Coronado came out of the gates intent on proving that last year wasn't a fluke. While the Mustangs scored seemingly at will for the first 14 minutes of the game, the defense held the Plainsmen to just 28 total yards in the first quarter.

 
Coronado Defense Stonewalls Montwood for Win in Season Opener
Coronado 38 - EP Montwood 19

The bulk of returning experience for the Coronado football team in 2007 is with the offense, but it was the Mustangs' defense that set the tone in the season opener.

Coronado held El Paso Montwood to minus-3 total yards in the first half, which helped the offense overcome four first-half turnovers and forge a 38-19 victory Friday night at Lowrey Field.

"That's what happens when you play as a team and it paid off for us tonight," Campbell said. "We've been working hard in practice and so it's not a big surprise. We came in feeling like that's the way we could play."

Montwood (0-1) finally got going in the second half to the tune of 349 yards, most of that coming on long passes by quarterback David Reza, who connected on touchdowns of 11 and 84 yards to Danny Perez and 18 yards to Bryan Poulin. Perez finished with 236 yards on nine catches, including grabs of 28, 40, 84 and 58 yards as the Rams were relegated to chucking it deep.

But the Mustangs (1-0) matched them touchdown for touchdown in the second half to preserve the lead. Zouzalik's 1-yard TD plunge and a 4-yard touchdown by senior running back Evan Dickson put the game away, but just for good measure, Kholbye Walker returned an onside kick 47 yards untouched for a touchdown for the final margin of victory.

"We moved the ball well offensively and I made some calls offensively that put us in a bind with some timing calls," Henderson said. "But that's also Montwood being a good football team. Those are really my calls, timing calls."

Still, the Mustangs showed signs of just how powerful the offense can be. Zouzalik completed passes to seven different receivers, but his favorite was obviously Quigley, who caught eight passes for 101 yards and the two scores. For the game, the Mustangs racked up 365 yards of total offense.

   

 

 

 

 

Coronado's Landon Quigley tries to fend off El Paso Montwood's Jorge Carbual after catching a pass in the first quarter.    Photo by:  Jodi Miller - Lubbock Avalance Journal

Way to go Mustangs!