October 12, 2010
LA MARQUE — For years, head coach Steve Van Meter and his chargers made the trip to Etheridge Stadium in La Marque to face the state-power Cougars. The usual scenario was that the Mustangs would go back home with another loss as La Marque owned their home field advantage.
However - things have taken a turn in favor of the Mustangs as Van Meter has seen his high-octane offense totally run past the Cougars with record-setting numbers over the past few years.
The last time the two teams met on La Marque's home field - the Mustangs, led by QB Jacob Karam (TT) scored more points on the Cougars than any other team in their storied championship history.
Friendswood 69 - La Marque 48
Karam completed 20-of-26 for 366 yards and seven touchdowns.
However - the real star for the night was Andre Gautreaux who gave one of the most prolific efforts in Friendswood HS history. The fleet-footed receiver chalked up 422 all-purpose yards including 9 catches for 181 yards and 4 TDs; 4 kickoff returns for 189 yards including an 88-yard return for a TD; 1 punt return for 52 yards and five total touchdowns.
While the numbers weren't quite that staggering this past Friday in Friendswood's dominating victory to remain perfect on the season at 7-0 and 3-0 in district -- the performance was the second best against a La Marque squad who dropped their first game of the year and are now 5-1 and 2-1 in league play.
Friendswood's attack was much more balanced as QB Pete Maetzold was 17-of-30 for 259 yards for two TDs through the air and two more on the ground. Running back Jonathan Johnson had 30 carries for 224 yards and two scores. TJ Scott led the receiving corps with three catches for 113 yards including a scoring pass covering 69 yards. Will Fitzpatrick also caught a TD pass for 2-yards.
Overall - Friendswood racked up 544 yards and 30 first downs while La Marque had 27 first downs and 504 total yards including 200 yards rushing and two scores by running back Tim Wright while QB Emaunuell Williams was 18-for-29 passing for 223 yards and three TDs.
“This sure feels good,” Van Meter said with a towel around his neck after being drenched with Gatorade. “You know, our offense isn’t too bad and our defense made the plays we needed to. It feels great to leave here with another win.”
After years of struggling to beat La Marque, this is the third straight win over the Cougars (2008, 2009, 2010) for the Mustangs.
Both teams battled strong in the opening period in a slugfest with Friendswood leading 14-13. But the Mustangs added 13 more points in the second period to grab a 27-13 halftime lead.
Tyler Dement added a pair of field goals in the first half covering 23 and 26 yards.
There was more offense in the second half as La Marque outscored the visitors 14-7 to cut the lead to 34-27, but Friendswood got an 8-yard scoring run from Matt Kennemer to increase the lead to 41-27 before the Cougars added another score to cut the margin to 41-34 with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter.
Maetzold scored two times on runs of 7 and 6 yards with the latter coming with 2:52 left in the hard-fought contest and a 55-34 lead.
The never-say-die Cougars found the pay station one more time with only 23 seconds showing on the scoreboard to post the 55-41 final.
“I thought the key to the game was our offense line took over in the second half,” Van Meter said. “When they got it close there, we were able to answer every time.”
One of the unsung heroes came in the form of sophomore Jordan Wood who had three pass interceptions with the final coming with Friendswood leading by only 14.
"Jordan was in the right place at the right time and came up with three timely picks," Van Meter said. "He has a great future since he is only a sophomore."
The Mustangs will need to maintain their focus as they will host the Manvel Mavericks for homecoming on Friday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. The Mavs have played Friendswood down to the wire over the past two seasons. At 5-1 overall and 1-1 in district, Manvel will be looking for the big upset. In district, the Mavs lost to La Marque 41-27 and got a solid win over Santa Fe 35-14..