From the Stands (10-1-2015)

From the Stands (10-1-2015)

WoW! Magnificent! Superb! Extraordinary! These are just a few of the descriptive words Mule fans have been using about the weekly performance by their team. The Mules ended Part 1 of the three-part high school football season with a record of 4-1.

The Mules did not achieve that record by playing a bunch of patsy teams but by taking on some of the best teams in this part of Texas. Levelland felt the kick of the Mules in week one with a score of 43-15.

The Mules traveled all the way to Sweetwater to battle the top-ranked Class 4A Mustangs. The Mules came out on the short end of the 36-14 score but learned where some of the weaknesses were and went to work to improve.

Things did not get any easier when the top-five rated Seagraves Eagles came to Muleshoe. It was a back-and-forth game that was finally settled when the Mules untried kicker, Bryce Mauricio, booted a 27-yard field goal. The Mules won their home opener 39-36.

The Mules jumped on the scrappy Perryton Rangers early and cruised to a 52-37 win after backing off some in the middle two quarters.

All three parts of the Mules’ game (offense, defense and special teams) were hitting on all cylinders this past Friday when the Mules traveled to Kermit. The Mules walloped the Yellow Jackets 58-7.

Danny Campos received many accolades for his performance this past week. Both the Amarillo and Lubbock newspapers named him as their player of the week in Class 3-A along with several other regional sports media outlets.

But the cherry on top for Danny and the Mules had to be him being named as the Ford Built Tough Player of the Week for Class 3-A.

“Danny Campos is our sixth Ford Built Tough Player of the Week,” said Mule coach David Wood. “Coach Wes Wood (former Ford Built Tough Player of the Year in 2008) has worked with Danny in getting his mind and focus where it needs to be to perform like he did Friday night.”

“The Spread Offense tends to favor high offensive numbers. Danny has really settled in to a zone and is making great reads and choices. He has a great receiving core to throw to in our system.”

“Our line is young but they are doing an outstanding job of giving him time to maneuver and make those good decisions. It is definitely a team effort.”

“The criteria for this award has changed some in that it is not based solely on the numbers but on the outstanding effort both on and off the field.” 

“We have talked a lot about the offense,” continued Wood. “But our defense is giving us opportunities to keep our offense on the field. They are getting the opposing offense off the field so ours can have another chance to score. It is all about team with these guys and they are pulling for one another.”

Danny takes no credit for his accomplishments but instead gives it all to his teammates.

“We work hard in practice this past week and took everything serious,” said Campos. “But we also had fun. We had three great practices and that converted to a win Friday. We gained a lot of confidence and played a complete game.”

Please notice that Danny never uses the words “I” or “me” but always spoke of “we“. I had to ask him to whom he was referring when he spoke of “we“.

“It is the whole football team,” continued Campos. “Everybody has a big part on this team. We keep each other up and never bring ourselves down. It is a fun group of guys to be around.”

“It all starts up front with our line and they make me look good. There should be awards for them because without them nothing else would happen. You can ask any of the receivers and running backs and they will tell you the same about our line.”

When ask about the difficulty of the season Campos said, “Each game makes us better and we have to keep working hard. It is getting us ready for district. We knew Coach Wood had faith in us and that we were up to playing against the bigger teams.”

“We first knew during two-a-days that this team was going places.”

Campos, with the help of the whole team, has completed 108 of 174 passing attempts for 1768 yards, 19 touchdowns and only been intercepted four times.

If part two of the season is anything like part one then Mule fans should be in for a fun ride deep into the post season.