Sulphur Springs Wildcats Football Preview Part 4
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Part 4 of our series breaking down the Sulphur Springs Wildcats 2022 Football schedule continues, and what a better time than while we’re in the middle of a cold front. With high’s dropping all the way down to 98, it’s practically fall already, so let’s continue by looking at the Wildcats Week 4 matchup.
If you missed parts 1, 2 or 3 click here to catchup!
Week 4, @ Van Alstyne
For the second week in a row, the Sulphur Springs Wildcats are on the road, this time to face arguably their toughest opponent on the schedule so far. On Friday, Sept. 16, the Wildcats will be going up against the Van Alstyne Panthers, a team who won seven or more games in four of their last five seasons.
In 2021 the Panthers went 7-3 in the regular season, finishing in third place in their district and reaching the playoffs. In the opening round Van Alstyne took care of business, defeating Iowa Park 23-16, before going on to fall to Monahans 35-28.
Offensively they were led by senior quarterback Gavin Montgomery, who had a solid senior campaign. Montgomery threw 18 touchdown passes and just five interceptions, giving him a quarterback rating of 106.1 on the season.
He was also the team’s second-leading rusher, picking up 804 yards on the ground on 154 attempts. Perhaps even more impressive, he led the team with 16 rushing touchdowns, giving him a total of 34 total touchdowns.
Replacing Montgomery’s production will be tough, though they have a number of key players returning. Offensively, they will be helped by running back Jaden Mahan and wide receiver Dakota Howard, who led the team in rushing yards and receiving yards respectively.
Mahan had a team-high 974 yards on 201 carries, picking up just under five yards per rush. He also had three games of 100+ rushing yards and ran in eight touchdowns on the season, though seven of them came before district started.
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Howard, had a similar go of things, catching 32 passes for 573 yards and seven touchdowns, with a huge majority of the production coming during the non-district portion of the schedule. During district play, the Panthers were led by Jackson Allen, who was also a junior last season. During district play Allen led the team in receiving yards (194) and receiving touchdowns (3).
Defensively, Van Alstyne is in a position to have a great season, as most of their key players from their 8-4 2021 season returning. Perhaps the biggest returning player they have is defensive end Nicolas Loya. Loya had a great junior season, leading the team in tackles for loss (12), sacks (6) and quarterback hurries (15).
The Panthers ability to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks led to a great seasons from defensive backs Howard and Allen, both of which we mentioned were juniors last season. Howard and Allen each had four interceptions in 2021. Allen also led the team with 56 total tackles, as well as 30 solo tackles and 26 assisted tackles.
The key returning defensive players could make things tough for the Wildcats offensively, though they return a number of key players as well. Sulphur Springs will rely on players like Sean Dial who is returning on the offensive line.
At quarterback, Brady Driver will look to improve upon a sophomore campaign in which his playing time increased as the season went on. Driver finished the season with seven passing touchdowns and just two interceptions, giving him a QBR of 86.5
Perhaps his most impressive outing of the season came in Week 7 against Corsicana, which was the only game of the season in which he took 100% of the snaps at quarterback. Driver had a great outing, throwing 275 yards and four touchdowns, with zero interceptions, finishing with a very impressive QBR of 146.8.
Through the first month of the season, this Week 4 matchup against Van Alstyne could prove to be the toughest for the Wildcats. A strong outing in this one, on the road, against a team who has had seven or more wins in four of their last five seasons, and return most of their stat-leaders from last season, could be exactly what Sulphur Springs needs heading into their final non-district match of the season.
Stay tuned tomorrow, as we look at the Wildcats Week 5 Homecoming matchup against Liberty-Eylau.
*All stats are provided by Maxpreps
Other articles in this series include:
Week 1 vs Jacksonville
Week 2 vs Mount Pleasant
Week 3 @ Hallsville
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