Coronado football's defensive line makes early statement against Frenship
With 27 minutes left on the pregame clock, Hudson Hutcheson was still on the field as the rest of the Frenship football team made its way into the locker room.
Hutcheson was getting some last-minute instruction, advice before his first career start at quarterback for the varsity. He appeared focused and determined to make his debut a success.
But Hutcheson was a man on the move all Thursday night, often for the wrong reasons.
Knowing Hutcheson's inexperience at the varsity level, Coronado dedicated its defensive efforts to forcing the junior newbie into tough situation after tough situation.
D.J. Mann wanted the Mustangs to rattle the new QB1 as much as possible, utilizing the veteran defensive backs at the head coach's disposal.
Instead, it was the constant blitzing and consistent penetration from the front line that provided the Mustangs with the 20-14 win at Lowrey Field.
"He had to work through some adversity," Frenship head coach Jay Northcutt said of Hutcheson's night. "And all quarterbacks have to do that. And you know, when you're playing that position, you're really in the frying pan, and he got a good taste of the Friday night frying pan tonight with his first start."
Much of the preseason chatter surrounding Coronado's defense revolved around the slew of veteran backs. The linemen, in contrast, were a bit of an unknown. After their display on Thursday, the unit is no longer a mystery.
"Defensive line played great," Mann said. "We're undersized, but they play with heart, they play with great technique. They're tenacious and Coach (Andrew) Roy once again called a phenomenal game."
Mann estimated that Coronado blitzed Hutcheson on 85% of the team's defensive plays. The initial pressure provided by the likes of De'Aundre Lewis and Donovan Walker forced Hutcheson out of the pocket and into the thick of the blitzing attack.
Lewis is fine with his unit not getting as much attention. They want to use that to their advantage.
"The thing is we don't really care if you know about us or not," Lewis said, "because sooner or later, when they play us, they're gonna find out. We're gonna come out and do it to you every time."
Pressure by Coronado's defensive line, plus some big hits from linebackers Zakavian Washington and John Curry, set the tone early on. Hutcheson spent most of the game scrambling away from the defense.
With his attention elsewhere, the Frenship offense was unable to get much going.
Other than a 24-yard reverse from receiver Leyton Stone, the Frenship rushing attack was almost non-existent outside of Hutcheson tucking the ball and scrambling for daylight. The quarterback accounted for 50 rushing yards but was sacked twice, lost a fumble on a strip-sack by Avery Avila and threw a pair of interceptions, one by Ted Gilmore on a bobble and another by Willie Parker.
It was a tough debut for Hutcheson. Inexperience wasn't the only cause.
"... I think some of it was just Coronado being as athletic as they were," Northcutt said. "We'll see if we maybe struggled up front a little bit protecting Hud(son) or maybe he got fancy at times and got out of there when he shouldn't have. May have been a little combination of both. ..."
Frenship offense inconsistent in opener
Thanks to 19 penalties for 186 yards by Coronado and solid play from the defense, Frenship had chances to take the game but struggled to string drives together.
Some of that may have been due to the absence of Frenship's leading receiver Tate Beeles. The 6-foot-6 senior was in uniform and saw the field on at least one play but was otherwise on the sideline for the opener.
Northcutt said Beeles was battling the flu this week and wasn't feeling well Thursday. Not having his length and ability to stretch the field was felt against the Mustangs.
"He's a difference maker for sure," Northcutt said. "He got three touchdowns last year against (Coronado), in a really close game. I think definitely he could have made an impact in the game."
Mustangs find late rushing attack
It took two quarters, but Coronado was eventually able to find its rushing attack.
Looking to replace the graduated Antonio Malone, the Mustangs have employed a by-committee approach to running the ball. Quarterback Jett Carroll was the lone rusher able to generate positive yards in the first half, but sophomore Demarion Finch took over in the second.
Without a carry in the first two quarters, Finch finished with 80 yards on nine carries in the second half, including a 28-yard run that saw the 165-pounder stuffed in the backfield only to bounce outside and finish off the longest run of the night.
"We have to run the ball better early in the game," Mann said. "Most definitely. And just. ... We got to do a better job of protecting our quarterback, but we got babies on the offensive line right now. We played three sophomores on the offensive line tonight. And a kid that's only played offensive line for three weeks. So we'll get it cleaned up and we'll be better."
Coronado 20, Frenship 14
Frenship 0 0 7 7 — 14
Coronado 7 7 6 0 — 20
SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
COR — Jett Carroll 11 yd pass to Jordan Kelley (Christian Sanchez PAT Good), 5:46
Second Quarter
COR — Carroll 16 yard run (Sanchez PAT Good), 8:53
Third Quarter
FREN — Sebastian Dominguez 1 yd run (Jeremiah Adams PAT Good), 6:00
COR — Carroll 2 yd pass to Surreal Garrett (Sanchez PAT blocked), 0:00
Fourth Quarter
FREN — Hudson Hutcheson 57 yd pass to Leyton Stone (Adams PAT Good), 1:05
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: (FREN) 18, (COR) 21)
Rushes-Yards: FREN 17-81; COR 26-166
Passing: FRE 164; COR 184
Comp-Att-Int: FREN 16-33-2; COR 24-37-1
Punts-Avg: FREN 4-38.3; COR 4-34.8
Fumbles-Lost: FREN 1-1; COR 1-0
Penalties-Yards: FREN 10-85; COR 19-186
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Frenship, Hudson Hutcheson 10-50; Leyton Stone 1-24; Sebastian Dominguez 6-7; Coronado, Demarion Finch 9-80; Jett Carroll 3-36; Bricion Griffin 9-27; Adam Ramos 1-24; John Curry 1-3; Darrion Taylor 1-(-)5; Jay'Kel McCutcheon 1-0.
PASSING: Frenship, Hudson Hutcheson 16-33-2—164; Coronado, Jett Carroll 23-36-1—119, Russell Dills 1-1-0—69
RECEIVING: Frenship, Leyton Stone 3-74; Landon Hutcheson 5-54; Damien Rodriguez 3-22; Brooks Roberson 1-12; Sebastian Dominguez 4-2; Coronado, Jett Carroll 1-69; Jay'Kel McCutcheon 5-42; Jikiri McGrew 6-30; Surreal Garrett 6-24; Bricion Griffin 2-4; Jordan Kelley 2-13.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Coronado football's defensive line makes early statement against Frenship
