CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Our KRIS 6 last regular season Game Night South Texas matchup highlights the London Pirates and Orange Grove Bulldogs. Both teams are postseason bound, but this Thursday plays a major role in playoff seeding.
Right now there is a 3-way tie for first in UIL 3A-DI District 15 between Goliad, Orange Grove and Edna. Agreed upon by the district, the 1-seed is based off points, then the 2-seed is determined by the head-to-head duel. This is what it will look like if the top three teams win. If London beats Orange Grove then Edna moves to first, followed by Goliad, London and Orange Grove. The second scenario is assuming Edna and Goliad also win week 11.
"To make the playoffs with this young team when a lot of expectations were that London may be down with a new staff and young kids it's been awesome to see," London football head coach Andy Smith. "It really goes back to the growth and maturity of the team."
London head coach Andy Smith lived up to the challenge of building upon a culture. That includes improving the Pirates tackling, which they'll need against Orange Grove.
"Well we have a really fast d-line," said London senior middle linebacker Dayton Mason who leads the team with 52 tackles. "I think we're going to be able to shoot gaps, I think we're going to be able to make opportunities and hopefully get a lot of tackles this week. They're huge up front, but nothing we haven't seen and we're ready to take it on."
The challenge is slowing down a Bulldogs offense that has rushed for over 2,500 yards behind the best o-line in the district and a deep roster that has gained experience throughout the season.
"We've had to really fall back on it (depth) to be honest with you," said Orange Grove football head coach Jared Johnston. "Goliad week we had eight starters out, but we had guys step up that had to play. Then they had to play versus Aransas Pass and they had to play versus Mathis."
The Bulldogs are different from London's offense that dominates an air attack. The Pirates senior quarterback Alex Manning has passed for over 2,500 yards.
"We have plenty of guys who can fill those spots with just as much skill and athleticism," said London senior safety and slot receiver Ethan Goff. "We're really fast."
The Pirates rushing game as a team has improved since week one.
"Our o-line is a lot better, physical and everybody knows what they're doing with the play-calling," said London junior running back and safety Jake Castaneda. "There's no mess ups."
The game changer will be which line moves the trenches.
"Our d-line they're really, really good," said Orange Grove senior outside linebacker Matthew Vargas. "They keep the linemen off of us and let us make plays. I thank our d-line a lot."
Orange Grove's defensive effort starts with their stat leader senior defensive end and kicker Felix Bussey. He leads the Bulldogs with 72 tackles, 6 sacks and added 6 quarterback hurries.
"London has a really good o-line. I'm not going to lie. They're big," Bussey said. "We are big too. It's going to be a really good dog fight, and I'm just ready for it."
Game Night South Texas between Orange Grove and London kicks off on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. at Pirate Stadium. Catch the game live on our sister station KDF, on our website and on our YouTube KRIS 6+.
If Orange Grove wins they guarantee themselves a share of the district championship.
Thank you to Thomas J. Henry for supporting Coastal Bend athletes.
