REDWATER, Texas-Nothing has come easy for Redwater this season.
After two losses, the Dragons turned a corner Friday with a 42-14 win over Harleton.
Redwater (1-2) fell to a talented Elyisan Fields team, 36-14, in its opener, and had a 19-0 halftime lead on Hooks before falling, 20-19. The biggest setback for the Dragons in the Hooks game was the season-ending injury suffered by a starting linebacker.
But head coach Tommy Graf and his squad gained momentum with its win over the Wildcats on Friday and face Winona (2-1) this week with a chance to even up its record.
"We played really well against Harleton," Graf said. "The team put forth a great effort like it has been doing all year. In our previous two games, turnovers and injuries effected the outcome. We had almost 400 yards rushing, and I am just really proud of the kids."
Jonah Ketchum led all rushers with 120 yards on 11 carries, while Trenton Smith totaled 90 yards on just five totes. Lavondrick Vaughn and Austin Warlick each rushed for 64 yards. The Dragons had 374 yards on 37 carries for an average of 10.1 yards per touch.
"We can call all of the plays that we want, but if we're not getting it done up front, then we're not going to have good numbers," Graf said. "In our flexbone, we have a four-headed monster, where the quarterback, fullback and both running backs are productive. Our offensive line did a really good job, as well as our backs."
The flexbone formation is a predominant running formation that features a quarterback under center, with a fullback lined up directly behind the quarterback. There are two smaller running backs called slotbacks aligned behind the line of scrimmage on each side of the offensive line.
Center Ben Culp, left guard Cade McCoy, right guard Dylan Roberts, left tackle Colton Bradford, right tackle Trevor Oakes and tight end Grant Hickerson make up Redwater's offensive line.
"Football is a simple sport, and it really comes down to blocking and tackling," Graf said. "The biggest thing that stood out was that our tackle chart was so spread out. This past week, we had multiple guys that each had around 10 tackles. Our defense played well. Our coaches do a good job of putting the kids in the right places in helping them being successful."