HICO — Upon examining the videotape of the Big Country Preps Game of the Week, both the Bangs and Hico coaching staffs will no doubt, find dozens of different ways they could have won or lost their matchup on Friday. 

As fate would have it, the Bangs Dragons left Tiger Stadium as the victors, sneaking past Hico 28-27 behind a fake PAT kick-conversion pass from Cason Tidwell to Joaquin Rubio with 37 seconds to play.  Even the game-winning play forced everyone to hit the rewind button twice, with both a successful Bangs PAT run and failed PAT kick wiped out by penalties, giving both teams a taste of victory before Rubio scored the actual game-winner.

Tidwell topped the stat sheet for both clubs, rushing for 205 yards and four scores on 24 carries on a night that saw Bangs (5-2, 2-0 District 5-2A DI) rally from two separate deficits —13-6 at the break at 27-20 in the fourth quarter.  

Hico (4-3, 0-2) was led by Cole Heutzenroeder (15 carries, 132 yards, two TDs) and by Tyler Jackson, who was 7-of-15 passing for 113 yards and another score.

“I just told the kids ‘hey, you’ve got to want it more, because (Hico) wants it more than you do right now,'” said Bangs coach Colton Buzzard, whose team has now won five straight games after an 0-2 start. “That’s not the Dragon way. If we come out and want it more, it’s going to be really hard to beat us.”