Slaughter to make Mustang debut vs. Bulldogs

**Kevin** Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:27 pm

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THIS STORY AT THE SWEETWATER REPORTER

Slaughter to make Mustang debut vs. Bulldogs
Written by Ron Howell
Thursday, 27 August 2009

Though he has officially been Sweetwater’s head coach for a little over six months, Friday’s 7:30 p.m. season opener against Burkburnett at the TSTC Sammy Baugh Classic marks the actual Mustang debut for Craig Slaughter.
But if he’s feeling any pressure to continue the great success of his recent coaching predecessors, Slaughter is downplaying it.
“For me, the excitement (factor) is way ahead of the nervousness aspect,” he said Wednesday. “But I’d love to get off to a good start.”
So would the Mustangs, who began last season with a 10-6 loss to Burkburnett at the Times Record News Kickoff Classic in Wichita Falls before going on an eight-game winning streak and finishing the year at 10-3.
Slaughter hopes Sweetwater has better luck on its home turf against the Bulldogs, who also hired a new coach — Scott Boswell — after the sudden resignation of Bill Dalke last month. Burkburnett finished at 9-2 a year ago and is expected to be a strong team again. The Bulldogs are one of several tough foes on the Mustangs’ pre-district schedule, which also includes Clyde — Slaughter’s previous stop — plus Big Spring, Monahans and Seminole.
“I know our kids are excited about playing at home,” Slaughter said. “The fact that it’s the Sammy Baugh Classic makes it even better. But they’re a very good team. They’ve been ranked in the top 25 in a couple of polls. We’ll have to play well to win.”