Sep. 9—BENBROOK — The Mineral Wells Rams entered Friday night's matchup at Benbrook with a 2-0 record and earned a 14-0 lead in the early going as Mineral Wells' offensive and defensive synergy were on display for the Bobcat and Ram fans alike.

However, the home team scored the next three touchdowns of the first half, which were aided by Mineral Wells penalties, and turned a 14-point deficit into a three-possession lead with 35 unanswered points. In the end, Mineral Wells suffered its first loss under first-year head coach Cody Worrell by a final score of 35-20.

"Penalties just killed us in this game. We went for it on fourth down at midfield, there was a questionable spot, but they scored off that drive early," Worrell said. "We had some pass interference penalties that kept their drives alive, but Benbrook is a good team. They were 1-9 last year, but are all juniors and seniors after being young last year. I was proud of the way our kids started the game, but it was definitely a disheartening game."

Worrell said his team will need to see fewer yellow flags on the field moving forward in order to play cleaner games with its homecoming game on the horizon. The Rams' homecoming game, which will take place against the Sanger Indians, will be key for the home team. Looking to rebound amidst a time of distractions and excitement alike, Worrell is eager to see his team step up to the task at hand while still being able to enjoy the togetherness that envelops the spectacle of homecoming as a whole.

"Every coach in the state of Texas is excited about homecoming but are not at the same time in the back of their minds because there is a lot going on," Worrell said. "I tell the kids to enjoy the festivities, but in my opinion, homecoming is for the community, fans and the rest of the student body. We just have to get the kids focused on knowing we have a job to do Friday night. The extracurricular stuff is more for the community to celebrate, not that our kids can't enjoy that, but we just need to be focused because a good Sanger team is coming to town that beat Mineral Wells last year."

Mineral Wells (2-1) will host Sanger at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ram Stadium. The Indians (1-2) fell to Benbrook in its opener 49-27 before topping Ferris 33-27 in overtime and falling to Community in its most recent outing.