By Allen Hamrick
On Thursday night, the Mustangs came into their last regular season football game with a can Whip Butt. They were up against George Washington Middle to determine which team would go to the championship game against Braxton. The evening started with a pre-game meet the 8th grader players and their parents before getting down to the business of pig skin. At the end of this year, these students will move on to the high school and have an all new set of challenges they will face.
With that being said, it was time to start the plays and get the job done. GW looked as though they were ready to give the Mustangs a game. The Mustangs jumped on the boards quick, and by the second quarter were ahead in the game 12-6. The GW Devils had a good drive, threw the Mustang defense off just a little and scored another TD and were able to get the two extra points, making the score 12- 14. The Mustangs had to punt the ball, the Devils got it back and were marching to the end zone. The Mustang defense was holding their ground at the end zone stopping the passes and runs short. Then Caleb Robinson gave such a bone crushing hit against a receiver that the ball bounced out into the waiting arms of Tyler Bird. Bird took the pig 90 plus yards for a TD making the score 20-14 after the two point conversion. This seemed to take the fire out of the furnace for the Devils. The Mustangs were high stepping out of their barns and getting their game to a new level for the opportunity to get back to the championship.
After half time, the Mustangs came out focused and were not intimidated by the air game of the Devils. The Devils never gained much on the field after the half. As a matter of fact, the Mustang defense was so good that it looked as though the Devils were on our side. Plainly put, in all the games, whether they are college or pro, there isn’t a better display of good, raw defense.
On the flip side of the coin, the offensive line of the Mustangs was equally dominant opening holes that looked like portals straight to the end zone with superb blocking on the line and down field which allowed Mustang running backs Collin Elliot and Caleb Robinson plenty of looks down field toward the end zone. The only trouble for the Devils was that the Mustangs turned up the dial on their game and dominated every inch of the field. When the smoke cleared, it was the Mustangs beating the Devils.
The Mustangs will now head to the CWVAC Championship against Braxton on Thursday night at 6:30 PM. These two teams met early in the year, and the Mustangs were handed their pink slips. Perhaps this time they will have what it takes to win. Braxton will bring whatever they got to the table Thursday night and lay it all out at the snap of the ball. Otherwise, it will get ugly for them real quick. So, if you have a thirst for football at its finest, make your plans to head to the game. Go Mustangs!
