By russellBUSH
The Huntingdon Mustangs responded from their opening season loss to McKenzie with a huge offensive effort and a strong defense to defeat the Jackson Southside Hawks on the road Friday with a 41-13 win. The Mustangs exploded for 480 yards of total offense with 399 yards coming on the ground. Sophomore QB Gray Eubanks had a career game as he rushed 21 times for 215 yards and a touchdown. Eubanks also completed 4 of 6 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. Senior Elijah Flowers had a breakout game from a running back position as he rushed 14 times for 136 yards and scored two touchdowns. C.J. Pelonero caught three passes for 27 yards and a touchdown. Brady Warbritton also added to the scoring with a rushing touchdown. The Mustang defense gave up 200 yards through the air but 142 yards of that came on two plays. The Mustangs held the Hawks to only 14 yards on the ground for the game.
The Mustangs got off to a slow start for the game and despite moving the ball well on their first two drives were unable to find the end zone. Their first drive of the game saw the Mustangs move from their own 18 to the Hawk 10 in twelve plays before stalling on fourth down. The Mustang had great field position for their second drive at the Hawk 32 but again failed on fourth down.
The Mustangs finally found pay dirt on their third possession of the game as they went 69 yards in four plays and scored on a six-yard run by Flowers with 3:20 remaining in the first half. Cole Chafin tacked on the P.A.T. to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead. Jax Bennett then intercepted a Hawks pass and the Mustangs moved from their 32 and scored on the last play of the first half as Eubanks found Pelonero in the back of the end zone for an 11-yard scoring strike. The snap on the extra point was low and the Mustangs took a 13-0 lead to the half.
The Mustangs keep the momentum going on their first possession of the second half as they moved 75 yards in nine plays and scored on a six-yard run by Eubanks. The Mustangs attempted a two-point conversion but the pass failed and the Mustangs led 19-0. The Mustangs got the ball back and on their second possession of the half had the ball at their own 30 and Flowers on first down rambled 68 yards to the Hawks two-yard line and on the next play Landon Gordon scored with 2:44 left in the third. Eubanks then passed to Braxton Montes De Oca for the two-point conversion for a 27-0 lead.
Southside answered back with a three-play drive that went 69 yards and resulted in a 65-yard pass play from Noah Greene to Chuck Stokes and a touchdown with 40 seconds left in the third quarter. The extra point was good and the score was 27-7. The Mustangs then turned the ball over at the Southside 29 and on the first play Greene again found Stokes over the middle for 71 yards and the touchdown with 9:28 left in the game. The Mustangs blocked the extra point and the score stood at 27-13.
The Mustangs answered on their next two possessions to put the game away. On the first possession the Mustangs went 72 yards in eight plays to score on an 18-yard run by Warbritton. Chafin added the P.A.T for a 34-13 Mustang lead. The Mustang after a Southside punt went 63-yards in five plays and scored on Flowers second TD of the night with 1:30 left in the game. Chafin posted the final point of the night with the extra point to make the final score 41-13.
The Mustangs 1-1 for the season play a rare Thursday game this week as they host Camden for a region contest at Paul Ward Stadium with a kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
