By Jerry Lindsey Assistant Editor
Another perfect Friday football night ended with a long ride home from Stockton as the Mustangs fell to the host Blackhawks 60-20. The score fails to reflect the positive effort the Mustangs showed against the 99th Max Preps ranked Blackhawks, but timely plays at critical times turned the game in the second quarter and the Mustangs could not recover.
Stockton opened the game with two scoring drives of eighty and sixty-two yards to take an early 16-0 lead before the Mustangs could earn a first down in two possessions to end the first quarter. Most of the the game’s action was confined to the second quarter as Morrison responded to score on a 49-yard drive capped by a Brady Anderson 3-yard plunge and an extra point run to cut the deficit to 16-8. Stockton responded by finding the endzone after an 80-yard drive that was aided by fifty plus penalty yards on the Mustangs to up the score to 24-8. Three plays into Morrison’s ensuing possession the Blackhawks recovered a Mustang fumble and returned it forty-two yards for a touchdown. The two-point extra point made the score 32-8 with 7:50 left in the first half. Morrison again fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Stockton recovered it only to have their possession ended with a Brayden Rubright interception. Two plays later Carson White and Brady Anderson connected on a 65-yard pass / run completion that closed the score to 32-14. Morrison successfully executed an on-side kick on the following kickoff, but turned the ball over with a fumble two plays later to end the possession and the momentum changer. Stockton ended the half with a nine-play drive that ended in the endzone with 0:36 left in the half. The two-point conversion sent the teams to the halftime break with the Blackhawks leading 40-14.
Stockton’s first possession of the second half resulted in an 85-yard scoring drive highlighted by a fifty-nine-yard scoring run by Jack Mensendike. The two-point conversion put the Mustangs down by a 48-14 margin. Morrison’s next possession ended two plays into the series with fumble by scampering quarterback Carson White on the Stockton 15-yard line. The Blackhawks needed only one pass play to find the endzone and change the score to 54-14 which ignited the 40-point continuous clock with 7:15 left in the third quarter. The Mustang’s next possession ended with a failure to connect on fourth down attempt and gave the Blackhawk’s possession on the 37-yard line. Six plays later Stockton scored again to up the advantage to 60-14 and end the third quarter.
The final quarter under the continuous clock saw each team own the ball for only one possession, but Morrison responded with a White to Colin Renkes touchdown to establish the final 60-20 score.
The Mustangs will regroup for next week’s Homecoming game against Lena-Winslow scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.