MHS intercepts Patriot missiles

By Glen Miller/The Mustang News

OKLAHOMA CITY — A stellar defensive effort in the second half last week propelled the Mustang High School football team to a 31-16 win over Putnam City West and the Broncos second straight 3-0 start.

Mustang held the Patriots to 68 yards of offense over the final two periods, 47 of those coming on one run late in the fourth.

The Broncos picked off three passes in the second half and five total for the game. Two of those interceptions set up a pair of third-period touchdowns for MHS.

“The defense was totally dominating,” said Mustang coach Todd Dilbeck of the second half.

“It was awesome to see our kids perform like that.”

Putnam City star quarterback Wilton Jordan was held to 12 yards rushing for the night on 16 carries. He was sacked twice in the second half and held to a negative  7 yards rushing. Tailback William Freeman managed just 18 yards on 11 carries and was stopped four times behind the line of scrimmage.

“We were more into the game mentally,” said Mustang linebacker Micah McGahan     of the Broncos second-half effort.

"We were swarming to the ball and we had a lot of younger players step up. We were all playing relentless."

The Broncos trailed 16-14 at the half, but quick erased that deficit. McGahan stepped in front of a Jordan pass only minutes into the third period and returned it 6 yards to the Patriots 24-yard line.

“I was just glad o get it,” said McGahan of the interception. “I was happy with it and I wanted to get all the yards I could, but I didn’t want to get greedy with it.”

Cedric Gadson took the gift on the first offensive play and rushed 21 yards down to the Pats’ 3-yard line. Randy Walter then swept right to cover the finals distance and Jared Homer tacked on the PAT for a 21-16 Mustang lead.

The defense forced one of seven West punts on the Patriots next possession. Brandon Mathes took the punt and returned it 32 yards down to the PCW 26-yard line. However, three plays netted only 6 yards and the Broncos settled for a 42-yard Homer field goal - which hooked inside the right upright. That left the score 24-16 in favor of Mustang.

Mustang’s defense came up big again when Donnie Woodard intercepted Jordan on the Patriots next play. Jones reeled off runs of  5. 7 and 16 yards and then threw to Cedric Gadson for 4 yards and Mathes for 6 yards. However, the drive stalled at the West 4-yard line and the Broncos 21-yard field goal try by Homer was wide right.

The offense waited only three plays on the sidelines before getting another shot at scoring. Working from the Patriots 41-yard line, thanks to a Josh Cooper interception, Jones hit Mathes for a 41-yard scoring strike into the end zone. Homer’s kick made it 31-16 with 55 seconds left in the third period.

Mustang had only other scoring chance, moving down to the West 40-yard line before missing a 57-yard Homer field goal attempt.

The second-half scoring blitz was a complete opposite of the opening half.

Mustang went on a 10-play, 69-yard scoring drive on its first possession, capped off by a 14-yard pass from Jones to Matt Ellison. But the well ran dry after that as the next five possession by the Broncos ended with two punts, a pair of fumbles and an interception.

The Patriots led 13-7 until late in the half when Mustang pieced together a four-play, 31-yard scoring drive set up by a 19-yard Mathes punt return. Jones competed passes to Mathes (5 yards), Walter (7 yards) and Ellison (8 yards). A facemask and encroachment call against West moved the ball to the 11-yard line, where Jones broke free up the middle on the keeper for the touchdown. Homer’s kick made it 14-13.

West added a 20-yard field goal as time expired to fashion its two-point halftime lead.

Mustang ended the game with 251 yards of offense. Jones racked up 62 of the team’s 98 rushing yards on 12 carries. Gadson ran four times for 23 yards.

Jones was 13-of-23 passing with two interceptions for 147 yards. Matt Edmonds had 6 yards passing. Mathes led all receivers with 52 yards on three catches, while Walter had 41 yards on five catches. Kyle Logan caught two passes for 28 yards and Ellison had 27 yards on three receptions.

“Our offense clicked on about five or sic cylinders, but it was a ‘W’ and that is good,” said Dilbeck. “It was bad and ugly, but we can work on bad and ugly.”