What a whirlwind month it has been for the Mustang Football Team! We battled through rain and mud, faced tough opponents, and saw our young men show incredible heart and resilience. Through it all, the amazing support from our community has been a huge driving force. We finished September with a record of 2-1, defined by grit, family, and a refusal to quit. Here’s a look back at the action.
Community Support & Preseason Events:
On August 29th, the football scrimmage part of our annual Community Cookout was canceled due to poor field conditions. We chose to protect the field for the regular season, and instead became the loudest, proudest student section for our girls’ Volleyball Jamboree.
The next morning, we traveled to Udall for our Football Jamboree with Udall and Oxford. It was a successful morning, giving us a solid gauge on what to improve before our week one game at Burden.
September kicked off with a reminder of just how special the Flinthills Community is. A generous patron donated to the athletic department, allowing us to purchase five new dummies for our five-man sled. This is just one of the many reasons Flinthills is an amazing place to call home!
Game Recaps:
Game 1: Mustangs Secure a Wet and Muddy Victory at Central Burden
Final Score: Mustangs 26, Raiders 20
We opened our season on September 5th with a rainy, muddy road game against the Central Burden Raiders. We came out firing on all cylinders, building a 20-8 lead by halftime. Tripp Carney had all 3 first-half touchdowns for us. Ty Finley had our only second-half touchdown on a 13-yard pass from Kaleb Grunder. Ultimately, our defense, led by senior Taylor Carroll, secured the victory. Taylor finished the night with 15 total tackles that included three quarterback sacks. All of his sacks came during critical defensive stands.
PLAYER OF THE GAME — Taylor Carroll: 15 Tackles, 3 QB Sacks
Game 2: A Hard-Fought Battle at Home vs. Cedarvale Dexter
Scan the QR code below with your phone's
camera to view the “Tunnel Run-Out Debut vs. CVDX”
Final Score: Spartans 50, Mustangs 36
Our home opener on September 12th was a test of character. After a tough game against the Spartans last season, when Cedarvale Dexter opened their first home game on its brand new turf field, the Spartans expected to come and pick up an easy win. But we came into this game with a mission. Protect Our House! We sent a message that nobody will come to our field and walk away with anything easy. We also debuted our new tunnel for pre-game run-outs.
Despite being down 38-14 at halftime, the team mounted an incredible second-half comeback, holding the Spartans twice to earn turnovers on downs, and clawing back to within eight points in the fourth quarter, down 36-42. Beau Hall had a standout performance, leading the team in rushing and receiving yards. He ran for 149 yards and caught 4 passes for 53 yards, finishing with 3 touchdowns on the night. Beau also led the team in tackles with 12 total. Unfortunately, we lost sophomore QB and team captain Kaleb Grunder for the season to a broken collarbone during the game. Kaleb had rushed for 52 yards on 8 carries and had a rushing TD before the injury. Though it was a loss on the scoreboard, our community witnessed young men who never quit, fought to the last second, and controlled their emotions during trying times.
PLAYER OF THE GAME — Beau Hall: 3 TDs, 12 tackles
Game 3: Mustangs Shut Out Sedan in Weather-Shortened Homecoming Game
Final Score: Mustangs 30, Blue Devils 0
On September 22nd, we moved to 2-1 with a dominant shutout victory over Sedan. The game was called with just under six minutes left in the third quarter due to lightning. The backfield duo of Beau Hall and Tripp Carney, who stepped up at quarterback, proved too much for the Blue Devils' defense. Our defense was suffocating, allowing only 51 total rushing yards.
Beau Hall rushed for over 160 yards and scored 3 touchdowns on the night, with nearly all of those stats coming in the first half of action! Tripp rushed for 22 yards on the night, with 2 of his 6 attempts successful 2-point conversions. Defensively, it was Jaxon Swafford leading the team with 9 tackles total. Jaxon also had a fumble recovery, forced by Tripp Carney, setting us up inside Sedans' 20-yard line. Tripp would then connect with Ty Finley on a 12-yard TD pass on the next drive, and again for the 2-point conversion.
PLAYER OF THE GAME — Tripp Carney: QB debut, TD pass to Ty Finley, 2 Successful 2-point Conversions, and 1 Forced Fumble
Media Day & Moms' Tackling Clinic:
Scan the QR code below with your phone's camera
to view the videos from “Moms’ Tackling Clinic”
On September 13th, we held a professional media day and invited our team Moms to learn our form tackling rules. Shout-out to Ms. Janna Davis for organizing the Media Day and Ms. Paula Mattice for being our Photographer. The afternoon ended with each mom getting to tackle her son. It was a huge hit! We even had a few dads join the fun! Shout-out to our moms who participated and all team moms for supporting this team, feeding the team, and just loving this team.
Intermediate Mini-Mustangs:
Scan the QR code below with your phone's camera
to view video of the “Mini-Mustangs Tunnel Run-Out vs. Sedan”
We launched our new "Mini-Mustangs" program versus Sedan at Homecoming! At each home game, we invite intermediate students who exemplify our football program's core values to run out of the tunnel with the team. It was an unforgettable experience for everyone involved. The Mini-Mustangs selected for our Homecoming game were Mason Oates, Lane Oates, Ralen Willhite, Marah Willhite, Amory Jones, and Paris Ward.
Our program's core values are built on more than just football. We demand our players hold themselves accountable on and off the field.
WE ARE FAMILY: Stick together through all challenges.
BE INTENTIONAL: Always give full effort and lead by example.
BE POSITIVE: Combat negativity with professionalism.
BE COACHABLE: Stay eager to improve and accept coaching.
BE SELFLESS: Put the team above your ego.
GRIT = GREATNESS: Stay mentally tough under pressure.
DEMONSTRATE INTEGRITY: Represent yourself, your family, the team, the school, and the entire Flinthills community.
