Mustangs sting Hornets for a win

When Hughes Springs hits the road for an away game, the Mustang faithful are sure to follow. This was the case this past Friday as the Mustangs traveled to Hooks to take on the Hornets.

The tone was sent early with both defenses not budging much. The Hornets came into the game with a 1-2 record, but those Hornets from Hooks were a feisty bunch. They left the Mustangs trailing after one quarter, 6-0, and the Mustangs had their work cut out for them. With the offense moving the ball but failing to convert the drives in the points, the Hughes Springs faithful were wondering when the points would come. The points didn’t come in the first half, as Hughes Springs was down to Hooks 6 to 0 at halftime. The Mustangs did not score until they were down 13 to 0. The yards were hard to come by and Hughes Springs runners were not finding many holes.

Luckily though, the defense kept Hughes Springs in the game. Led by Hunter Brabham, Zack Pilgrim, Dedrick Hill, and J.J. Jones, the Mustangs defense gave the offense a fighting chance. With the score still 13-0 going into the fourth quarter, a chance was all they needed.

Junior Tradarian Craver was inserted into the running back position and ignited a fire. Craver was able to find some holes and ran to daylight and scored from 15 yards out to give the Mustangs their first touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter. But with the extra point conversion no good Hughes Springs was still down 13-6. Craver wasn’t done yet, and after the Mustang defense stymied the Hooks again, it was once again Craver’s time to shine.

Craver was able to get around and through a Hooks defense that had been worn down by opposing runners all evening. Bo McEntire and Alex Bruce softened up the defense just enough for Craver to find paydirt again from 23 yards out and with the two-point conversion good, Hughes Springs was on top 14 to 13 late in the fourth quarter.

Seemingly having all the momentum after coming all the way back from 13 points down, all the defense needed to do was hold the Hornet offense.

With time winding down and the defense giving it a valiant effort it all came down to one play with a little bit less than two minutes remaining on the clock. A Hooks running back was able to catch a pass and was rumbling towards a possible goahead touchdown but he was tackled and stripped of the ball.

With the ball loose rolling in the end zone, it was a mad dash to see who could come up with the ball. Ultimately no player was able to get a handle on the ball and it squirted out of the back of the end zone. The referees conferred and signaled it was a touchback, giving Hughes Springs the football. With just a minute and 37 seconds left in the game, the Mustangs were able to line up on offense in the victory formation and run out the clock. Craver on the night had 117 yards rushing on just 10 carries, He also tallied the only 2 HS springs scores on the night.

With the victory, the Mustangs improve to 3-1 on the season and will conclude their non-district schedule this Friday coming up against the Garrison Bulldogs.

This Friday’s game will be just the second home game for the Mustangs on the year. Game time is the normal 7:30 p.m. start time.