Week 10

By Neil H. Devlin, Mullen Sports Information Director
Regular-season finale, vs. Lakewood.
THIS WEEK IN MULLEN FOOTBALL
WEEK 10: Vs. Lakewood Tigers  
WHEN: Thursday,  Kickoff 7 p.m.  
WHERE: Trailblazer Stadium, Lakewood
Status: Class 5A Metro West League, regular-season finale
Records: Mullen 3-6 overall, 0-4 league; Lakewood 3-6, 0-4
Head coaches: Vincent White, first year with Mullen; Jeff Braun, fifth year with Lakewood
History:  Only recently have they seen much of each other. Since 2012, they have split four games -- Mullen sandwiched victories in 2015 and 2012 around losses from 2013-14. The Tigers have had winning records in three of their past four seasons and the last time they made the state-championship game was in 2012, losing to Columbine at the Broncos’ Mile High Stadium
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Mullen Players to watch:
No., Name, Yr., Pos., Ht., Wt.
27, Jordan Apodaca, Sr., DB, 6-feet, 155 pounds
32, Wilson Bialecki, Sr., LB, 5-9, 180
22, Damien Cearns, RB-DB, 5-10, 170
5, Ryan Hearty, Jr., 6-1, 205
76, Aidan Keanaaina, Jr., DL-OL, 6-3, 295
10, Ben Marcoux, Jr., WR, 5-10, 155;
12, Isaac White, Jr., WR-DB, 6-1, 191

Last week: In league, Mullen lost 37-16 to Arvada West  and Lakewood lost 51-19 to Ralston Valley.
Notable: This will be Mullen’s 859th game since first playing in 1936. The Mustangs are 586-254-18 in their history with eight state titles as well as seven Parochial state titles, the first in 1945.. …
Lakewood is 26-25 with Braun in command. …
The Mustangs have dropped five straight games after a 3-1 start. They have been outscored by an aggregate 228-52 over their past 20 quarters and have not had a lead. …
Funny how these things work out -- Lakewood also has dropped five consecutive games after a 3-1 start. Over the span, the Tigers have been outscored 215-119, including a wild 40-39 setback to Arvada West. ...
Keanaaina continues to attract attention and hit the recruiting trail. The defensive lineman recently took an unofficial visit to Wisconsin. …
The younger White, coming off consecutive strong games at wide receiver as well as in the secondary, also is showing up on college radar. He has gotten a look at Stanford drawn some interest from the Air Force Academy. …
Mullen entered the week No. 16 in the RPI qualifying system. It’s the final spot for teams to host a first-round game. The top eight seeds will begin with byes, 9-through-16 will host and 17-through-24 will be on the road. …
Mullen had one of its better statistical efforts in last week’s loss to A-West. The Mustangs had an edge in total yards, 414-412, but also had three turnovers to the WIldcats’ two. Individually, Isaac White and Wind Henderson each had eight receptions, with White totaling 177 yards, including a 69-yarder for a TD. Keanaaina, Matthew Mitchell and Lorenzo Riley-Combs each were credited with six tackles.
 
Coachspeak from White
On meeting Lakewood’s Tigers, who have the same record:
“Lakewood is a good, scrappy team. (The Tigers) play hard and are a lot like us. They don’t have a lot of depth. But they’re a well-coached team.”
On his team being hungry for a victory and what kind of growth he has seen:
“We want to try to get a win. We need to do everything we can to get a win. I think we’ve grown and have started to learn how to be a football team, yes. I can see the growth from our younger players to our older guys. Yes, we’re growing.”
 
Next for Mullen
Class 5A first-round playoff game, TBA
 
Thursday’s Class 5A games
Arvada West vs. Columbine, 6 p.m.
Arapahoe vs. Overland
Eaglecrest vs. Cherokee Trail, 7 p.m.
 
Friday’s Class 5A games
Boulder vs. Adams City, 7 p.m.
Cherry Creek vs. Grandview, 7 p.m.
Douglas County vs. Regis Jesuit, 7 p.m.
Fountain-Fort Carson vs. Doherty, 7 p.m.
Highlands Ranch vs. Valor Christian, 7 p.m.
Legacy vs. Horizon, 7 p.m.
Legend vs. Chaparral, 7 p.m.
Mountain Range vs. Northglenn, 7 p.m.
Poudre vs. Fossil Ridge, 7 p.m.
Ralston Valley vs. Pomona, 7 p.m.
Rock Canyon vs. Mountain Vista, 7 p.m.
Rocky Mountain vs. Fairview, 7 p.m.
Westminster vs. Smoky Hill, 7 p.m.
 
Saturday’s Class 5A games
Rangeview vs. Denver East, 1 p.m.
Prairie View vs. Far Northeast, 1 p.m.
(Photo by John Leyba |  Instagram @mullenfotoz1)
Twitter: Neil H. Devlin @neildevlin
John Leyba @presto89 Mullen High School @mullenmustang
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