MyMullen

Week 9

10/17/2018

By Neil H. Devlin, Mullen Sports Information Director

Mustangs to meet A-West.

THIS WEEK IN MULLEN FOOTBALL

WEEK 9: Vs. Arvada West Wildcats
WHEN: Thursday, Kickoff 7 p.m.
WHERE: North Area Athletic Complex, Arvada

Status: Class 5A Metro West League

Records: Mullen 3-5 overall 0-3 league; Arvada West 5-3, 1-2

Head coaches: Vincent White, first year with Mullen; Brad Pyatt, fifth year with A-West

History: They really haven’t played each other that much -- since 2005, there have been four meetings, all won by Mullen, most recently a 55-14 spanking in 2015. There also were two in playoffs, both in the semifinals, with Mullen winning 27-0 in 2009 on the way to a second-consecutive title and during a 34-game winning streak, and in 2005, winning 58-38 before falling to Douglas County.

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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
5, Ryan Hearty, Jr., 6-1, 205
76, Aidan Keanaaina, Jr., DL-OL, 6-3, 295
10, Ben Marcoux, Jr., WR, 5-10, 155
5?, Dante Silva, Sr., LB-OL, 6-2, 220
12, Isaac White, Jr., WR-DB, 6-1, 191

Last week: In league, Mullen lost 48-20 at home to defending state champion Pomona and Arvada West outlasted Lakewood 40-39.

Notable: This will be Mullen’s 856th game since first playing in 1936. The Mustangs are 584-253-18 in their history with eight state titles as well as seven Parochial state titles, the first in 1945.. …

A-West senior QB Johnny Krutsch now is the program’s all-time leader in passing yards. Last week, he overtook Steve Cutlip. Krutsch has 8,312 yards in his career. Cutlip, widely considered one of the best QBs of recent decades, had 8,307 from 1994-97. The all-time leader is Justin Holland of Bear Creek, 10,565 from 1997-2000. Mullen’s Ryan Clement (1990-93) had 9,273 and ranks fourth. Krutsch is sixth. …

Hearty missed last week’s game, but Silva returned and was active on defense. …

The younger White, Mullen’s top receiver, grabbed his first scoring pass last week, an 8-yarder in the second quarter. …

Mullen was 16th in RPI entering the week. The top eight seeds will have first-round byes. The Mustangs still have a chance to host a preliminary-round matchup -- seeds 9 through 16 will host 17 through 24. …

In a stretch of three-of-four games on the road, Mullen also will finish away, a rare matchup at Trailblazer Stadium, usually the site for lower-level games. …

The Mustangs’ 285 points allowed puts them 36th of 40 teams. A-West is 27th …

A-West’s victory last week snapped a three-game losing streak in which it gave up a combined 133 points, including 50 to Eaglecrest, the 2017 5A state runner-up. …

Mullen is attempting to avoid its second-consecutive losing season. It was 5-6 a year ago. The MUstangs also were 3-7 in 2013 and 4-6 in 2014.

Coachspeak from White

On his team understanding that they need a couple of victories to secure a home playoff game:

“I think they do. It’s a short week, so we;ll stretch a little more. We have to get a win so we can host. It’s exciting for everybody.”

On assessing the Wildcats:

“They’re pretty good on offense. They throw the ball around and have a good football team. If we don’t turn the ball over, we have a chance to win the football game.”

On what he’s looking for over the next two games:

“Against Pomona, I thought we played hard and that’s what you want to see for four quarters. We need to be mistake-free and if we don’t turn the ball over and play hard, that what we want and what we have to do.”

Next for Mullen

Away vs. Lakewood in the Metro West, Thursday, Oct. 25, 7 p.m., Trailblazer Stadium

Thursday’s Class 5A games

Castle View vs. Rock Canyon, 7 p.m.

Fairview vs. Poudre, 6 p.m.

Arapahoe vs. Eaglecrest, 7 p.m.

Denver East vs. Northglenn, 7 p.m.

Fossil Ridge vs. Legacy, 7 p.m.

Regis Jesuit vs. Fountain-Fort Carson, 6 p.m.

Valor Christian vs. ThunderRidge, 7 p.m.

Friday’s Class 5A games

Westminster vs. Rangeview, 6:30 p.m.