Mustangs roll FNE Warriors, warts and all

Oh, the first football game of a season on the prep level … is there anything that can seem uglier?

Such was the case for Mullen on Thursday night. In a nonleague matchup at the Evie Dennis Complex, the Mustangs ultimately outlasted the Far Northeast Warriors 34-0 in a game that won’t win any beauty contests.

For one thing, there was a 17-minute delay to opening kickoff as players and coaches were cleared from the field because there was a heavy police presence in the complex due to a couple of arrests involving a firearm.

For another, there were a combined 31 penalties, 17 by Mullen. At one point in the second quarter, there were five penalties over six snaps and the Warriors went from first-and-29 at their own 1-yard line to 1^st-and-10 at their 31.

And for lots of others, Mullen had two long-gainers called back because of penalties; FNE crossed midfield just once in the first half – in the closing seconds; Mullen twice had the ball inside the Warriors 20 and didn’t score; multiple timeouts were exhausted because the correct number of players weren’t on the field; and it took 3 hours, 29 minutes to complete.

Still, the Mustangs insisted, they won, they’re encouraged and they’ll get better.

“I’m excited,” first-year Mullen head coach Stanley Richardson said. “It was a win and one of our first goals was to get a win. We had a lot of young guys playing. The chemistry seemed to be good, but there were some first-game jitters.”

There were – the Mustangs’ first pass attempt was picked off and FNE bobbled four snaps early.

However, Mullen started to get it together late in the second quarter. Wilson Yee missed his first two field-goal attempts, but converted from 33 and 31 yards. Ryan Hearty scored the first of his three, short rushing touchdowns to give Mullen a 13-0 lead.

It got much better in the second half. Hearty added two more scoring runs and senior Damien Cearns broke free for a pretty, cutting 61-yard rushing score.

And the Mullen defense was consistent all night, limiting te Warriors to just one visit in Mustangs territory in the first half and 86 yards for the game.

“Our offense showed some potential at some points,” linebacker Trevor Kirking said, “but I think our defense played well. We have to work on some blocking, but we won. They started to get the feel of it. They were probably a little nervous and over-extending.”

Cearns finished with 130 yards on 18 carries. On defense, Aidan Keanaaina, Kirking, Matt Ells, Luke Malone and the secondary as a whole, Richardson said, “played well.”

Said Cearns: “We had some problems and have some stuff to work on, but as a team we came together. We have a lot of kids with heart.”

Offensively, Mullen, in winning the first-ever night game at the complexs, ended with 269 yards, 175 rushing. In particular, Hearty backed Cearns’ break-away ability with hard running inside and got his “first ever more-than-one-touchdown game … it was a lot of fun and a good team effort.”

Next for Mullen is another Thursday game, at Doherty in Colorado Springs at Garry Berry Stadium on Sept. 5.

“The defense looked good,” Richardson said. “We have a lot of work to do and we’ve got to get better. But overall, I’m happy.”

 

Mullen – FG Wilson Yee 33, 6:48.

Mullen – FG Yee 31, 5:05.

Mullen – Ryan Hearty 1 run (Yee kick), 3:12.

Mullen -- Damien Cearns 61 run (run failed), 5:25.

Mullen – Hearty 2 run (Yee kick), 11:48.

Mullen – Hearty 5 run (Ben Marcoux run), 9:42.