The Staley  Mustangs 8th Grade Football White Team had a tough going tonight against the Cobb Cyclones.  The Cyclones took their opening drive down the field scoring six and with the successful PAT, they had the early lead 8-0.  Staley's #77 fielded the squib kick and quickly secured the ball, giving the Mustangs good field position.  On first down, Staley's running back #8 cut to the outside,and ran down the side line, for what the Staley fans thought to be a sure six. A Cobb defender had other ideas, gave #8 a push that had him stumbling down the field.  He was called out of bounds at the 14 yard line.  Staley's threat to score was eliminated, as the Mustangs were held by the Cobb defense and turned it over on downs.  The Cyclones made quick work moving down the field to the end zone for another score.  The kick was good and the Mustangs were down 16-0 at the end of the first quarter. 

Both teams went three and out as the defenses played strong. The Mustangs had nice field position after a run back from the punt, but the drive stalled out and Cobb took over on downs.  The Cyclones moved the ball down the field on several plays, when they ran a quarterback sweep, as time expired in the half.  It looked like he would go in for the score, when the Mustang's #29 came out of nowhere to tackle him just short of the end zone, keeping the score at 16-0 in Cobb's favor.  

The Staley Mustangs started the second half off on a good note, when #40 running back made a nice gain to move the chains.   An incomplete pass on first down, and loss of yardage on second down, had the Mustangs opting for a half back pass that came very close to being caught. That brought up fourth and long, and another Staley punt.  Cobb had good field position after the punt and started a drive to the end zone.  The Staley defense had other ideas, after the Cyclones move the chains once.  Cobb had a fresh set of down around the Staley 20 yard line, a few bad snaps and fast action by the Mustang defense, it became 3rd and a very long bus ride.  The Mustangs fired up defense dropped the quarterback for another loss at around the Cobb 20 yard line.  The Staley crowd came to life, hoping for a score.  The Cobb defense proved to be tough also as they backed up the Staley boys and had them facing fourth and long, an incomplete pass had the Mustang turning it over on downs.    While the defense stayed strong, the Cyclone running back broke some tackles, and ran for a 60 yard touchdown.  A short PAT kick had the score 22-0, with six minutes left. 

On the kick off, the ball bounce off the foot of the Mustang receiver back toward the Cobb line and a Cyclone fell on it for possession. However; two plays later Cobb fumbled and Mustang #51 recovered on the Cobb 40 yard line.  A run by #8 had Staley moving the chains.  Both running backs #25 and #8 were fighting for every yard they could get.  On fourth and three at the 18 yard line, the quarterback handed it off to #25 who blew through for the first down, down to the five yard line, with about a minute left in the game. A quick toss out to #88,  with him turning and stepping into th end zone, had the Mustangs on the board.  A missed PAT had the score at 24-6 with 41 seconds left.  

The Mustangs put it all on the line with an onside kick.  A mad scramble, a fight for the ball, and the Mustang's determination had Staley recovering the kick for possession at the 40 yard line.  The Mustang faithful were excited as their boys were showing their true grit. A run by # 8, brought up second down, but the clock was the enemy now.  The Staley quarterback #18 under immense pressure, slipped out of the Cobb defender's grasp, stepped up and made a great pass to #33, who made the grab at the ten yard in double coverage.  The Mustang crowd went wild, #33 with two defenders on him and two more coming his way, turned toward the end zone and gave it everything he had in a tremendous effort to cross the line for the score.  With a defender completely hanging on him, the other Cobb defender managed to swipe the ball out of his arms before he crossed the line, Cobb recovered as time expired.   Final score had Cobb at 24 and the Mustangs at 6.  

These young men played hard, strong and tough.  They showed the Mustang spirit and determination.  The Mustangs showed great pride, teamwork and drive through out the game.  These boys never gave up and finished MUSTANG STRONG despite coming up short in the final score.  We know they are winners.  I am so proud of these boys!!  Great job, Mustangs!!  

Here are some images of the game.