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High School Football

HHS Mustangs Finish Regular Season Undefeated on Homecoming, Senior Night

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HUNTINGDON (October 24) — Playing Thursday night to avoid Friday’s downpour, the Huntingdon Mustangs finished a third consecutive undefeated regular season with a 72-6 rout of the Middleton Tigers. To add to the celebratory mood, it was Homecoming and Senior Night at Paul Ward Stadium.

Prior to kickoff, senior football players and managers, cheerleaders, band members, AB Club members and cross-country runners were recognized on the field.

Senior football players are: Hunter Ensley, Brandon Lawton, Konnor Pearson, Bo McLemore, Devin McClerkin, Noah Belew, Quinton Williams, Brett Huss, Dylan Armour, Sebastian Kee, Reed Jones, Daniel Sullenger, Drake Butler, Nathaniel Cran-Lowe, Jaylen Williams, Cole Edwards and Austin Baker.

Senior football managers are: Anna-Claire Campbell, Jordan Davis, Diamond King, Knoa Thompson and Tim Walls.

Senior cheerleaders are: Abby Ballard, Katie Coleman, Kensley Crossno and Katie Simpson.

Senior band members are: Ryan Brooks, Zachary Childress, Coleman Dickson, Lani Hartley, Lacey Prater, Reanna Simmons, Tizzy Smith, Emily Taylor, William Townsend, Lexie Williams, Zean Williams and Hannah Reeves.

Senior AB Club members are: Kaci Fuller, Caroline Moore, Hannah Reeves, Abby Stokes, Adyn Swenson, Kailey Freeman, Anna-Claire Campbell, Jordan Davis, Abby Ballard, Katie Coleman, Kensley Crossno and Katie Simpson.

Senior cross-country runners are: Nikolas Bynum, Skylen Holder, Jamal Nesbitt, Tyasia Reed, Haley Robbins, Ben Taylor, Zack Williams, Merritt Willis, Ashley Baker, Kaci Fuller and Adyn Swenson.

During halftime, the Homecoming court was presented and the queen announced. The court included two representatives from each class.

Freshmen representatives were: Sadie Shands, daughter of Roger and Tina Shands, escorted by Keller Smith, son of Scott and Shawna Smith; and Josie Williams, daughter of Daniel and Kara Williams, escorted by Colton King, son of Blake and Jill Courtney.

Sophomore representatives were: Lindsey Sanders, daughter of John and Kim Sanders, escorted by Brayden Bales, son of Michael and Kimberly Bales; and Rylee Holladay, daughter of Mickey Holladay and Ben and Brandi Lee, escorted by Jeb Atkinson, son of Jacky and Dixie Atkinson.

Junior representatives were: Brooke Butler, daughter of Clint and Gina Butler, escorted by Milton Clark, son of Milton Clark Sr. and Veronica Holder; and Anna Ruth White, daughter of Jeff and Melissa White, escorted by Jaylon Yarbrough, son of Marcos and Lakeshia Yarbrough.

Senior representatives were: Jordan Davis, daughter of Jeff and April Davis, escorted by Nikolas Bynum, son of Jason and Amy Bynum; and Anna-Claire Campbell, daughter of Kevin and Amy Campbell, escorted by Ben Taylor, son of David and April Taylor.

Queen Brooke Butler was crowned by AB Club President Caroline Moore and Vice-President Abby Stokes. The Alma Mater was then played by the band and sung by all. The game breezed by as the Mustangs put up 37 points in the first quarter, prompting a running clock in the second quarter and in a shortened second half (two eight-minute quarters).

Huntingdon won the pregame coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.

A short kick was grabbed by Devin McClerkin at the 35. Quarterback Hunter Ensley kept the first snap for a 65-yard touchdown. Cole Edwards kicked the PAT, and the Mustangs led 7-0 with just 19 seconds off of the clock.

Edwards kicked off for a touchback, and Middleton quickly went three-and-out. The punt was downed at the Tiger 40. Mustang Brandon Lawton carried on first down, dodging and weaving his way to the 6. He then ran for two and three yards, respectively, before punching it in from one yard out. Another kick by Edwards made it 14-0 with nine minutes to play in the opening frame.

Edwards nearly kicked for another touchback, but a bad hop sent it out of bounds at the 4 yard line to start the Tigers at their own 35. A fumble, a sack by Mustang Sebastian Kee and a tackle-for-loss by Kee and Bo McLemore pushed Middleton back to the 7, and the punt was taken by Ensley near the 40 and returned about 20 yards. A holding penalty moved the ball back to the 29.

Konnor Pearson got the first carry and ran for a 29-yard touchdown. Edwards kicked, and Huntingdon led 21-0 with seven minutes to go in the first quarter.

The Tigers returned the ensuing kickoff from the 9 to the 16, but lost ten yards during another three-and-out. The punt went out of bounds at the Middleton 43.

Ensley began the drive with a deep throw to Lawton in the end zone, but a Tiger defender grabbed Lawton as he went for the catch, resulting in a flag for pass interference. Malek Cannon ran for a 28-yard touchdown on the next play, but it was called back for a hold. Cannon repeated from five yards deeper, scoring on the same route. Edwards’ PAT upped the score to 28-0 with 3:42 left in the first.

Another touchback by Edwards was followed by back-to-back sacks by McLemore, then a sack by Kee in the end zone for a safety. With 2:16 on the clock, the Mustangs led 30-0.

Middleton kicked off from the 20, and Lawton returned it about 65 yards for a touchdown, but again the score was negated by a Huntingdon penalty. Enlsey kept the first snap for a 42-yard touchdown. Edwards made it 37-0 with just under two minutes remaining in the first.

The Tigers went three-and-out again as the quarter ended and punted to start the second. Lawton returned it about 30 yards to the end zone, but a penalty negated another Mustang score.

Ensley kept on first down to take it from the 25 to the 6, then Pearson ran it in. Edwards kicked, and Huntingdon led 44-0 two minutes into the second frame.

Middleton had a decent kickoff return negated by a penalty and went three-and-out. A poor punt went out of bounds at the 15, and Mustang Aden Hutcherson scored from there on the first snap. After the kick, the score was 51-0 with five and a half minutes until intermission.

The Tigers had a promising start to the next drive. A good return got them to the 36, and two plays later it was a manageable third-and-two. A penalty on that play made it third-and-14, and a long pass was intercepted by Mustang Grant Bartholomew.

Bartholomew took over under center and kept the first snap for a 46-yard touchdown as time expired. Edwards kicked to give Huntingdon a 58-0 halftime lead.

Edwards started the second half with a touchback. Aidan Ninness sacked the Tiger QB on first down, a second-down pass fell incomplete, and Ninness and Luke Furr combined for a sack on third. Middleton’s punt went out of bounds at the 32.

Mustang Elijah Flowers ran for nine, then Ty Kelley for six. Landon Gordon finished the drive with a 17-yard carry to paydirt. Edwards kicked for a 65-0 Huntingdon lead with two minutes left in the third.

After yet another touchback, Tiger Tyler Dickey broke loose for an 80-yard touchdown as the quarter ended, eliciting cheers from both the small visiting crowd and the capacity home crowd. A two-point attempt failed, and the Mustang lead was 65-6 entering the final frame.

Mustang Cade Wood grabbed the Tiger onside-kick try to start Huntingdon at the Middleton 48. Flowers then took the first snap all the way for a touchdown. Edwards completed a perfect ten-for-ten night on PATs, and the lead was 72-6 with 6:30 left in the contest. Middleton ran out the clock with six productive plays to end the game deep in Huntingdon territory.

The Mustangs (10-0, 6-0) will enjoy a bye in the final week of the regular season. Then, as the Region 6-1A champion, they will host the Region 5 four-seed to begin the playoffs on Friday, November 8.

Huntingdon, Football, HHS, Homecoming