Mustangs Capitalize on Turnovers for 49-0 Win

HUNTINGDON (October 3) — The high-powered offense of the Huntingdon Mustangs football team saw Christmas come early as the defense of the Mustangs forced seven Parson Riverside turnovers. Huntingdon turned the gifts into points in a 49-0 win over Riverside to improve to 6-1 for the season.

The Mustangs intercepted five Panther passes and recovered two fumbles. They returned one interception for a touchdown, had a scoop-and-score, and also had a kickoff return for a touchdown.

Mustang junior quarterback Kenton Smith had a career night for the Mustangs as he accounted for three Mustang touchdowns. Smith completed 3 of 4 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown, returned an interception for a touchdown, and ran a touchdown from a yard out.

Sophomore K’Shun Carter had a big night with two intercepted passes, caused a fumble, recorded three tackles for the game, and returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to begin the second half. Junior Zayden Connelly caught two passes for 80 yards with a touchdown and scooped up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown.

Riverside fumbled on their opening drive after reaching the Mustang 11, and Tyreke Hutch recovered the loose football, ending the only scoring threat the Panthers had all night.

Carter intercepted his first pass of the game on Riverside’s next possession and returned it 18 yards to the Panther 47, and two plays later, Smith connected with Connelly for a 52-yard scoring play. Greyson Anderson kicked through the point after, and the Mustangs led 7-0.

Smith then intercepted a Panther pass on the ensuing possession and returned it 20 yards for the touchdown with seven seconds left in the first quarter. With Anderson’s kick, they led 14-0.

Smith stepped in front of a Jacob Duck pass at the Panther 19, and the Mustangs scored in four plays on a Smith one-yard run to build their lead to 21-0 with the Anderson PAT.

Tyreke Hutch got in the act with an interception of his own with just under four minutes left in the half and gave the ball to the Mustang offense with 2:24 left in the half at the Panther 32. Huntingdon gave the ball to sophomore running back Hayes Eubanks three plays in a row, where he scored on a 24-yard run to give the Mustangs a 28-0 lead with the point after.

Carter then intercepted his second pass of the game at the Panther 30 with 29.5 left in the half. After a holding penalty against the Mustangs, Smith completed a 28-yard pass to Connelly at the Panther 12. Then they went 11 yards to Hutch to set up a one-yard run by Eubanks on the last play of the half. Anderson gave Huntingdon a 35-0 lead by kicking through the point after.

Carter started the scoring for the Mustangs in the second half by returning the kickoff for a touchdown, and Ethan Raffield kicked the point after, and the Mustangs led 42-0.

The final score of the night came when Connelly scooped up a Duck fumble as he was being pressured trying to pass and ran 19 yards for the touchdown. Raffield provided the final point of the night for a 49-0 win.

Huntingdon ran for 144 yards for the night, and Eubanks ran 10 times for 51 yards. The Mustangs held Riverside to 68 yards on the ground and 5 of 16 passing for 81 yards.

The Mustangs face Harpeth for homecoming on Friday at Paul Ward Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m.