Mustangs Close Out Memphis Business 22-12

When the fog lifted Friday night at Paul Ward Stadium, the Huntingdon Mustangs found themselves a 22-12 victor over the Memphis Business Academy Execs in the first round of the TSSAA Class 2-A playoffs. The path through the playoffs became less cloudy as the Mustangs plan to travel to Hohenwald to face the Region 5 Champion, Lewis County.

Huntingdon’s defense shone through the dense fog that settled on Paul Ward Stadium and held the high-scoring Execs to two scores, forcing two turnovers and limiting the Execs Division I prospect Khamoni Williams to 46 yards on the ground.

The Mustangs made a statement to start the game, taking the opening kickoff and moving 62 yards in 13 plays to score. Huntindon used almost six minutes off the clock. The Mustangs ran 12 straight running plays on the drive before Kenton Smith tossed a nine-yard touchdown pass to Garvin Kee with 6:09 left in the first. The extra point was missed, and the Mustangs held a 6-0 lead.

The Execs tied the game with 4:23 left in the half after going 94 yards in seven plays to score on a three-yard run. The Execs found some success through the passing game as they had one pass play go for 44 yards and another that covered 34 yards that came on third down and 33. The attempt for a two-point conversion failed, and the score was knotted at 6-6.

The Mustangs answered on the legs of senior running back Braylin Dearmon. The Mustangs moved 57 yards in 10 plays, and Dearmon, who rushed for 162 yards in the game, carried seven of the ten plays and scored the touchdown on a five-yard run with 48.3 seconds left in the half. The extra point was blocked, and the score remained 12-6.

Huntingdon’s defense forced a three-and-out from MBA to start the second half and added points on its next possession after fielding a punt at the Exec 48. The Mustangs reached the Exec 14 in eight plays but lost two yards, and Greyson Anderson kicked a 33-yard field goal to give the Mustangs a 15-6 lead with just over five minutes left in the third.

MBA answered again with the passing game as they traveled 80 yards in nine plays and completed 5 of 7 passes on the drive for 55 yards and scored on a Williams 12-yard run with 1:33 left in the third quarter. The conversion failed, and the Mustangs clung to a 15-12 lead.

The Mustang defense ended an MBA drive at their 37 with a sack that gave the ball back to Huntindon’s offense, and in one play closed the doors on Memphis Business as Tyreke Hutch scampered 62 yards to the end zone with 5:51 left in the game. Anderson added the point after, and the Mustangs would hold on for a 22-12 win to advance.

The Mustangs rushed 45 times for 270 yards and passed for 18, with Dearmon leading the way with 162 yards. MBA rushed for 129 yards and completed 17 of 30 passes for 204 yards.