Mustangs Hold Lions Scoreless in 35-0 Win

CAMDEN (August 29) — The Huntingdon Mustangs overcame a night in which they committed seven penalties, several bad snaps, and fumbles that were recovered by the boys in blue, to defeat a good Camden Lions team 35-0. Both the Mustangs and Lions were coming off wins over teams that had been on the winning side the last few years, as Camden was coming off an overtime win over Riverside, and the Mustangs defeated McKenzie for the first time in six years.

​Even though the Mustangs at times seemed a little out of sync offensively, they rushed for 321 yards on the ground and completed 2 of 3 passes for 23 yards. The Mustangs, who were battling the injury bug, got a huge game from backup running back Colt Wood. Wood, a sophomore, rushed seven times for 110 yards and scored a long TD on the final play of the first half.

​Braylin Dearmon, the Mustang senior QB, turned in a stellar performance against the Lions. Rushing for 128 yards on 11 carries and scoring twice in the game. Dearmon reeled off a 68-yard run for a TD against Camden.

​The Mustangs’ defense for the second week in a row had a good night. The Lions only threatened to score twice, and the last came at the end of the game. The Mustangs, who had held McKenzie to 63 yards on the ground, bettered that against Camden, holding the Lions to 45 yards on the ground and 7 of 17 for 89 yards in the air.

​The Mustangs took advantage of two Lion turnovers, with the first one coming to start the game.

​The Mustangs received the opening kickoff, but after three plays, failed to gain a first down and punted. Hayes Eubanks’ punt was fumbled, and Huntingdon’s Wood recovered at the Lion 34. Six plays later, the Mustangs found the end zone on a three-yard run by Kenton Smith. Greyson Anderson kicked through the point after to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead.

​On their ensuing possession, the Lions moved to the Mustang 16 behind the running of Amari Rogers, but a fourth-down pass fell incomplete, and the Mustangs began one of their patented 11-play drives to increase their lead. The Mustang touchdown came on a 12-yard pass from Dearmon to Owen King with 9:08 left in the half. Anderson tacked on the point after, and the Mustangs led 14-0.

​With 3:35 left in the half, Smith intercepted a Jake Reynoldson pass at the Lion 34-yard line, and it only took two plays for the Mustangs to cash in the mistake. Wood ran for four yards before Dearmon set sail for a 43-yard run to paydirt. Anderson was again true on the point after, and the lead grew to 21-0.

​The Mustangs managed another score just before half after taking possession on a Lion punt that landed at the Camden 37. The Mustangs lost five yards to penalties on two consecutive plays before Wood found a lane down the sideline and cut back to the middle of the field for a 47-yard run for the touchdown with six seconds left in the half. Anderson’s kick was good, and the Mustangs took a 28-0 lead at the half.

​The second half was played with a running clock, but the Mustangs managed one more score in the half. The first came after a Lion punt, and Dearmon again performed his magic with a 68-yard run that came on the first play after a Camden punt. Anderson booted through the PAT and a 35-0 lead.

​The Mustangs came close to another score to start the fourth quarter after an eight-play drive stalled. The Mustangs had reached the Lion six, but a bad snap lost 11 yards to Lion 17. On the next play, the snap again was bad and resulted in a loss back to the 30. Then the Mustangs lost five yards to penalty and on fourth down, Anderson attempted a 52-yard field goal that sailed just wide left.

​The Lions almost scored at the end of the game, but with the clock running, a pass was completed to the Mustang five, but the clock ran out before the Lions could get a play off, and the Mustangs left Wright Field with a 35-0 win.

​The Mustangs, now 2-0 for the season, will travel to Milan this week in a key region matchup. Camden 1-1 will be at home and face a 1-1 Dyersburg Trojan team.