Mustangs Claim 2A State Title

CHATTANOOGA (December 6) — One of the oldest traditions for Huntingdon Mustang football has been the ritual of ringing the bell after each victory. Although it has rung 708 times since 1930, Saturday night’s pealing of the bell at Paul Ward Stadium was the second time in school history that it rang after a state title and the first since 2003.

Huntingdon defeated Marion County, the defending state champion, 20-7 in the same fashion that got them to the title game. The Mustangs, battle-tested from their first four playoff games, beat the Warriors with their running game and a pass that caught the Warriors off guard. The defense that created a turnover and held a potent Warrior offense to seven points.

A state championship was not on the list of predictions to begin the season, and some publications had the Mustangs finishing fifth in their region. Huntingdon, however, overcame the odds and a few injuries along the way to become a state champion for the second time.

The Mustangs finished 9-1 during the regular season and ran a gauntlet of some of the best teams in the state in the playoffs. The Mustangs took down a Memphis Business team 22-12 and their Division 1 prospect at tailback. Then the Mustangs defeated an 11-1 Lewis County team 49-22, an undefeated East Robertson squad 42-20, before avenging their only loss of the season with a 35-34 win over Milan.

In the title game, the Mustangs faced a Marion County team that was 13-1 and won the state title last year with a win over Milan. The Mustangs, who for the season had created 28 turnovers by their opponents while only losing the ball seven times, created a fumble on the Warriors’ first drive of the game.

Marion County’s Mason Mays caught a pass but was stripped of the ball. Huntingdon’s Lucas Smith recovered the ball at the Warrior 36. The Mustang offense then leaned on two of its top runners to take it to the end zone. Kenton Smith gained five and four yards on the first two plays, and a penalty moved the ball to the 22. Braylin Dearmon ran seven yards to the 15, Smith eight yards to the seven, Dearmon six yards to the one, where Dearmon then bulled his way into the end zone. The point after was missed, and the Mustangs led 6-0 with 6:54 left in the first.

After holding the Warriors on downs, the Mustangs took over at their own 21. Behind Dearmon and Smith, Huntingdon moved to the Warrior 41. The Mustangs, with a first down from that spot, caught the Warriors off guard, as Smith rolled to his left and found Zayden Connelly behind the secondary for a 41-yard scoring strike through the air. Greyson Anderson added the point after giving the Mustang a 13-0 lead.

Huntingdon narrowly missed scoring again before the half when a Smith pass on the last play of the half barely went through the hands of Connelly, ending the half with the Mustangs ahead 13-0.

The Mustangs started the second half with possession starting at their 29 and drove the length of the field to score in 11 plays. Huntingdon kept the ball on the ground and the big play of the drive game from Smith, who was named MVP. Smith scampered 22 yards when attempting to pass to give the Mustangs a first down at the Warrior 29. He scored the touchdown on a four-yard run with 7:03 left in the third. Anderson gave the Mustangs a 20-0 lead with the conversion of the PAT.

The Warriors scored with 8:12 left in the game on a fourth-down 12-yard pass from Zaiden Humphrey to Mays. The PAT kick was good, and the score stood at 20-7.

Marion County tried an onside kick, but for the second week in a row, Smith covered the kick. Dearmon also intercepted a pass on Marion County’s last possession, and the Mustangs ran out the clock for the win.

The Huntingdon Mustangs ended the season at 14-1, and Kenton Smith was named MVP as he ran for 111 yards on 21 carries and a TD. He was 1 of 3 passing for 41 yards and a TD. Dearmon ran 16 times for 76 yards as the Mustangs ran for 217 yards in the game. Marion County ran for 139 and passed for 102 in the game.