The Friday night lights were turned on for the last time for the departing Senior members of the 2014 Mustang football team. This team is ending a season of unusual occurrences and still had one more challenge in front of them. The team entered the season with a small number of players putting on the new uniforms and limited experience in the lineman available for action. The opening game was delayed 24 hours due to lightning flashes, and the Princeton Tigers ended a multi-year losing streak at the expense of the Mustangs. This was followed by a home game that ended in a triple overtime loss to the Orion Chargers, a loss to arch rival Fulton, and then a visit from the #1 ranked Newman Comets. The offense stalled and didn’t score again until the last play of the Bureau Valley game, three weeks later. Losses to Rockridge and Erie-Prophetstown set up the situation for Senior Night as the winless Riverdale Rams came to visit the winless Mustangs with nothing on the line but pride.
Joey Brackemyer returned the opening kickoff to the Rams’ 22 yard line. Two penalties on the next four snaps killed the drive on the 19-yard line, and the Rams took possession on downs. They marched down to the Mustang 28 yard line with the aid of a 48-yard pass completion from Freshman quarterback Kelan Dickson to Andrew Goodman. Triston Houzenga ended the drive on the 1 yard line as he intercepted the first of his four pass interceptions on the night. Each team had two more possession in the quarter but were unable to gain any momentum.
The Mustangs’ first possession of the second quarter opened the scoring. Brackemyer found room on an end run and skirted the left sideline to find the end zone 54 yards later. The Mustangs led 6-0 with 9:10 left in the half. Apparent confusion on the extra point ended with Brackemyer being stopped on the 2 yard line. The ensuing kickoff left the fans scratching their heads, as the kick only went forward five yards, and the spin took it backwards. The Rams fell on it at the Morrison 47 yard line. Ten plays later, Dickson covered the last three yards into the end zone to tie the game with 5:08 remaining in the half. Cole Ebenroth kicked the extra point to earn the 7-6 advantage. Morrison went three-and-out on the next possession. Houzenga stopped another Ram drive with his second interception, before the teams traded possessions and ended the half, with the one point lead belonging to the visitng Rams.
The third quarter saw very little offense from either side of the ball. The inspired Mustangs defense held the Rams to only five yards of total offense the entire quarter. But the Mustangs self-destructed. They ended one series with a blocked punt and a second series with a Mason Sitzmore fumble.
So the search for a victory for both teams had evolved to the final eight minutes of the season. The Morrison defense continued to handcuff the Rams. One series only gained two yards, and Houzenga grabbed his third interception to end a second drive. As the clock ran down on the season, the Morrison hopes were centered on the possession that started on their own 47 yard line, with 6:26 remaining on the clock. Sitzmore connected with Merik Kennedy for a 17-yard pass completion and Andy Bird for an 8-yard gain, putting the ball on the 21 yard line, as the clock continued to run down to the 3:04 mark. Bird gained four yards, and Houzenga gained three, before Bird found room over the right side and scampered the final 14 yards to give Morrison a 12-7 lead, with 2:03 remaining. Sitzmore completed a pass to Bird for the two-point conversion, and the Mustangs took a 14-7 lead.
A Riverdale penalty on the ensuing kickoff allowed the Mustangs to kick off from the 45-yard line. A touchback put the Rams on their own 20 yard line, 80 yards away from a tying scoring opportunity. Two incomplete passes preceded Triston Houzenga’s fourth interception of the night, and the Mustangs owned the ball and the lead on the Riverdale 31 yard line. Andy Bird took the first snap and galloped over right tackle untouched into the end zone, with 1:23 left in the game. Houzenga kicked the extra point, and the Rams were down two touchdowns with only seconds remaining. Riverdale’s last possession allowed Houzenga to grab his fourth interception and seal the win for the Mustangs. The final score was Morrison 21, Riverdale 7.
The Mustangs held the Rams to 123 rushing yards and allowed only 21 total yards of offense by the Rams in the second half. Andy Bird led the Morrison offense with 133 rushing yards, followed by Joey Brackemyer’s 62 yards. Triston Houzenga’s final appearance in a Mustang uniform will be one to be remembered. Besides the four interceptions, he kicked one extra point and made a spectacular diving catch, to complete a 54-yard pass from Mason Sitzmore in the fourth quarter.
Despite all of the losses and injury challenges put before them this season, this Mustang team remained committed to the game. They finished the season on a high note that will be a launching pad into the 2015 season.