Mustangs Stampede Past Lewis County to Advance to Quarterfinals

HOHENWALD (November 14) — The Huntingdon Mustangs are no strangers to advancing to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, and with the 49-22 win over Lewis County in the second round Friday in Hohenwald, the Mustangs have now reached the quarters for eight of the last ten football seasons. The Mustangs have also qualified for the playoffs for the past 20 football seasons.

Huntingdon’s speed proved too much for the Panthers as the Mustang offense piled up 534 yards of total offense for the game. The Mustangs rushed 31 times for 439 yards in the game, with senior Tyreke Hutch rushing eight times for 207 yards and three TDs, all of which came in the first half. Braylin Dearmon was a great compliment to Hutch as he amassed 145 yards on 14 carries and one score. Kenton Smith completed two of two passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Gavin Gray led Huntingdon’s defense that held a high-scoring Lewis County to 106 yards on the ground and 11 of 25 passes for 149 yards. Gray recorded 20 tackles and a sack. Broox Bennett had 13 tackles for the Mustang defense.

The Mustangs got off to a slow start in the game as Lewis County took a 3-0 lead with 1:39 left in the first quarter on a 33-yard field goal by Henry Sharp. Huntingdon answered with 7:58 left in the first half on an 18-yard run by Hutch and a Greyson Anderson point after to take the lead at 7-3.

Lewis County’s Drew Ray erased that lead in 14 seconds, as he returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and a Sharp extra point gave the Panthers a 10-7 lead. The Mustang offense woke up and exploded to score 35 additional points in the game.

Huntingdon started the scoring barrage three plays after the Ray kickoff return. Smith threw a short pass in the flat to Bennett, who broke a tackle and then scampered 77 yards for the score. Anderson tacked on the PAT, and the Mustangs led 14-10.

Following a Panther punt, Huntingdon scored in two plays as Hutch dashed 61 yards for a touchdown, and the Anderson point after gave the Mustangs a 21-10 lead with 2:48 left in the half.

Hutch got in touchdown mode again after the Panthers went three and out and outran the Panther defense for a 76-yard touchdown with 58 seconds left in the half. Anderson was true on the point after, and the Mustangs led 28-10 at the half.

Huntingdon started the third quarter with possession, and it took one play to essentially put the game on ice. Dearmon took the handoff and found a running lane. He stiff-armed a defender and sprinted 72 yards to paydirt to give the Mustangs a commanding 35-10 lead.

An Owen King sack ended a Panther drive at the Mustang 48, and Dearmon picked up 30 yards to the Panther 18. On the next play, Smith found King at the goal line for an 18-yard scoring toss, and the lead was at 42-10 with Anderson’s PAT.

Lewis County scored on its next possession with a 30-yard pass from Caleb Skelton to Kobe Feichtinger and went for two but failed, leaving the score at 42-16. The Panthers forced a Mustang punt and took over at the Mustang 38, and scored seven plays later on a Drew Ray 20-yard run. The two-point conversion again failed, and the score was left at 42-22.

The Mustangs recovered the onside kick, and on the next play, K’Shun Carter found a hole and scooted to the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown run, and Anderson added the final point of the night to make the final score 49-22.

The Mustangs face the second-ranked team in the state this Friday in the quarterfinals as 12-0 East Robertson comes to Paul Ward Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.