MOORE — Big offensive plays and stingy defense keyed the Southmoore’s victory over Mustang tonight.
The SaberCats defeated the Broncos 44-14 to close out the regular season with a 7-3 overall record and 4-3 mark in district play. Mustang fell to 6-4 on the season and 3-4 in district.
SaberCat senior running back Karltrell Henderson led the Southmoore offensive attack with 191 yards on 23 carries and one touchdown.
“All of the credit goes to my guys up front,” Henderson said. “The offensive line game me some big holes to run through tonight. I thought our offense played well. We made big plays when we had to make them.”
Southmoore got on the scoreboard first with a safety on Mustang quarterback Frankie Edwards. On their next offensive possession the SaberCats connected on a double-reverse pass from senior quarterback Tre Edwards to senior wide receiver Jonathan Martin for a 54-yard touchdown to give Southmoore a 9-0 lead.
Mustang responded with a touchdown drive of their own, but a missed extra point made the score 9-6 SaberCats at the end of the first quarter.
On their first drive of the second quarter Southmoore converted a fourth and 17 on a pass form Edwards to Martin. They capped off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run by senior running back Jackson Stallings.
The Broncos came back with a Frankie Edwards pass to senior wide receiver Travis Mitchell for a seven-yard touchdown to make the score 16-12 Southmoore.
With under two minutes to play in the first half the SaberCats faced a fourth and 14 from the Mustang 45-yardline. Southmoore elected to go for it, and they scored a touchdown on an Edwards pass to junior wide receiver Jalen Adams giving the SaberCats a 23-12 lead at half-time.
Mustang’s defense played tough in the third quarter, not allowing Southmoore to move the ball. The Broncos forced a safety on the SaberCats, making the score at the end of the third quarter 23-14 Southmoore.
“I really thought we had a chance to come back after the third quarter,” Mustang lead coach Ty Prestidge said. “They made the plays down the stretch and the game got a little out of hand for us.”
The SaberCats put the ball in the end zone three more times in the fourth quarter off of three Frankie Edwards interceptions making the final difference 30 points.
Henderson said the defense gets all of the credit for tonight’s win.
“It was all about our defense tonight,” Henderson said. “We wouldn’t be where we are without them. Our whole season has been about our defense. They have played really well and made a lot of big plays when we needed them the most.”
