by Dayne Davis–The Mustangs are undefeated against Briar Cliff’s Chargers in the “Battle for the Saddle” and the games haven’t been close. The Chargers put up a fight early Saturday in Olsen Stadium, but the Mustangs showed their dominance in the second half enroute to a 59-23 victory.
The Mustangs opened on offense. The first drive ended with Chase Carter knocking in a 35-yard field goal to make it 3-0.
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In the ensuing possession the Chargers came out firing as their first play was a 64-yard bomb from quarterback Luke Davies complete to receiver Steven Whiting. Davies capitalized once again through the air, this time putting the cherry on top with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Gorge. With the PAT BC led 7-3.
Joe Dolincheck and the Mustangs marched the ball down the field on their next possession. Dolincheck was sacked and stripped of the ball on the Charger 35, however, and Briar Cliff recovered the fumble.
Picking up where he left off, Davies took to the air again. This time connecting with backup receiver Damarreon Nelson for a 76-yard touchdown on the first play of the possession. Following the PAT the Chargers owned a 14-3 lead with 7:50 left in the first quarter.
On their next possession the Mustangs toook to the field with a vengeance. They marched down to Briar Cliff 1-yard line where Ryan Cole punched it in. Carter added the PAT to make the score 14-10 which would end the quarter.
In the second quarter, Morningside took a 17-14 lead when Cole rushed for another 1-yard touchdown following a barrage of Dolincheck completions.
A quick 3-point possession by the Chargers tied the game at 17–all. The Mustangs quickly retaliated with a complete pass to Zach Norton and another to Austin Johnson to put them in Briar Cliff territory. Cole then punched in his third score of the game on an 8-yard run.
The Chargers hit another field goal following a few scoreless possessions by both offenses. With 2:34 left to play in the half Dolincheck was intercepted on a long shot down the field but it was called back due to a Briar Cliff offside penalty. The Mustangs exploited this second chance opportunity by striking on a 10-yard touchdown by Cole, his fourth of the afternoon. It was 31-20 Morningside at intermission.
The second half got ugly for the Chargers as their last score would be on an early field goal to start the third quarter. On the following possession the Mustangs scored on a 47-yard touchdown strike from Dolincheck to Johnson. With the PAT Morningside stretched its lead to 38-23.
Briar Cliff put together a long drive to the redzone only to be intercepted by senior Lonell Boyd. The Mustang safety returned it for a 95-yard touchdown. Shortly after, Davies would be picked off again, this time by Johnny Walls, who returned it for a 27-yard touchdown. In the span of a couple minutes the score bloomed to 52-23.
Dolincheck’s last strike of the game was to Norton on a 20-yard pass, ending the day’s scoring 59-23.
Morningside’s offense out–performed Briar Cliff in offensive yards 622 to 418. On the ground the Mustangs rushed for 201 yards while the Chargers rushed for a total of 21. Dolincheck finished the game with 402 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Johnson was the leading receiver with 209 yards and one touchdown — a season high. Defensively Walls put on a performance with nine solo tackles, an interception, and a touchdown.
The Mustangs will be in Fremont, Nebraska next Saturday to take on the Midland Warriors at 1:00PM CDT.
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