SECOND QUARTER
Scott Sanders felt like he was on top of his game. It was just one of those nights when everything seemed to click. He cheered from the bench as he watched his teammate Lucas "Mighty E" Alexander intercept a Mustang pass at the 48, giving the Flyers the ball in excellent field position. Running with enthusiasm back into the game, Sanders began to put together another drive, mixing short passes and running plays to eat time off the clock and keep Westfield’s offence off the field.
The Mustang D had other ideas, though, aggressively attacking the line of scrimmage and choking off the running lanes. The Flyers doggedly continued to move the ball, with both Dubois and Fullback Richie Anderson gaining tough yards on the ground, but it seemed the drive was destined to stall out. Feeling comfortable with a fourteen point lead, Sanders decided to gamble on a third and long situation, sending all his receivers streaking for the end zone.
The Mustangs blitzed.
The crowd fell silent as Sanders hit the ground. They stayed silent when he failed to get up. The clock was halted as a stretcher came in to carry the injured QB back to the locker room. The team looked on in concern, and even the announcement that the Mustangs were being penalized on the play did nothing to lighten their mood.
After a 10 minute delay and no word on Sanders, Coach Waters sent in his back-up quarterback, recent transfer Stephen Reed. On his first play of the season, Reed caught Westfield napping, finding Baxter wide open in the end zone for a 24 yard touchdown pass. The former Seacliff star then called his own number, running in a two point conversion to put the Flyers up 22-0.
After a decent kick return by Westfield’s Jeremy Shannon, the Flyer’s defence came back on to the field looking to shut down the ponies yet again. Unfortunately, another pass interference call on first year cornerback Nigel Barlow allowed the Mustangs to penetrate the Flyer’s zone for the first time on the day. This earned him a talking to from team captain Biff Hannigan, but frustration had clearly set in and Barlow was called for grabbing a face mask on the very next play.
The Mustangs were unable to capitalize on their opportunity, however. They were forced to settle for a Field Goal, finally claiming a spot on the scoreboard with Steven Christopher’s 24 yard kick.
The next few possessions produced no plays of note until late in the quarter when Westfield once again needed to punt the ball away. Newcomer Ty Cloud was ready, catching the ball at the 30 yard line and making an incredible 70 yard dash into the end-zone, celebrating with the crowd by performing a victory dance of his own. Unfortunately the celebration was cut short by the sounds of whistles and a flag on the play. The crowd booed lustily as a holding call was announced, wiping out the incredible return.
With only a few seconds left in the half, Saint Joseph’s chose to run out the clock. Even with a tremendous lead of 22-3, Coach Jeff Waters looked less than pleased as both teams headed to their respective locker rooms.
SCORE: FLYERS 22 MUSTANGS 3
- The Saint Joseph's Flier sports desk
