Mustangs outlast always tough Box Elder, 20-13

<strong>HYRUM –</strong> The Mountain Crest offense struggled to find its offensive power all night. The high-scoring Mustang offense was held in check all game but finally got the wheels rolling late in the fourth quarter as they outlasted the Box Elder Bees 20-13 Friday night.

“They did what Box Elder does,” Mountain Crest head coach Mark Wootten said. “They ran the ball and kept our offense off the field. We had to make a huge play with Jamison and Pututau down the stretch to pull out the win.”

Box Elder controlled the clock the whole game and limited the Mustang offense throughout the night until senior quarterback Jamison Webb found his favorite wide receiver target Faimafili Pututau in the back of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown pass with under five minutes left to give the Mustangs the lead and the victory.

MC got off to a sluggish start when Webb threw an interception on their opening drive to give Box Elder great field position. Mustangs running back Eddy Hall coughed upped the football on their next possession to again give the ball back to Box Elder. The Bees were unable to take advantage on either possession and kept the Mustangs deep in their own territory.

“You turn the ball over four to five times and it’s hard to get a win,” Wootten said. “We did a great job though of limited our penalties to make up for those mistakes.”

Mountain Crest finally got on the board with less than four minutes to go in the first quarter when Hall ran up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown run to put MC up 6-0 after the ensuing extra point was blocked.

Kicker McKay Parrish finally put the Bees on the scoreboard when he connected on a 22-yard field goal to cut the lead to 6-3.

MC quickly answered back with a key fourth down conversion that led to Halls second touchdown of the night, a 9-yard scamper straight up the heart of the Box Elder defense.

The Bees played classic Box Elder football with the run game and pounded the ball up the middle all night long. Running back Kyler Allen scored Box Elders lone touchdown when he ran up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown run on a 19-play drive that lasted barely less than nine minutes to pull the score to 12-10 at halftime.

Neither offense was able to find their rhythm and get on track in the second half. Box Elder did a fantastic job shutting down the deep threat combination of Webb and Pututau and keeping the explosiveness of Eddy Hall under control.

Parrish added another field goal, this time from 23 yards, with less than four minutes to go in the third quarter to give Box Elder its only lead of the night at 13-12.

The Mustangs put together one last touchdown drive that saw key runs from Gaje Ferguson to set up the final scoring strike of Webb to Pututau.

“Box Elder came out really strong and whacked us in the face tonight,” Ferguson said. “We made mistakes early but we overcame them. Coach told me to get five more yards each time I ran the ball, to keep pushing it. It was a great team effort to get the win.”

<em>Photos by Kimberly Shorts</em>

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