Stanton edges Ponca

The Stanton Mustangs kept their playoff hopes alive Friday night by beating Ponca 26-21 at home.

The Indians led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter before the Mustangs outscored Ponca 20-7 in the second quarter to take a 20-14 lead into the locker room.

Stanton won the third quarter 6-0 to go up 26-14 after three.

The Indians added a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Hunter Stallbaum was 5-8 passing for 121 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Myles Nickolite brought in 3 passes for 101 yards, scoring once.

Trey Erbst ran the ball 10 times for 72 yards, and scored once. Henry Bohac added 52 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Mason King racked up 15 tackles while Nickolite and Dylan Hunt had 9 and 7, respectively.

The Mustangs racked up 307 yards of offense, 186 coming on the ground.

Head Coach David Stoddard says his team got their passing game going in that second quarter. "WE BASICALLY RAN OUR BASE OFFENSE AND HIT SOME PASSES WE THOUGHT WOULD BE OPEN IN THEIR COVERAGE SCHEME. WE HAD A TURNOVER ON OUR FIRST DRIVE AND PONCA HAS A VERY GOOD BALL CONTROL OFFENSE SO WE DIDN'T HAVE MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR ANOTHER OFFENSIVE POSSESSION IN THE FIRST QUARTER."

Stoddard adds Stallbaum is a tremendous athlete. "HUNTER IS A SENIOR, WHO DID NOT GET A LOT OF REPS COMING THROUGH THE PROGRAM BECAUSE HE PLAY WIDE RECEIVER UNTIL THIS YEAR, HUNTER IS VERY ATHLETIC AND HAS A STRONG ARM. HIS ABILITY TO CONTINUE PLAYS WHEN THE POCKET BREAKS DOWN HAS BEEN A PLUS. WE FOCUS ON A COUPLE OF CONCEPTS EACH WEEK AND HE, LINE, AND WIDE RECEIVERS HAVE EXECUTED."

Stanton (5-2) is at Hartington Cedar Catholic (6-1) Friday night.

The Trojans lost 28-20 at Crofton this past Friday night.

Stoddard says Hartington Cedar Catholic is the real deal. "HARTINGTON CEDAR CATHOLIC IS A VERY GOOD FOOTBALL TEAM. THEY HAVE ALL THE COMPONENTS OF A COMPLETE TEAM. THEY CAN PLAY POWER FOOTBALL, GET OUTSIDE WITH THEIR SPEED, AND HAVE A QUALITY PASSING GAME/MOBILE QUARTERBACK. THEY ARE JUST AS SOUND ON THE DEFENSIVE SIDE OF THE BALL. WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE DO BEST AND WE HAVE TO PLAY TO OUR STRENGTHS AND GIVE OURSELVES A CHANCE IN THE 4TH QUARTER TO CLOSE OUT THE GAME. PLAYING IN A DISTRICT LIKE THIS GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO PREPARE FOR PLAYOFF CALIBER TEAMS EACH WEEK."

Right now the Mustangs are sitting 15th in power points, which would qualify them for the postseason if the playoffs were to start today.

Stoddard says his squad is solely focused on the Trojans at this point. "ALL OF OUR ATTENTION AND PREPARATION IS ON HARTINGTON CEDAR CATHOLIC. WE REALIZE THE OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO. WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO PLAY OUR BEST FOOTBALL THIS WEEK AND GIVE THIS GREAT TEAM THE ATTENTION THEY DESERVE. YOU WANT TO HIT YOUR STRIDE AT THIS POINT IN THE SEASON AND WE KNOW WE NEED TO HAVE A GREAT WEEK OF PRACTICE AND PREPARATION."

I think Stanton has a fairly decent shot to win Friday night.

The Mustangs lost 21-14 at Crofton, so I look for Friday night's game to be really even.

So far, Stanton has come out on the short end of the stick in close games two out of three times, but perhaps the close win over Ponca will give the Mustangs the confidence and momentum necessary to beat Hartington Cedar Catholic.

I would say the Mustangs need to win at least one of their two remaining games, if not both, to get into the playoffs.

Stanton really wants to get this one though. The Mustangs don't want to have to rely on trying to knock off Battle Creek to get into the playoffs.

You can bet the Trojans will really want this one and will really fight their tails off though with their hopes of winning the district title on the line.