Mustang quarterback Willis Barrett collected 261 yards passing, throwing three touchdown passes to Mike Person in the process. Person gained 188 yards on four catches, including scoring grabs of 94, 48 and 35 yards. DeAngelo Robinson added an 85-yard run for a score and the Mustang defense also rang up a safety.
“They had nine men up in the box to stop our running game,” Mustang coach Bryan Lee said. “I like to run the ball and try to control the clock, but a coach would have to be stupid not to pass the ball when there are nine men in the box like that. Some of the coaches on the sideline were kidding me about throwing the ball so much, but it was fun.”
The really fun part is that the Mustangs are now 5-4 overall and 3-4 in the conference. South Stanly fell to 1-8, 1-5
Barrett went 8 for 15 with one interception in gaining his yardage, while Person averaged 47 yards a catch.
“You know, 261 yards and three touchdowns is a pretty good day in the NFL,” Lee said about Barrett’s performance.
With the touchdown catches, Person now has 13 on the year, and is one of the state’s leaders in touchdown passes caught.
Jeremy Rickman had three interceptions and is another Mustang player among the state leaders with nine for the seasons.
“He just has a nose for the football,” Lee said.
There were several other defensive players that had a nose for the football Friday. Having recently changed his defense to a four-linebacker scheme, the Mustangs got a total of 47 tackles from their linebacking corp. Middle linebackers Nathan Myers (17 tackles) and Walter Brower (nine) joined outside linebackers Robinson (11) and Clay Hutchins (10) in holding the Rebels to 225 yards of total offense.
That defense really stepped up in the first quarter when the Rebels drove down to the Mustangs’ 1 where they had a first-and-goal. But the Mustangs held for four consecutive downs, forcing the ball over on downs.
North Moore ran Cam Thomas for a few yards, and then Barrett found Person for the 94-yard score. The other first-half touchdown came on another Barrett-to-Person collaboration, this one for 48 yards. For good measure, Barrett and Person hooked up for the two-point conversion and the Mustangs led 14-0 at halftime.
Midway through the third quarter, Barrett found Person once again for 35 yards and the score. Jordan Phillips added the extra point to put the Mustangs up 21-0.
The Rebels got on the board in the third quarter on a 15-yard run and then scored their final touchdown with one second remaining in the game.
In between those two scores, the Mustangs got the 85-yard score from Robinson and a safety. Although the Mustangs were proficient through the air, they also got close to 200 yards on the ground with Robinson leading the way with 110 yards on eight carries. North Moore has next week off before ending the regular season with a home game against East Montgomery.
