Published: August 29, 2009 12:03 am      

Mustangs force 7 turnovers in 42-21 win over Bulldogs

WEST ORANGE — Turning to some superb underclassmen, the No. 4-ranked West Orange-Stark Mustangs took down the Nederland Bulldogs 42-21 in the season opener at Dan R. Hooks Stadium.

Junior quarterback Reggie Garrett completed 10-of-21 passes for 210 yards and four touchdowns.

Sophomore tailback Britton Lindsey rumbled for 118 yards and a TD on 20 carries and sophomore defensive back Justin Thomas picked off three passes for the Mustangs (1-0).

The Mustang defense was stingy all night, limiting the Bulldogs (1-0) to 173 yards while forcing a whopping seven turnovers.

A tough night for the Bulldogs got tougher early in the fourth quarter when standout quarterback Kirby Bellow was carted off with a knee injury.

The Mustangs went on to post 423 yards of total offense as junior receiver Mark Roberts had three catches for 111 yards to also spark the arsenal.

“What more can you say about our young kids,” said Mustang head coach Dan Hooks. “Reggie (Garrett) was just outstanding in his first-ever start and really settled down after the first quarter. Little Lindsey, he’s like a little bowling ball. He was a step away from breaking some big ones. Justin Thomas, what a great effort. He’s going to be a good one. With guys like these, I might stay two more years.”

Hooks was thrilled with the defensive effort.

“Defensively, we got after it with some nice early pressure on Bellow,” said Hooks. “I’m sick for that kid and Coach (Larry) Nuemann and we all hope the kid will be fine, he’s a super young man. Offensively, we still have some things to work on and we’ve got to stay away from those darn penatiles.”

WO-S was flagged 10 times for 96 yards.

Trailing 27-14 at the half, the Bulldogs made things tight with a beautifully executed nine-play, 67-yard scoring jaunt in the third period.

Bulldog quarterback Kirby Bellow completed 3-of-5 passes for 57 yards on the drive and punctuated it with a 19-yard scoring strike to receiver Brent Salenga, who was wide-open across the left side of the end zone as Nederland pulled to within 27-21 with 2:03 left in the third.

The Mustangs didn’t sulk long when on the first play of the next series, WO-S quarterback Reggie Garrett found silky and rangy receiver Mark Roberts on a 79-yard touchdown bomb along the left sidelines. The run for the two-pointer failed as the Mustangs upped their lead to 33-21 with 1:48 in the third.

Nederland started to move the ball well again but Bellow coughed up the ball to Mustang linebacker Brenson Lindsey at the WO-S 32 after a tough hit. Bellow was injured on the play and had to be carted off the field.

Bellow completed 8-of-17 passes for 106 yards and had three picked off.

The Mustangs moved the ball all the way to the Bulldog 13. Nederland’s defense held strong and Mustang kicker Justin Sparrow missed a 30-yard field goal attempt with 6:05 remaining.

Thomas then earned his third interception of the night, picking off Bulldog backup Tyler Smith at the Bulldog 34 and bringing it back to the 20..

The Mustangs settled with Sparrow connecting on a 33-yard field goal with four minutes left.

Haynes capped off the night with a 31-yard touchdown gallop with a little less than two minutes left.

Turnovers hampered both teams in the first half as four miscues led to touchdowns.

On the first series of the game, Bellow was picked off by Mustang cornerback Justin Thomas at the Bulldog 30.

It took the Mustangs just three plays to get on the scoreboard. After a 12-yard run by Haynes, Garrett hooked up with receiver Trey Franks in the left flat and Franks turned up the speed to find the end zone from 16 yards out. Kicker Justin Sparrow’s point-after was good, giving the Mustangs a 7-0 edge with 9:26 left in the first.

Thomas thwarted Bellow and the Bulldogs again on the next series when he stepped in front of another pass at the Bulldog 40 and returned it to the 2. The Mustangs were called for clipping on the play and had to settle taking over at the Nederland 30.

On third-and-12 from the 14, Garrett connected with receiver Justin Francis that set up a fourth-and-inches at the 2. Garrett sneaked for one for a first down and sophomore tailback Britton Lindsey capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown blast off right tackle. The extra-point attempt failed with the Mustangs garnering a 13-0 lead with 4:27 still in the first.

The Bulldogs capitalized on a Mustang turnover late in the period.

Pinned deep in Mustang territory on third-and-7 from the eight, Garrett was picked off by Bulldog defensive back Holden Butler at the 24 and he brought it back to the 5.. On the very next play, burly back Grant Lovelady barreled his way up the heart of the Mustang defense for a five-yard touchdown. Kicker Taylor Trahan’s extra-point was good, pulling Nederland to within 13-7 with 1:30 still in the first.

The Mustangs took advantage of yet another Bulldog miscue early in the second quarter.

After Nederland had WO-S pinned back deep, Salenga muffed a punt at the Mustang 31.

WO-S promptly navigated a nice, seven-play, 69-yard scoring march. Lindsey had four carries for 26 yards and the Mustangs capped it when Garrett hit a streaking Francis down the right sideline for a 42-yard touchdown completion. The Mustangs went for the two-point conversion but the pass fell incomplete.

The Bulldogs retaliated with a superb seven-play, 67-yard touchdown march.

Bellow had a crucial 20-yard run on first down that went to the WO-S 46 and the Bulldogs received 15 more yards on the play after a WO-S personal foul that moved the leather to the 31.

Bellow and Lovelady hooked up on a sharp 14-yard screen pass that went to the 15. Two plays later, fullback Nick Cardenas had a bullish eight-yard run to the 2 and Lovelady capped it with a two-yard smash off right-tackle, making it 19-14 with 2:12 left in the half.

WO-S returned the favor, zipping 78 yards in seven plays to hit pay dirt again.

Lindsey had two carries for 38 yards, including a bruising 29-yard gallop off the left side, breaking five Bulldog tackles to reach the Nederland 26.

After some stingy Bulldog defense, the Mustangs faced a fourth-and-8 from the 24. WO-S elected to go for it and it paid off. Garrett was looking for a streaking Francis over the middle. The ball bounced off of Francis at about the 12 and the ball floated up in the air and right into the arms of Haynes at about the 2 and Haynes dragged a Bulldog defender into the end zone for the score. Lindsey, who had 95 yards on 14 carries in the half, ran in the two-point conversion, pushing the Mustang lead to 27-14 with 0:45 in the half.

The Mustangs couldn’t cash in any more points on Nederland’s fourth turnover of the half when defensive back Darius Robinson picked off Bellow at the Bulldog 42 with 0:31 left.

The Mustangs outgained the Bulldogs 213-62 in the first 24 minutes. However, eight penalties for 81 yards hampered WO-S while Nederland was flagged three times for 27 yards.

The Mustangs venture to Little Cypress-Mauriceville next week while the Bulldogs will be open.





WO-S 42

Nederland 21



WO-S 13 14 6 9 — 42

Ned 7 7 7 0 — 21

Scoring summary

WO-S - Trey Franks 16 pass from Reggie Garrett. Justin Sparrow kick.

WO-S - Britton Lindsey 1 run. Kick failed.

Nederland - Grant Lovelady 5 run. Taylor Trahan kick.

WO-S - Justin Francis 42 pass from Garrett. Pass failed.

Nederland - Lovelady 5 run. Trahan kick.

WO-S - James Haynes 24 pass from Garrett. Lindsey run.

Nederland - Brent Salenga 19 pass from Kirby Bellow. Trahan kick.

WO-S - Mark Roberts 79 pass from Garrett. Run failed.

WO-S - Sparrow 33 field goal.

WO-S - Haynes 31 run. Run failed.





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WO-S Ned

First downs 17 13

Rushes-yards 39-213 27-67

Passing 210 106

Comp-Att-Int 10-21-1 8-22-5

Fumbles-Lost 6-0 4-2

Penalties-Yards 10-96 5-47



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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—WO-S, Lindsey 20-118, Haynes 2-43, Franks 2-26, Darius Robinson 6-22, Garrett 8-2, Terry Rubin 1-2; Nederland, Loverlady 9-27, Bellow 8-18, Nick Cardenas 3-14, Joey Ruzick 4-6, Salenga 3-2.

PASSING— WO-S, Garrett 10-21-1 210; Nederland, Bellow 8-17-3 106; Tyler Smith 0-5-2 0.

RECEIVING—WO-S, Roberts 3-111, Franks 3-21, Francis 2-54,, Haynes 1-24, Lindsey 1-0 Nederland, Player, Salenga 5-58, Lovelady 3-48.