MHS left the gridiron heartbroken last Friday night after their district opener against CBC. Down 41-38 with seven seconds left, the Mustangs ran the ball up the gut from the 1-yard line only to be stopped by a wall of CBC defenders. To save the pain that it has already brought MHS fans, I won’t go on any longer. However, while most wander to the final score for the story on the game, a lot of positives can still be taken from it.

Let’s not forget, CBC came in ranked third in the state, along with their six game win streak. The Mustangs, on the other hand, came in at 6-1, but with only one real signature win (Lindbergh). However, MHS believed it could match up with one of the states best. While the Cadet defense isn’t dominate, allowing 25 points a game, MHS was able to put up 38 on them. Throughout the game, whenever CBC scored, the Mustangs answered. With Matt Seevers under center, MHS never looked intimidated, they always had confidence they could score.

Case in point: After CBC broke the pattern of alternating scores in the third quarter to go up 26-17 in part of a Dalton Demos 7-yard run, the Mustangs calmly answered. From our own 33, Dante McKinney bolted down the field for a 67 yard touchdown run to make it 26-24.

And even though the defense didn’t look very strong Friday night, Daniel Slattery had a key interception, and Sean Ullrich, after dropping a pick earlier, recovered a CBC fumble inside the 30-yard line, which MHS would later answer with a McKinney score.

Put simply, the Mustangs came up 1-yard short of victory. However, the standings or rankings won’t reflect it, but the Mustangs may have just fallen 1-yard short of being known as not the best team in conference, or the area, but one of the best teams in the state. In my mind, they already did.