As the novelty of being a new head coach starts to wear off, Matt Klein is beginning to prepare for the second half of the season and hopefully, districts.

Last Friday’s game at Mehlville wasn’t exactly a barnburner, but it was hard-fought for most of the contest.

“We’re fighting to have a good record, have a good year, at the same time, we’re fighting to get a good district seed,” Klein said. “[Mehlville] is a good district opponent and by winning tonight, it puts us in a position hopefully to have a good seed down the road if we continue to have success in the year.”

The Panthers celebrated their homecoming week leading up to Friday’s main event, and the Mustangs hoped there wouldn’t be much for them to celebrate.

Mehlville started out with an impressive drive to start the game, marching down the field into Mustang territory after going for it on fourth down, but the Panthers were eventually stopped and Marquette came marching right back.

After two first downs, the Mustangs’ drive was squelched on a dime when junior quarterback Jason Powers’ pass was intercepted and taken back for a Panther touchdown with 2:58 left in the first quarter.

The Mustangs trudged right back.

After a huge pass from Powers to sophomore receiver Nick Bulanda put Marquette at the Panthers’ 10-yard line, all the Mustangs had to do was drive nine more yards and then let senior running back Jacobi Boykin dive in for the score. With 31.8 seconds left in the first quarter, Marquette and Mehlville were all tied up at seven.

With a three-and-out by the Panthers and a missed field goal by Marquette senior kicker Charlie Kreh, the two teams were neck-and-neck with eight minutes left in the half.

The Mustangs eventually got a surge going and with 58.6 seconds left in the half, Boykin juked his way through the Panther defense after a short screen pass from Powers and drove in for the score.

Marquette started out the second half with a few impressive completions, but the drive ended when Powers threw his second interception of the night.

The two teams would trade punts and four-and-outs for the rest of the quarter.

Boykin began the fourth quarter with a huge run, putting the Mustangs at Mehlville’s four-yard line. Senior running back Jack Whitworth punched it in for the score, putting Marquette up by 14 with 10:02 left in the game.

The Panthers weren’t finished yet.

A 30-yard pass, accented by a 50-yard touchdown run, put Mehlville’s deficit to only seven with 8:40 left.

A couple of first down runs by Boykin and a first down scramble by Powers after a huge block from Kreh, would lead to a Marquette field goal.

On the kick off, sophomore defensive back Jordan Robertson stripped the ball from the Mehlville returner and took it back for another Marquette score.

An interception by sophomore linebacker Tyler Pauley capped off the Mustangs’ 31-14 win over Mehlville, putting Marquette’s record to 2-3, fourth in their conference.

As the Panthers’ loyal fan base slowly clambered up the concrete steps of Jack Jordan stadium, and as the Mustangs conversed with family members and friends who had made the trek along Lemay Ferry road, Mehlville senior wide receiver Damartrius Dodd stood at the 50-yard line, head in hands.

This would be his last high school homecoming game.

Photographed by Cade Mcdonald

Klein said he is preparing some of his seniors for their last homecoming game next week against Lindbergh.

“Homecoming’s always a fun time, it’s always a worrisome time for a coach because everything that goes on, there’s no doubt about it, the big focus is Friday,” he said. “It’s a huge game for our program and our kids. It’s another district opponent and if we want to have a good district seed, it’s going to happen on Friday if we play well.”