On Sept. 26, a much anticipated game between the visiting West Grand Mustangs and the Plateau Valley Cowboys lived up to the pregame hype. Last year, the Mustangs won in overtime to help secure the Western Slope League title and this game was every bit as intense. Plateau Valley came is as the #3 team in 8-man football at 4-0, while the Mustangs were a solid 3-1.

West Grand’s first play was a 50 yard pass from quarterback Blake Terryberry to tight end Jacob Trail to quickly move the Mustangs in scoring position. Five plays later, Landon Lockhart found a hole and ran 12 yards for the first touchdown. Trail added a reception for the conversion and the Mustangs led 8-0. The teams then traded multiple positions without any scoring.

The Mustangs failed to capitalize on two golden opportunities, one from a Terryberry interception returned to the 15 and the other from a 4th down stop on the 35. Penalties and failed execution resulted in lost yardage. The Cowboys put together their only drive of the first half, but were turned away with a Walker Howell interception in the end zone.

The Mustangs recovered a botched punt on the 50 by a hustling Conner Stone to give the Mustangs a last chance with 2:13 left in the half. Terryberry and Lockhart alternated runs to move the ball quickly down the field. Terryberry scored on a one yard run with four seconds left, giving them a 14-0 lead at the half.

The third quarter saw the Cowboys finally put together back to back scoring drives to tie the game, one play was maybe the finest hook and ladder play I’ve seen in 50 years.

The Mustangs answered quickly with Lockhart returning the kickoff to midfield. On the next play he broke tackles to reach the one yard line only to have it returned for a holding call. The following play saw Rubin Hatcher race 47 yards down the sideline for the score, aided by a great block from Aiden Klotz.

There were over 11 minutes to play but the Mustangs stopped both drives of the Cowboys to preserve the 20-14 win. These teams came into the game as the number 1-2 passing teams in 8-man but the defenses ruled the day.

Fortunately, the Mustangs run game produced 217 yards to fill the lack of pass yardage. Klotz, Stone, Tony Crane and John Butler provided the muscle up front to move the ball. Defensively for the Mustangs it was a solid team effort with Howell, Hatcher and Butler leading the tackling.

Next up is the homecoming game with league rival Rangely on Friday night, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. 

Chris Brown is the football coach of West Grand High School. He has coached over 500 games and won more than 360 in his 50-year career.