Mustangs survive overtime thriller at Elmwood-Murdock 21-20 to improve to 5-2
Friday nights trip to Elmwood, Nebraska, wasn’t a game for the faint of heart. The D1-2 district clash matched up a pair of 4-2 teams to keep playoff hopes alive and well through seven weeks of play.
The two teams battled to a scoreless tie after the first quarter, before Sutton finally broke the ice on the scoreboard when senior Creighton Jones put the Mustangs on the board with a 10-yard touchdown, with Connor Hinrichs gaining the two-point conversion to give Sutton an 8-0 lead with 7:46 left to play in the first half.
The score remained at 8-0 through halftime, but the host Knights came to life in the third quarter, posting two touchdowns, one through the air and one on the ground, to claim a 14-8 lead with just 16 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Sutton received a huge injection of adrenaline on the ensuing kickoff as junior Max Huxoll returned the kick 74 yards for a touchdown to set the game at 14-14 heading into the final 12 minutes of play.
Both teams were held scoreless, however, in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.
The Knights, facing a fourth-and-11 at the Sutton 11-yard line in overtime, mustered up a go-ahead touchdown pass to claim a 20-14 lead following a failed two-point conversion.
Sutton then had its overtime chance with Connor Hinrichs getting the Mustangs to the one-yard line, as Sutton faced a fourth-and-one play at the one, before sophomore quarterback Mason Ehly tied the game with a one-yard touchdown, setting the game at a 20-20 tie.
The foot of junior Esae Olvera saved the day for Sutton, as the junior booted a rare extra point kick and produced the 21-20 win for the Mustangs to move Sutton to 5-2, keeping their playoff hopes alive and well.
With two games remaining in regular season, Sutton currently has a lock on the eighth seed in the field of 16 teams that will make the postseason in Class D-1.
Sutton churned up a tough 157 rushing yards in the game, led by senior mainstay Hinrichs, as he carried the ball 17 times for 86 yards. Ehly toted the ball 11 times for 52 yards and the overtime touchdown, while Jones carried once for the 10-yard second-quarter touchdown. Senior Griffin Bergen mustered up nine yards on five carries against the tough Elmwood-Murdock defense.
The Sutton aerial attack gained 112 total yards, as Ehly was 5-for-10, while Hinrichs was 0-for-1.
On the receiving end of Ehly’s five completions, Jones led the way with three catches for 72 yards, while DJ Hajny grabbed two passes for 40 yards.
Junior Juan Reyes finished the battle with the Knights with an impressive 18 tackles, eight of which were solo tackles, with four of the tackles going for a loss. Hinrichs finished with 11 tackles, three being solo stops, while sophomore Tristan Griess had nine tackles, which included five solo stops.
Rounding out the tackle chart for the Mustangs was Huxoll with seven tackles. Bergen and Aydin Banta both had six stops, while Hajny and Jones both had four.
Score by Quarters
Sutton............................. 0 8 6 0 7 -21 Elmwood-Murdock......... 0 0 14 0 6 -20 Sutton E-M
Rush Att-Yds.................... 34-157 - Pass Comp-Att-Yds......... 5-11-112 - Total Offense...................... 269 - -
THISWEEK
The Mustangs return home for the final time in the regular season this Thursday night, Oct. 15 to host the Centennial Broncos at 7 p.m. before closing out the regular season with another long road trip to Conestoga on Friday, Oct 23, to take on the Cougars at 7 p.m. in Murray.
