The McCracken County Mustangs looked to make it three wins in a row on Friday night, as they traveled up to Owensboro to take on the Daviess County Panthers.
Coming off wins over Henderson County and Christian County, the Mustangs entered action on Friday night looking to earn their first district sweep since 2018, locking up a home postseason game in the process. Off the backs of impressive performances on either side of the ball, the Mustangs would do just that, rolling over the Panthers en route to a 52-7 victory.
“We talked about it all week, we wanted to come out, play fast, really get after it, our boys did a good job of that,” McCracken County head coach Tyler Brooks said. “We had a lull towards the middle, gave up a touchdown we maybe wanted to have back, but overall we just had a really good night.”
Junior quarterback Maddox O’Neal led the charge on offense for the Mustangs in his third straight game with five or more touchdowns, going 14-for-18 for 259 yards and five touchdown passes. As for O’Neal’s targets, Cooper Falconite would lead the Mustangs in receiving yards with 101 on the night, while Jakari Matchem and Reed Brookshire picked up 50 and 55, respectively.
“Maddox has done a great job recently of really spreading the ball out, finding different receivers, and we’re proud of those performances,” Brooks said, speaking on the offense. “I couldn’t tell you the last time we put up over 50 in three straight games, the offense has been really impressive.”
After receiving the opening kickoff, the Mustangs wasted no time breaking onto the scoreboard, taking just five plays to march up the field. On the decisive play of the drive, O’Neall found Reed Brookshire in the end zone from 14 yards out, putting the Mustangs on top, 7-0.
After keeping the Panthers out of the end zone on a long drive to keep their lead in tact, the Mustangs were pinned inside their own one to start their second drive. However, moving quickly up field once again, O’Neal would scramble out of the pocket around the Panther’s 34, connecting with Jude Lanier downfield to double McCracken’s advantage near the end of the first, with a score of 14-0.
Stopping the Panthers on defense to open the second quarter, the Mustangs would strike quickly once they got the ball back, as Cooper Falconite broke free on a short pass, making a 61-yard house call to extend the lead to 21-0.
As the second rolled along, the Panthers and Mustangs traded touchdowns, with a 28-yard reception from Jakari Matchem being offset by Daviess’ first strike of the night, making it 28-7 midway through the quarter.
Down the stretch in the half, the Mustangs would dominate play, first with an interception from Falconite setting up a 70-yard touchdown rush from Dawson Hayden. McCracken would then close out the half on a high, recovering an onside kick and marching straight back down the field, with Matchem hauling in his second touchdown of the night to cap off the half with the Mustangs ahead, 42-7.
With a running clock in effect, the Mustangs continued to roll in the second half. James Barragan stood out on either side of the ball across the final 24 minutes, picking up 60 yards and McCracken’s only touchdown of the half, as well as an interception in the fourth. A school-record 48-yard field goal from Brock Wilson would cap off the night, as the Mustangs would complete their district sweep in style, earning the win by a final of 52-7.
“It’s the first time we’ve done this in the district since 2018, it feels pretty good to get it done. We’re hoping this springs us forward into next week, and now we know we have a home playoff game coming up, we’re really looking forward to it,” Brooks concluded. “We’ve got one more, it’s senior night and we’re really trying to celebrate them, and send off the regular season on a good note.”
With district play now in the books, the Mustangs will return home next Friday for their senior night, when they shutter the regular season against the Graves County Eagles. Kickoff between the Mustangs and Eagles from McCracken County is set for 7 p.m.