Mustangs Vs. The Warhawks 9/21/11

[Flicker]

PREGAME

The last few practices had been rough. Coach Armstrong had two school of thoughts on the psychic stuff going around - it would either bring the team closer together as a tight knit unit thinking in sync, or degrade into a lot of little petty arguments. He’d been met with both. For his part, he watched what he was thinking. Sure, the team had won their first game, but Coach TJ Armstrong attributed it to an insane amount of luck with some skill on the side. Still, they managed to pull it together, which mean they did have it in them. And there was no one more willing to try to drag it out of them more than TJ Armstrong


"Take a knee." He told his team as they readied up on the sidelines, most thankful that the Denton Complex fell outside of the psych zone. "Listen up. We all know Hanover is tough.

They have a strong sports program, and they didn't lose many players this year to graduation, so they're a damn strong team this year too. We're coming off a big win last week, and you did earn it, but we're not facing the Devils this week, these are the Warhawks.. Do not underestimate them. I'm not saying they can't be defeated. I know you can beat them, you have the potential. You go out there in full force, you don't let up, you don't let them take advantage of anything and you will win this game. So gear up, get out there and you fight!

“Who are you?"

"MUSTANGS!" the team yelled.

"Who?"

"MUSTANGS!"

"What are we gonna do?"

"BEAT THE WARHAWKS! BEAT THE WARHAWKS, BREAK!"


The paper banner was held by Sondra and Ar while the other cheerleaders, at this point Peyton and Lauren lined up on either side for the team to run through onto the field. The team was short Mia this week, who’d be out for a while with a broken arm, but still cheering for the team up in the stands, near Jeanette, who’d be up and running or kicking and jumping with the squad in no time. . And with two cheerleaders down, there would be no basket toss, but the squad had worked hard on filling the gaps. There was more a decent crowd this week, a fact that many noted might have been a good place to take refuge for a few hours.

On hand was the brand new Mustangs Bandstand Band, who was already rallying the crowd and the cheerleaders who danced to a decent marching band rendition of Mustang Sally before starting out the cheers for the oncoming football team.

“Hey hey it's time to say
Everybody yell, maroon and gray
Maroon and Gray!
Hey hey lets do it again,
Everybody yell go fight win
Yell it, go fight win! “


“Ladies and Gentlemen - the Westbrook Mustangs!”

Henry Hawkins re-adjusted his mouthguard and mentally prepared for the game. Diya Behari jogged in place a few times to warm up her muscles, while Guillermo Espinosa and Chase Masters wave their arms towards the stands and asked for vocal support. Students relieved to not have their thoughts read or flooded with the thoughts of others obliged, and finally the coach gave two quick bursts on his whistle as the team took to the field.

[Guillermo Espinosa]

Guillerm bashed his helmet against Chase's on the side lines, pounding at his chest, hyping him up. He took out his mouthpiece and flashed a smile. He turned to the rest to the team and yelled.

"It's time to make these warhawks look like canaries!"

[Flicker]

FIRST QUARTER

The Mustangs took to their home field once, winning the toss and opting to receive first. JD Dumarr received the punt at his own 20 and gained minimal yardage. Hawkins called for a pass on his first play of the game, but the Warhawks defense had all his receivers well covered. Adapting quickly, the Mustang’s quarterback ran the ball himself for a six yard gain. The crowd cheered at their team’s good start, but two driving plays later couldn't net an additional four yards against the Warhawks strong defensive line. They were quick to box in Masters, and Mike Hawkins was little match for them. On fourth down, Diya Behari was called in for the punt.

The Warhawks received the ball at their own 30, and quickly lived up to their team name. The Warhawk receiver burned Mustang’s cornerback Shanna Lasseter for an 18 yard reception, taking Hanover across midfield. On the next play, the Warhawk quarterback handed the ball off to his running back who ran for an additional 15 yards and another first down. The Warhawk’s repeated the play for an additional 7 yards, before passing to their receiver who managed to break free in the end zone.

"Shake it off!" Coach Armstrong called to his defense as they came off the field. "Come on! Get it back!"

But the next several possessions were an impasse for both teams. Two pass attempts to Quest were deflected, and running back Chase Masters yielded no yardage, proving the Warhawks defense was as formidable as touted. But their own offensive line was struggling as well. Even after two first downs, they were forced to punt the ball back to the Mustangs and the remainder of the quarter was scoreless.

SCORE: WARHAWKS 7 MUSTANGS 0

[Guillermo Espinosa]

Espy cursed to himself when the Warhawks scored for the first time. He swiped a gatorade on the sidelined and nearly guzzles the whole thing in one gulp. He looked to his left and right, gauging the reactions on his teammates. "Don't worry defense. Take it one possession at a time."

[Black Solace]

Sondra winced as JD was tackled hard on the kick return, but gave him a big smile and a "Gooooooo JD!" cheer as he climbed to his feet and threw her a thumbs up. The rest of the quarter was pretty dismal, but Sondra joined with the rest of the short-staffed squad in trying to keep the Mustangs crowd upbeat and in the game.

[Diya Behari]

Diya nodded and gave a few claps to back up Espy's encouragement. It was just the first quarter, after all. She had confidence in her team - they'd get her back out there to kick one of her field goals in no time. This match was far from over.

[Flicker]

SECOND QUARTER

The Warhawks punted a sloppy end-over-end kick which JD Dumarr received at the forty and managed to run across the midfield line. With the Mustangs receivers still unable to shake the Warhawk’s strong coverage, Hawkins went to the ground. After a couple of solid runs, running back Chase Masters managed to grab enough yardage for a first down before being shoved out of bounds at the 33. A quick pass to tight end Mike Jackson netted another 6 yards, but that was as far as the home side could get. Again the Warhawks defense came on strong, stopping the next two plays, and Diya Behari was called in for a field goal attempt.

Determination filled the placekicker's eyes as the ball was snapped back, her eyes following it as it was planted on the ground. The ball sailed through the crossbars, putting Westbrook on the board at 7-3. The Mustang fans, quiet since early in the first quarter, came back to life as the points went up on the board, screaming their approval.

“Mustangs in the front let me hear you grunt *ugh*
Mustangs in the back show us where your at *right here*
Mustangs in the stands c'mon and clap your hands”

Unfazed by the crowd, Hanover proved that every action has an opposite reaction as they quickly ran the ball back into Mustang territory. A six play drive led them to field goal range themselves, and after being stopped on the 12 yard line by Espinosa, The Hanover placekicker regained their 7 point lead, making the score 10-3.

The next two possessions yielded nothing lost and nothing gained for both teams, neither one being able to cross midfield. On the third, Westbrook’s prayers seemed to be answered. As the band played for their school, Masters was handed the ball at his own 20 yard and found a gap in the defense. With the Warhawks hot on his heels, #25 streaked down the field being stopped short just shy of a touchdown by the Hanover safety.

With the crowd shouting encouragement from the stands, the band playing some barely recognizable tune, and the cheer squad yelling from the sidelines, Hawkins tried to surprise the defense with a short pass to Matt Quest in the end zone, a gamble which almost cost the Mustangs the ball with a near interception. From there, Hawkins twice handed the ball to both Masters, hoping to drive the additional eight yards needed for a major, but the defense held their line. Once again, Behari was called out for the kick, bringing the score to 10-6 going into the lockers.

SCORE: WARHAWKS 10, MUSTANGS 6

[Jason Dumarr]

Shaking off the haze of the first half assault they'd received, JD collected himself on the bench, next to Diya Behari.

"Christ, these Warhawks are like a bunch of overstimulated Gorillas."

Looking back to the sidelines, he noticed Chase and Espy knocking helmets to build themselves up for the next quarter. He turned to his teammate and smirked.

"Sound like anyone we know?"

[Faige Harrison]

Faige was trying her best, but tonight was the first time she'd performed with a fife rather than a flute and it was a fiddly little thing. She kept screwing up her fingering, especially during the faster portions, and at one point the ridiculous hat that Brodi had forced everyone to wear fell down over her eyes and skewed her glasses.

Not only that, but they were losing! So far the night had been fantastic. Faige knew the band had to put out a rousing tune to raise everyone's spirits at half time, but could they pull it off?!

[Diya Behari]

Diya looked out at Chase and Espy's antics and just shook her head at JD. "Hey, whatever works, right?" She winced as a particularly loud, off-tune blast came from the band. Well, they were trying their hardest, too.