The Walnut Mustangs emerged victorious against the Nogales Nobles 28-0, taking second place with a record of 2-1 in the Hacienda League Friday, Oct. 27.
The game was off to a slow start with the Nobles holding the ball for the entire first quarter. The Mustangs played defense and were backed up to the 20-yard line before the quarter ended 0-0.
“The first half was a little bit of a grind. I don’t think we executed what we needed to, making little mistakes here and there,” Coach Eric Peralta said. “I told my players to just do the fundamentals extraordinarily so we can stop their offense and break their defense.”
To start off the second quarter, wide receiver junior Harland Fluker caught a long pass and ran to 45 yards, making the first offensive play of the game. After a series of first downs, running back receiver senior Demetrius Stampley scored a touchdown, followed by a P.A.T. (point after touchdown) and ending the second quarter 7-0.
“Our team’s chemistry was good. We started slow but consecutive plays is what got us the first touchdown and the rest after that,” offensive lineman senior Nathan Chung said. “It was the last game and we didn’t want to end it on a loss.”
The Mustangs started on defense in the third quarter. The Nobles could not break through the Mustangs’ defense and they quickly gave up possession of the ball. Three consecutive false starts led to 15 yards back, but Stampley caught another pass and ran the ball to the endzone, scoring another touchdown for the Mustangs, bringing the score to 14-0.
“Everytime I run the ball, I feel like they can’t tackle me and I just have to go full speed to get to the touchdown,” Stampley said. “[The Nobles] were definitely a challenge to play around but we coordinated well and made great plays to win.”
Carrying the momentum into the fourth quarter, Stampley scored another touchdown, giving the Mustangs a 21-0 lead. With the home crowd standing up and cheering, Fluker found the end zone, scoring the last touchdown of the game and bringing the score to 28-0.
“Scoring the last [touchdown] felt great because it put us in a position to lock the game,” Fluker said. “I thank my teammates for setting up and executing plays for each other, and my head coach who made new strategies during halftime to outplay [the Nobles].”
