Published: September 26, 2008 12:36 am            

Mustang stuns Wolves

It was a tale of two halves for the No. 6-ranked Santa Fe on Thursday night at Wantland Stadium, as the Wolves lost to No. 10 Mustang in a 27-26 overtime thriller.

Santa Fe burried the Broncos in a 13-0 hole in the first seven minutes, as Mustang struggled early with quarterback Jefferey Cohan, with star quarterback Kyle Webster sitting out after undergoing an emergency appendectomy.

The Wolves used a 12-play, 61-yard drive to open the game, with Steve Sumpter taking it in from 7-yards out giving Santa Fe a 7-0 lead.

After a quick three-and-out, the Wolves got the ball back at the Broncos 39-yard line, and it took just one play for them to score. Michael Hodges found Alex Hill wide open for a 39-yard touchdown pass off the play action, as Randy Ponder picked up a big block to give Hodges time in the pocket.

But the Wolves’ Robert Edge failed to convert on the extra-point try, as they led 13-0 with 6:10 left in the first quarter.

And after that point, the Santa Fe offense went stagnant.

After throwing an interception to Sumpter — Sumpter’s fourth of the year — Cohan settled down, completing 22-of-36 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns over the next three quarters.

Cohan hit Brian Didonato with a 8-yard touchdown pass with 34 seconds remaining before halftime, to cut its deficit to 13-7. And when Cohan wasn’t passing the ball, running back Hunter Smith was breaking tackles for big gains.

Early in the third, Cohan found Anthony Phillips for a 30-yard touchdown pass, and just five minutes later, following a 20 yard run by Smith, and a 27-yard pass to Didonato, Blake Wood scored from 3-yards out, giving the Broncos a 20-13 lead.

It could have been more, but Didonato missed the PAT.

Santa Fe struggled offensively until midway through the fourth. The Wolves put together a 13-play, 77 yard drive, but turned the ball over on downs at the Broncos 9-yard line, with 3:45 remaining in the contest.

The Wolves’ defense stiffened though, giving the offense the ball back at the Broncos 38-yard line with 2:09 left.

It looked like Santa Fe would lose the contest, after Mustang sacked Hodges for a huge loss, back to the SF 42-yard line, but Hodges threw a 23 yard pass to Hill on second-and-35, then hit Matt Leavell with a 39-yard pass to the Broncos 1-yard line on the next play, setting up the tying score. Sumpter finished it off with a touchdown run on the next play, as the Wolves tied the game at 20-apiece.

In overtime, it took Mustang just two plays to get into the end zone, with Smith scoring from 2-yards out, and Didonato added the PAT.

Santa Fe needed just one play, a 10-yard pass to Randy Ponder, but Edge missed the PAT, giving Mustang the win.

Smith finished the game with 140 yards on 25 carries.

Mustang held the Santa Fe rushing attack to just 89 yards, as Ponder led the way with 58 yards on 11 carries. Hodges was 13-of-23 for 209 yards and three touchdowns.

The Wolves will play at Del City next Friday.

        

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