Mustangs dominate in 45-16 win over Memorial

Mother Nature didn’t rain on Memorial’s homecoming festivities at Carson Park Friday night, but the Menomonie Mustangs sure did.

From the start, it was obvious that the Old Abes had come ready to play, as they were looking stout on defense and gutsy on offense early on in the game. But in the end, a dominant Mustangs squad — deep from top to bottom on both sides of the ball — continued their quarter-century-plus win streak over their longtime rival from Eau Claire with a commanding 45-16 win.

The Mustangs got the ball and quickly moved it down the field and into Old Abes’ territory as the rivalry game kicked off, but just as quickly Memorial applied the pressure defensively and soon Menomonie was at a fourth and seven and opted to go for it, but to no avail.

With only close to three minutes gone in the game, it was time for Memorial to try and strike first. Quickly getting into Menomonie territory, the Old Abes’ Julius Clark and Shimar Simmons were doing their thing and the home team was edging closer to the endzone and were soon on the visitors’ 15-yard line.

A Menomonie face mask penalty only helped the Old Abes, putting them at first and goal on the seven-yard line. Ultimately, though, just like the Mustangs before them, Memorial turned the ball over in downs giving Menomonie the ball, albeit on the Menomonie five-yard line.

A tall task for the Mustangs, to be sure, but a couple of huge plays from Menomonie and quarterback Brady Johnson and running back John Higbie and suddenly they were up 6-0 on a pass from Johnson to Isaac Ellison The ensuing extra point was good and it was 7-0 with roughly two minutes and change left in the first quarter.

The Mustangs were close to glory as the second quarter began and soon it was 14-0 on a Higbie touchdown run with another good kick through the uprights.

The Old Abes quickly narrowed the gap on a beautiful 80-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Gundlach to Bryce Hedtke. Simmons made it into the endzone for the two-point conversion and it was suddenly a six-point game with 10:43 left in the second quarter.

A gutsy onside kick from Memorial went the Old Abes way and the home fans really had some to celebrate in addition to their homecoming festivities. Despite solid field position and another gutsy Memorial pass from Gundlach on a fourth and five during that possession, the home team couldn’t get a score in that drive and turned the ball over to Menomonie in downs.

Another Johnson pass — this time to DJ Butler — and a two-point conversion from Ellison made the score 22-8, Menomonie, with 5:36 left in quarter number two. An intentional grounding call in the end zone and a Mustang tackle gave them a safety and it was now 24-8 with Menomonie now having excellent field position to score even more before the half ended.

Which is exactly what they did on a Luke Bystol run into the endzone. With another extra point, it was 31-8, Mustangs and they weren’t quite done yet in the half. Johnson got the ball to Brody Thornton and with the ensuing extra point good it was 38-8.

It took a while in the second half of play, but the Mustangs finally earned the running clock on a short Higbie rush into the endzone. Another good kick through the uprights and it was 45-8, Menonomie, with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Despite the score, the Old Abes didn’t give up, as was evident in a huge Simmons gain early in the fourth quarter to gain a significant first down for the home team. Eventually in that possession, Simmons made a 30-yard run into the endzone. Another successful two-point conversion made it 45-16, Mustangs with just over eight minutes left in the game. Effectively running out the clock on their next possession, Menomonie eventually formed their victory formation and that’s how the game ended.

With the win, Menomonie improved to 5-1 on the season (2-1 in the Big Rivers Conference) and Memorial dropped to 0-6 and is 0-3 in the Wisconsin Valley Conference. The last time Memorial beat the Mustangs was in 1998.

Next up for the Old Abes is a trip to Wisconsin Rapids where they will take on the Red Raiders next Friday at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School, while the Mustangs will travel to New Richmond for a huge Big Rivers Conference contest. Kickoff for both games is set for 7 p.m.