Mustangs have open date to recover from loss to Franklin

With this Friday being an open date, Coach Cameron Brooks gave has team Monday and Tuesday off. Regular practice sessions were set for Wednesday and Thursday with an early morning practice Friday.

The players will have the opportunity to see Tuscola and Pisgah play Friday. The Mustangs (4-4, 1-2) will resume action Oct. 20 at Tuscola.

"It was real disappointing," Coach Cameron Brooks said of the loss to Western Athletic Conference rival Franklin. "Mental mistakes are killing us."

Brooks questioned the effort given by his players.

"They played a lot harder than our kids," he said of the Panthers. "We talked a big game, but we didn't play with very much intensity. I won't coach effort, and I won't coach self-discipline. I want to coach X's and O's and execution."

Two plays stood out in the loss. Brooks said the biggest play was a 21-yard touchdown pass to Craig Younce on fourth-and-goal in the fourth quarter. Darius Bryson was defending on the play.

"Darius has got to make that play," the coach said.

Another defensive lapse came in the first quarter on a 53-yard run by Gary Morris when he appeared to be stopped at the line of scrimmage. That led to a touchdown.

"Rion Gray had him wrapped up and slung him instead of taking him to the ground," Brooks said. "The big plays they made were individual mistakes," he said. "We don't have 11 on the same page as far as intensity."

An area of concern was the offensive line. Quarterback Justin Roper spent much of the night running for his life and was sacked six times.

"Our offensive line did not do a very good job," Brooks said. "That will be corrected this week and next week. I told Justin it's hard to throw the football when you're not the first one in the pocket."

He said Franklin defenders sometimes were already hanging on to tailback Trent Dillard when he received the handoff.

Another problem Brooks pointed out was the kicking game, especially a poorly executed onside kick after the Mustangs had scored with about a minute left in the game. The ball did not go the necessary 10 yards, and players did not shift into the proper position, the coach said.

"That's a direct reflection on me, and I'll take that responsibility," he said.

A bright spot was the play of reserve quarterback Justin Hawk. He entered the game late in the fourth quarter and completed passes of 29 and 25 yards, the latter for a touchdown. Brooks indicated Hawk is likely to see more playing time in the remaining games.

"Justin came in and did a great job," the coach said. "He gave us a spark and threw the football real well. I may start shuffling in quarterbacks more. It's been done on Saturdays. It can also be done on Friday nights. He's got a great attitude."

The Mustangs went for two-point conversions after both touchdowns Friday. The first score evened the count 6-6, but Brooks decided to go for two even though an extra point kick would have put SM on top.

"I just did it," he said. "I wanted to continue to try to keep momentum. Two is a lot better than one."

With less than a minute left in the half, the Mustangs gambled by trying a fake punt from their 26. A pass went for only a yard.

"I knew the element of surprise was there," Brooks said. "It was going to be like a screen. One player missed a block."

The Panthers failed to take advantage of the situation and ran out of time at the nine yardline.

"That was a positive," Brooks said. "We held them out of the end zone."

Back to Sports: 10/12/00.