The Sussex County Mustangs of the Junior Diamond Football League were faced with a do-or-die situation in their regular-season finale, as to whether they’d secure a playoff slot this season. They had to beat the Norfolk Chiefs, a team that had beaten them 22-8 in the season opener and/or the Kent County 49ers would have to lose to the Kent County Cobras for the Mustangs to slip into the playoffs.
Coastal Point • FILE PHOTO:
Running back Elijah Foreman and the Sussex County Mustangs put the breaks on their two-game losing streak by shutting out the Norfolk Chiefs 22-0 in their regular-season finale. The win propelled them into the Junior DFL playoffs.
And, since the Mustangs can’t control how the rest of the league’s teams play and what the results might be, they could only take care of their business when the Chiefs came to town on March 10.
The Mustangs won the game in convincing fashion, shutting out the Chiefs 22-0, and a 28-14 49ers loss bumped them into the third of four playoff spots.
The Mustangs struggled late in the season, losing consecutive games prior to the regular-season finale win over the Chiefs, but they did snare an easy win over the Baltimore Buckeyes in that span, in a forfeit.
And during their final stretch of the season, frustrations ran high.
The Mustangs are composed of junior varsity players and some varsity contributors from Sussex Central, Indian River, Delmar and Stephen Decatur High Schools, and when they were losing the team fractured somewhat. There was finger pointing and whispers of discontent, but they were able to put their differences aside to win their last game and earn a playoff spot.
Mustangs’ linebacker Justin Kraft noticed a renewed sense of camaraderie in the second half of last week’s 21-6 loss to the league-leading Cecil County Saints (4-1), and that it carried over to yield success against the Chiefs.
“At the beginning of the season, everyone came onto the field as their own groups,” Kraft said.
“But when we played (and lost to) the Cobras in Week 3, that was a big wake up call because we didn’t play as a team. We lost a chance to play against the Buckeyes. But the Saints game was totally different because we started playing together. And that got everything rolling.
“Now, we’re like, ‘You help me and I’ll help you,’” Kraft said. “Now, when we step onto the field in our blue-and-white jerseys, there’s just one team out there.”
“We have a lot of talent, but I’ve emphasized from day one that they have to want to play together, and I kept repeating that,” Mustangs head coach Jerry Kraft said.
“But the kids attitudes have changed and, honestly, I believe that we can play (and beat) any team if we play together,” he affirmed.
The Mustangs scored three touchdowns — two rushing by quarterback Brendan Chavis and running back Jordan Malone, while Justin Kraft and the defense accounted for the remaining two scores.
The Mustangs’ defense drew first blood in the first quarter when they tackled the Chiefs in their own end zone for a safety. Kraft recovered and returned a fumbled snap on a Chiefs punt attempt 50 yards for the Mustangs final score.
The Mustangs repaid the Chiefs and hope to do the same thing to the Cobras on March 17 in Wilmington. The Cobras handed the Mustangs a 16-8 Week 3 loss. But the Mustangs feel that they can win the second-round match-up behind a misdirection running game and strong offensive line play.
“They have two defensive ends and a middle linebacker that were the most efficient players,” Kraft said of the Cobras. “So we think that our best bet will be to run the ball right up the middle, leaving us to beat only the middle linebacker.”
Kickoff is at noon in Wilmington.