Mustangs capture Class-C 8-man title in topsy-turvy affair

“When I caught the ball and I looked at the clock, I knew we had won the championship,” Knack said. “My whole body just went warm. Playing that game was really intense and no one in that game was able to have a big one momentum. It was back-and-forth. You had to try not get upset (during the game) because it was such an emotional game.”

As a freshman Knack was part of the 2013 team that captured the Class-C 8-man championship title but said being an “Integral” part of this team’s run was “much sweeter.”

“This is probably one of my favorite moments in my career,” Knack said. “I played on the 2014 team but I wasn’t much of an asset in the game, and being a part of the championship title is a feeling you just can’t forget. That is for sure.”

Knack also did damage to the Vikings on offense. Knack finished with 123 yards on 27 attempts and two rushing touchdowns in the game, and averaging 4.5 yards per carry against the Vikings. Knack scored on a 27-yard run in the first quarter to give the Mustangs a 6-0 lead with 5:34 left to go in the first quarter.

Knack also scored another touchdown to give Ennis the lead 18-12 with 8:35 left to go in the third quarter.

After trailing 6-0 at halftime, the Vikings’ QB Landers Smith scored two touchdowns to give them a 12-6 lead with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter. Smith’s first touchdown was 56 yards and his second was a 20-yard run.

The Mustangs answered when Wood connected with WR Gavin McKitrick on a 46-yard touchdown pass to tie the game after Wood didn’t successfully convert on a 2-point conversion attempt.

With the Vikings trailing 18-12 after Knack’s fourth quarter touchdown run made it 18-12, Smith answered the Mustangs again. Smith’s 13-yard touchdown run tied the score after another unsuccessful 2-point conversion attempt. Both teams combined to fail for nine 2-point conversion attempts in the contest.

Late in the fourth quarter, Mustangs’ QB Tanner Wood completed a 39-yard touchdown pass to McKirrick with 3:45 left in the contest to make the score 24-18.

The Mustangs had an opportunity to put the game away but were unable to successfully convert a fourth down they turned the ball back over the Vikings.

The Vikings marched down the field and Trent Dennison tied the score on a 14-yard pass to Brady Fryberger with 1:11 left. During that play Charlo elected to call on a swinging gate play, a play that Coach Krahn claimed they have practiced for the last five years during practice but never used in a game situation.

The Vikings came close to getting the go-ahead score but Landers Smith was stuffed at the 1-yard line falling just shy of taking a 25-24 lead.

On the ensuing possession, the Mustangs turned the ball over on downs to the Vikings with two seconds left but Krahn elected to run out the clock in regulation.

In overtime, the Vikings won the coin toss and elected to give the Mustangs the first opportunity to score. Krahn said he felt the Vikings had the momentum headed into the overtime.

“I really thought we had the momentum,” Krahn said. “It was setting itself for us to go down and our defense get a story-book ending for us.”

Mustangs QB Tanner Wood completed a pass to Corbin Wood for the go-ahead score and eventually the game-winning touchdown to give the Vikings a 30-24 victory before Knack’s interception ended the contest in overtime.

Several times during this topsy-turvy contest, Haas said he was unsure of whether his team could sustain momentum against the Vikings team that finished 11-1 in the regular season.

The Mustangs and Vikings combined for a total of only one turnover in the clean contest. Because of a lack of mistakes on both sides of the football, Haas said it was difficult to keep his kids focused.

Ennis was able to maintain an offensive balance with 232 passing yards and 212 rushing yards for 444 cumulative yards in the game. Charlo accumulated 236 total yards and passed for only 86 total yards in the game.

“We really had to keep our kids calmed down during the game, and we had to keep the pressure on to contain them and keep our fingers crossed,” Chris Hess said. “Winning the championship was an unbelievable effort in the fourth quarter.”