by Gunnar Davis

The PCM Mustang football team had accomplished what they wanted. They earned a home game on Oct. 27 in the Class 2A playoffs. But they were paired with one of the most talented three-seeds in the state: The Mid-Prairie Hawks. The Mustangs knew the game would be a battle, and it was. In the end, PCM’s season was finished by the Hawks, with a final score of 28-10.
The first quarter was a defensive battle. The only scores came off a 30-yard field goal by PCM senior Chase Wilkie and a touchdown by Mid-Prairie senior Karson Duwa. Heading into the second quarter, the score was 7-3.
The next quarter opened up with a long Mustang drive, but they didn’t score because of a picked-off pass from PCM senior Logan Gilman to Mid-Prairie senior Ryan Cortum. The Hawks then went on a long drive capped off by a senior Nolan Falset four-yard touchdown run, making the score 14-3.
The Mustangs tried to answer back, but a fumble by Gilman gave the Hawks the ball back on the Mustangs’  five-yard line. The PCM defense held on all four downs and got the ball back with under a minute to play in the half, only to turn the ball back over to Mid-Prairie again. The Mustang defense would again hold until the very last play of the half, when quarterback Cortum dropped back and heaved up a 30-yard Hail Mary that landed right into the hands of Hawk senior Blake Schwartz, making the score a devastating 21-3.
In the second half, the Hawks opened up with the ball, but the Mustang defense held them to a three-and-out. On the first possession of the second half for PCM, they drove down the field and scored on three-yard touchdown run by senior Logan Littrell. That was the last time the Mustangs scored in the game and in the season.
PCM couldn’t pick up stops on defense during the rest of the game, and the offense wasn’t able to cap off long drives. The Hawks collectively ran for 342 yards against a Mustang defense, which is typically known for stopping the run.
“I thought we had an off night for us, and just were never able to get back on enough to win the game,” Head Coach Greg Bonnett said. “For some reason, we came out, and we just didn’t have much energy, and we really never picked up any energy, either. It was just kind of an odd night.”
Although the Mustangs had an early exit in the playoffs, the team finished the season with a record of 7-3 and had many triumphs during the year.
“I’ll remember all the fun we had,” Bonnett said. “Some of the things that will stick out to me the most in my mind is the second half against CMB, the second half of North Polk, dumping a little water on Gilman and basically any story that has Jacob Ponder in it.”