Doniphan West 38, Horton 14

In a must-win District contest, the Mustangs took advantage of six Horton turnovers and scored the final four touchdowns of the game to pull away for their first win of the season.  D-West trailed 8-0 early in the game and 14-13 late in the third quarter before capitalizing on the Horton mistakes to even their District record at 1-1.  Doniphan West had mistakes of their own, including fumbles on their first two possessions of the game, but Clayton Rideout provided plenty of power with four offensive touchdowns and a interception returned for a touchdown with 6:51 left in the game to help seal the deal.  

Horton threw and interception of the first offensive play of the night, but then scored on defense as Joe Winsea recovered a fumble and returned it 33 yards for a scoop and score and an 8-0 lead.  The Chargers however muffed a punt on the ensuing drive and D-West recovered inside the five-yard-line.  Rideout scored his first rushing touchdown, but the Mustangs botched the snap on the PAT try and trailed 8-6 after one quarter.  Doniphan West then went to the air in the second quarter as Levi Watts found Luke Blevins on a 40 yard pass play, then a couple plays later hooked up again on a 32 yard TD pass to take a 13-8 lead.  The Chargers stalled on down after their best drive of the game went 15 plays, and the Mustangs also wasted an opportunity in the final minutes before halftime as they were helped from a roughing the passer penalty on fourth down and ten, but eventually turned the ball over on downs at the Charger 31-yard-line.

Horton took momentum back early in the the third quarter by blocking a punt and scoring on a short 25 yard drive as Lane Selle rushed in a one-yard touchdown for a 14-13 advantage.  The Mustangs answered on a seven play, 71-yard drive as Rideout broke free on a 37-yard touchdown run to give the visitors a 19-14 lead into the fourth period.  The Chargers threw interceptions on their next three drives while Doniphan West added a pair of Rideout touchdowns and took advantage of short fields to pull away for the victory.

Levi Watts was 10 of 22 passing for 162 yards and Blevins caught 6 passes for 134 yards and a score.  Rideout was the "Player to Bank On," sponsored by the Citizens State Bank and Trust Company in Hiawatha with 76 yards rushing and four scores, while adding a pick-six and double-digit tackles to lead the defense, plus a couple big plays on special teams as the kicker.  The Mustangs (1-5) held Horton to less than 150 total yards in the game as Newt Smith was the Denison State Bank "Lineman of the Game" for his efforts on both sides of the trenches.  The Mustangs face another must-win against JCN (6-0) next week to keep post-season hopes alive.    

Horton (1-5) is now 0-2 in district play and could not overcome two muffed punts, four interceptions and 60 untimely yards in penalties.  The Chargers were just 3 of 13 passing and Conner Dean was limited to just 61 yards on 15 carries while playing sparingly because of an ankle injury.  Selle added 35 yards on 9 totes.  Horton will host McLouth in another District game next week.