Mustangs plagued by turnovers in loss to Sublette

(Kismet)- Southwestern Heights and Sublette both had reasons to be excited to open up the 2009 football season as the both return a lot of starters on both sides of the ball. It was Sublette though who came out with the upper hand on Friday with a 26-6 win at Southwestern Heights.

Sublette scored first in the first quarter after capitalizing on an interception as the Larks went 25 yards in three plays that included a five yard touchdown run by senior Mason Hibbard to take a 6-0 lead. The snap on the extra point was high and failed.

The Larks added on a another score in the first quarter on a 38 yard touchdown pass from senior Brandon Stokes to junior Angel Martinez. The two point conversion was good to give Sublette a 14-0 lead after one quarter.

It was all Sublette again in the second quarter as they went 61 yards in seven plays capped off by a nine yard touchdown pass from Stokes to senior tight end Preston Sabata for six points. The two point conversion failed.

Moments later Hibbard intercepted a pass at midfield and took it all the way to the end zone for a 50 yard interception return for a touchdown. The two point conversion again failed. This gave the Larks a 26-0 lead at halftime.

There was no more scoring in the game until the fourth quarter when Heights scored a late touchdown when senior Tyrel Justice scored on a three yard run. The extra point was no good.

Heights new quarterback Wes Winfrey threw six interceptions in the game with one of them being tipped. Four of the interceptions were by Hibbard and Brandon Stokes from Sublette. The Mustangs offense also turned the ball over on downs two other times. Heights also were in the double digits when it came to false start penalties, and had several snaps over Winfrey’s head.

Despite the struggles offensively, Heights was able to move the ball on many possessions as the Mustangs had fifteen first downs in the game, with just six points to show for it.

Southwestern Heights head coach Ken Schoenrock said after the game that he has been in better moods before, but that there were some positives to take away from the game.

“We moved the ball well, but killed ourselves with penalties, and inopportune snaps. We are a work in progress,” Schoenrock said.

Schoenrock did feel like the defense played well in the second half and that they became more aggressive as they did not allow the Larks to score in the second half.

Despite the disappointment Schoenrock added that many of the Mustangs mistakes are correctable.

“It was one of those games that if you have weaknesses you for sure find out what they are. It takes a lot of little things to be successful.”

The Larks have now won five out of the last six match-ups between the two schools and the past two.

Southwestern Heights will play at Elkhart next Friday, while Sublette will host Holcomb.