By Dr. David Davis
The Friendswood Mustang traveled to Traylor Stadium and returned home with a district win over Richmond Foster 42-21 to improve to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in league action. Foster falls to 0-5 on the season and 0-3 in district.
The first half was a see-saw battle between the two teams with each getting scores off offensive drives and defensive turnovers for touchdowns.
The Mustangs started the scoring with an opening drive that saw QB Brock Foster hit WR Adam Buffington on a 56-yard scoring strike and a 7-0 lead.
But Foster tied up the score on a defensive turnover when Konnor Hanks picked off a screen pass that was deflected into his hands resulting in a 67-yard pick-6 that tied the game at 7-7 at the 4:00 mark of the first period.
However, Friendswood answered back on the ensuing possession as Walker Winters broke free on a 68-yard jaunt to set up a 4-yard QB touchdown keeper by Foster to give the Mustangs a 14-7 lead.
“What I liked is we didn’t ride the emotional roller coaster; there were several times throughout the course of the game that we definitely could have,” Friendswood head coach Jordan Johnson said. “We turned it over two times on offense, and if you looked at our sideline, we maintained composure the entire time.
“We stayed up like we wanted to on the sideline, and we encouraged each other.”
But the Falcons continued to fight to stay in the game as they got a 9-yard TD run by De’adric Hubbard at the 9:58 marker of the second period to tie up the game at 14-14.
Friendswood finally got a defensive turnover as Jackson Steele recovered a Foster fumble at the Falcons 6-yard line.
Three plays later, Foster fired an 8-yard TD pass to Garrett Muecke to make the score 21-14 going into intermission.
On Foster’s opening second half possession, Friendswood got another turnover as Skeele got a 38-yard pick-6 to bump the score to 28-14 in favor of the Mustangs.
Foster would return the favor on a Hayden Evett interception off Foster to begin possession at the Stangs’ 31-yard line.
Nine plays later, Foster would score on a 9-yard TD pass to Riley Blanton from Garrett Barham to trim the lead to 28-21 with 3:24 to play in the third quarter.
That would be as close as the Falcons would get as the Mustangs score two more times in the second half to post the 42-21 final score.
Foster finished with 185 yards passing on 18-of-25 passing and rushed for 56 yards on 15 carries. Winters had 124 yards rushing on 14 totes while Buffington had eight catches for 120 yards.
The Mustangs will travel to face Magnolia on Friday, September 29 at 7:00 p.m.
