Mustangs Outrun the Outlaws

                  The Lone Star Mustangs hosted the undefeated Austin Outlaws on Saturday May 30, 2009 at Pennington Field in Bedford, TX. After two previous meetings with the Outlaws that ended in a 1 point loss and a 14 point loss, the Mustangs were hungry for a victory over the Outlaws. The Mustangs’ hunger for victory was as strong as the day was hot (92 degrees in the shade of course). The hunger was finally satisfied (at least until the next practice) when the final score read 28-14 Mustangs!   This win by the Mustangs leaves the door open for the playoffs in their first year.   No one team is safe among the Texas women’s football teams…it is coming down to who wants to step up at the end of the season!

                The Mustangs had a productive day on offense with 214 yards on the ground spread out over 49 carries and 14 different ball carriers. The Mustangs changed up their ground game a bit from the first games by putting the “Big Dogs” in the backfield. In the past, the Mustangs were searching for all out speed and agility in the backfield to try o outrun the defense. The “Big Dogs” aren’t necessarily the fastest women on the team, but they make the opposing team need a couple of Tylenol pills after the game. These women love to hit in the ground and pound game. The original “Big Dogs” are #33 Stephanie “Freight Train” Wakefield, #24 Shug Fossis, and #14 Maddie Williams. As the game progressed and the Big Dogs began to wear down the defense, players such as #11 Brittany “Street Ball” Satterwhite and #13 Brandice Mueller were added into the game for speed and agility. It paid off!

                The change in philosophy didn’t stop there! The Mustangs turned to two individuals at the tight end position for all of the receptions in the game. #4 Jennifer Hull connected with #51 Yo Grant who had 2 touchdowns in 2 catches. #62 Etta Maytubby tacked on 5 additional catches for 75 yards and saved offensive drives from stalling. The overall change in philosophy allowed the offense of the Mustangs to control the clock for nearly the entire game.

                The defense made some great plays to corral #24 Shadana Hurd. Shadana had hurt the Mustangs in both of the previous meetings with the Outlaws. The defense as a team played very well and held Shadana to just 27 yards on the ground! #15 Ebony Jones was the leading tackler once again for the Mustangs with 8 tackles from the defensive end position.#82 Daniela Ottaiano followed with 6 tackles from the safety position. And last but least in the top three tacklers, #90 Alexandra Harvey had 5 tackles with 3 sacks. #31 Joy Newkirk sealed the game at the end by making her first interception of the year. #32 Venessa Martinez helped the Mustangs hold on to the ball by recovering a short kickoff. #55 Eboni Vincentti turned in a fumble recovery as well on another good day from the outside linebacker position.

                The Lone Star Mustangs are now 5-2 with one final game against the H-Town Texas Cyclones scheduled on June 20^th in Houston. The Mustangs must sit and watch as the H-Town Cyclones and the Austin Outlaws battle in Austin this weekend. The Mustangs have overcome a lot of hurdles in this first season of play. Whether the Mustangs make the playoffs or not, the future looks bright for the Mustangs and the competitive nature of women’s football in Texas!