The score of the Manitou Springs football team’s 43-32 win over Prospect Ridge Academy is slightly deceptive.
To say the Mustangs were a better team on Sept. 24 is quite the understatement. They were dominant in the first half as Tyler Maloney found the end zone multiple times and put the game well out of reach.
The Miners fought their way back in the second half, but not because the Mustangs (3-1 overall) lost focus, but because coach Stu Jeck emptied the bench to get younger players on the field for some valuable game experience.
The Miners kept battling to close that gap a little tighter than anyone in green and gold would have preferred.
“I learned that you need to get to that 40-point mark before you get those subs in,” Jeck said with a laugh. “It was a new situation for me, but I learned from it and we’ll be better for it.”
Being on the positive side of a blowout win hasn’t been the norm for the Mustangs in a while. In fact, Manitou hasn’t even won three games in a row in a fall season since 2016.
But this is an obvious sign of progress for the program.
The players are clearly confident in the game plan, evidenced in the way Nate Gentzel commands the offense and gets the ball to his playmakers. Maloney, Evan Scherr and Donovan Ornelas all have a way of making good things happen when the offense is running the way it’s designed to.
“Getting the first touchdown of the game and getting momentum on our side, the energy gets up,” Maloney said. “It helps us keep rolling and feeds that hunger for us to keep scoring touchdowns.”
He scored three rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown; Ornelas also had a receiving touchdown.
The Mustangs return home this week for the first time since the season opener against Rye. Woodland Park rolls into town Friday, Sept. 30, to try to spoil Homecoming Week for Manitou. Although the parade and pep rallies can always provide a distraction, Jeck doesn’t see this team getting away from the routine that has produced a winning formula for the past three weeks.
“These guys have bought into the process,” Jeck said. “My assistant coaches have done a great job instilling what needs to happen week in and week out. We know we have a big challenge ahead of us.”
This week will also be the league opener for the Mustangs, so every game from here on out has much more weight to it. If they can beat the Panthers on Friday, it could set the tone for what they can accomplish the rest of the season.