Early momentum can be a game changer. That’s the lesson the Manitou Springs football team learned in its home opener, a 43-0 loss to University on Sept. 4.
Turnovers and big offense plays allowed the Bulldogs to jump out to a quick a 22-0 lead in the first quarter, leaving the Mustangs (0-2 overall) with a huge hole to dig out of. The best way to do that was to simply start putting positive plays together and just go from there.
“It was a really good message to the kids that if we come out unprepared, how quickly things can get out of hand,” coach Stu Jeck said.
“After the first quarter we did a really good job of kind of adjusting and getting back to what we do. We gave up just 13 points in the next three and a half quarters.”
Offensively, this is a team that’s still learning what it can do.
Tyler Maloney put forth an admirable effort running the ball. Sophomore quarterback Nate Gentzel is still trying to get the ball into the hands of some of his other playmakers such as Ethan Boren or Tate Christian.
But it was a big struggle as the Bulldogs kept the Mustangs out of the end zone for the entire game. Heading into the Homecoming game against Salida on Friday, Sept. 10, the players aren’t planning on getting shutout again.
“We’re going to go over a lot of our offense,” Parker Salladay said. “We’re going to get some new plays in and figure it out.”
For Jeck, the mentality is every bit as important as the execution on the field. Despite taking his guys into halftime down 30-0, he delivered the same message that he delivers every day in practice and during every game.
“It never matters what the score is,” Jeck said. “The minute you believe you’re out (of the game) then you are. If you believe you’re still in it, good things can happen.”
After what the Mustangs experienced on Saturday, they’ll head into the next game very much with the mentality that they’re in it. And they plan on giving the home fans a memorable Homecoming experience.