Mustangs Football: Malta shreds Harlem 46-23

The Malta Mustangs already locked down second place in 2B football and solidified their place in the playoffs after defeating Wolf Point last week, however that didn't stop the team from smashing the Harlem Wildcats last Thursday.

Behind 267 total yards of offense and a defense led by Antonio Lopez, the Mustangs cruised to a 46-22 victory.

This week however the Mustangs will open up against the Roundup Panthers who they beat 33-20 at Mustang field on September 19.

Defeating Roundup proved to be a hard feat, as the Panthers gashed Malta for yardage, thanks to the hard running of Hunter Saltzman and the blazing speed of Cody Pearson, who was nearly unstoppable on counter runs.

"(They have) a really good running attack, we've seen them play a couple of other teams and they were able to run the ball on those other teams as well," said Mustangs Head Coach Nick Oxarart.

Roundup only had two passing attempts against Malta and one was picked off by cornerback Tyson Carney.

"They had a couple of passes against us, but when they had 300 yards rushing they didn't have to resort to the passing game," Coach Oxarart said.

Coach Oxarart also noted that The Panther's passing game has been developing, which can be dangerous with targets like Saltzman and Pearson, who don't go down easily.

"They're definitely a run first team, with a big offensive line and a big bruising running back," Coach Oxarart said.

In Malta's defense Roundup ran a lot of plays that Malta hadn't seen and the team feels better prepared for the counters and traps they will likely see this weekend.

"We will have a little more time to prepare for those plays this time around," Oxarart added.

Roundup runs a 4-3 defense led by Saltzman.

Oxarart admits that it is nice to face a familiar team, but he also knows that the game will not be an easy victory.

"It's nice that we kind of know them a bit, but winning 33-20 was a misleading score because we were down most of that game and got a score at the end of the game."

Oxarart claimed that if Malta allows as many rushing yards as they did before, chances are strong that they will not see the next round of the playoffs.

"They rushed for way too many yards on us that first game," he said. "If they come close to that again, we won't win the game if they rush all over us again."

With roundup being so big and physical Malta will need to bring their "A" game.

The only advantage Malta has got going for them is that it's a home game.

Roundup does seem to travel well no matter what sport is being played and they will look to level the playing field.

The game kicks off Saturday, November 1, at 1 p.m. at Mustang field.

Advanced ticket sales for local fans start Tuesday at 9:00 am at the Malta High School office until Friday at 10:00 am.