Malta prepares for Eagles; mid-season recap

Last Friday, September 21, marked the fifth week for the Malta Mustangs. It also marked a bye week for the 2-2 team.

This week the team prepared for their match with the Fairfield Eagles (4-0), who will come to Malta on Friday, September 28, to take on the Mustangs during their homecoming week.

"Practices went well this week," Malta Mustangs Head Coach Jim Benn said. "We were able to rest a few players that needed to recover from injuries and we worked on a few areas that needed improvement."

The Eagles and Mustangs are the only Northern B team's with an unblemished 2-0 record in the conference. Cut Bank is 2-1, Glasgow is 2-1, Wolf Point is 1-1, Harlem is 0-3 and Conrad is 0-3.

According to hudl.com, Fairfield defeated the Cut Bank Wolves 43-0 on Friday, September 21, and Glasgow by the same score on Friday, September 14. The last touchdown the Eagles have allowed occurred in their 38-6 win over Loyola Sacred Heart on Friday, September 7. The Eagles defeated Powell County 49-12 in their season opener on Friday, August 31.

The following are statistics compiled by Malta Head Coach Jim Benn.

The Mustangs have scored a total of 106 points, while allowing opponents to score 76.

Andres Lopez has scored 32 points so far this season, Cormac Benn has scored 28, Kevin Henry has scored 28, Tanner Smith has scored eight, Kooper Oxarart has scored six, Kolter Schipman has scored two, and the team had a safety that gave them two points.

"We are averaging approximately 150 yards rushing and 150 yards passing a game," Coach Benn said. "We have been able to spread the ball around to different skill positions to make it more difficult on opposing defenses. We have won the turnover battle in our last two wins."

At quarterback Oxarart has thrown for four touchdowns, two interceptions, and 630 yards, while completing 40 of his 72 pass attempts (55%). He averaged 15.75 yards per completion. Connor Tuss has one completion on two pass attempts for two yards.

At running back Lopez has three touchdowns and 232 yards on 34 attempts (6.82 YPC), Henry has three touchdowns and 219 yards on 30 attempts (10.95 YPC), Benn has two touchdowns and 108 yards on 20 attempts (5.40 YPC), Tanner Smith has 72 yards on 13 attempts (5.54 YPC), Callan Mears has 16 yards on one attempt (16 YPC), Kolter Schipman has 10 yards on one carry (10 YPC), Ty Murphy had nine yards on three carries (3 YPC), and Darrow Messerly has two yards on one carry. The team has a total of eight rushing touchdowns and 609 yards on 116 carries (5.25 YPC).

The receivers are led by Benn who has two touchdowns and 192 yards on 11 catches (17.45 YPC), Smith has one touchdown and 155 yards on 9 catches (17.22 YPC), Henry has 112 yards on eight catches (14 YPC), Lopez has one touchdown and 79 yards on seven catches (11.29 YPC), Schipman has 90 yards on five catches (18 YPC), Darrow Messerly has one catch for two yards. The team has a total of four touchdowns and 630 yards on 41 catches (15.37 YPC).

The team's defense has allowed 845 rushing yards on 174 carries. The team has also allowed 273 receiving yards and 22 completions on 52 pass attempts.

Defensively, Oxarart leads the team in interceptions with four. Kevin Henry has two interceptions and Tanner Smith has one interception.

Lopez leads the team in tackles with a total of 53.5, which includes a team-high 14 solo tackles. Mears has 43 tackles, Benn has 33 tackles and a team-high five sacks, Smith has 25 tackles, Pierce Mortenson has 18.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks, Oxarart has 15 tackles, Cash Salsbery has 13, Henry has 12, Franky Werk has 11, Schipman has 10, Parker Mortenson has nine, Rex Williamson has seven, Miles Bunk has six tackles and one sack, Ty Murphy has six tackles, Jaden Keeling has four-and-a-half tackles and half of a sack, Payton Clausen has three tackles, Rhett Simanton has three tackles, Dwight Werk has two tackles, Jeramiah Benson, Colt French, Connor Tuss and Zachary Welch have one tackle, and Peyton Jones has half of a tackle.

"The great part about a young team is that the capacity to improve is greater," Coach Benn said. "Especially the last two games the offense has demonstrated good balance and the defense has been stingy. We are still mastering the offensive and defensive playbook and improving body position, fundamentals, alignments, and mastering assignments."