Mustangs down Wolves 50-24

The Malta Mustangs football team posted another dominant win last Friday, September 24, as they defeated the Wolf Point Wolves in Wolf Point 54-20.

Malta now sits 4-0 at the mid-point of the season.

"We have had a great start to the season," Malta Head Coach Nick Oxarart said. "Our non-conference games prepared us well to start our conference play. It feels good to start 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the North division, but we can't be satisfied with that and we will head into each week feeling like we are 0-0."

Coach Oxarart said that each game will pose a new challenge and the team needs to work hard in their preparation.

The Mustangs are scheduled to host their first home game in three weeks against the Conrad Cowboys, this Friday, October 1.

Though the Cowboys are 0-3 this season, the Malta Mustangs have no intentions of overlooking Conrad, who almost shocked them last season.

"Conrad has struggled a bit this season, but we know they are a well-coached team under Paul Schilling and they will have a solid game plan," Coach Oxarart said. "We won't take them lightly at all as we know they will play us as tough as anyone. We were able to score late in the game last season to squeak out the victory 8-6 in Conrad."

Malta will have its first home game since their Homecoming Game on Friday, September 10.

"The first half of our regular season we were on the road three of the four games, so we are excited to have three of the next four games at home," Coach Oxarart said. "The players love to play in front of our loyal Mustang Football fans. There's nothing quite like Friday night football in Malta, so we are excited to have some home games again."

In Malta's win over the Wolves last Friday, the team saw success in all three phases of the game, scoring touchdowns on offense, defense, and special teams.

"We set our goals each week to score in all phases of the game and we were able to meet that goal this week," Coach Oxarart said.

The team was up 7-0 in the first quarter when senior Shawn Gilkerson was able to scoop and score a 55-yard touchdown after junior Camryn Mears forced a fumble.

Late in the second quarter, Kaden Bishop returned a kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown. The kickoff came after the Wolves scored their first touchdown of the evening.

"Those kinds of plays are huge momentum changers," Coach Oxarart said.

Malta was able to rack up six touchdowns offensively, four on the ground and two through the air.

"Our offense did a great job of executing our plays," Coach Oxarart said. "Our guys continue to work hard on all three phases of the game and it's nice to see that hard work pay off in the games."

Malta was able to rush for a total of 235 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries. The rushing attack was led by Rex Williamson who had two touchdowns and 65 yards on four carries. Connor Tuss had one touchdown and 58 yards on two carries, Mears had one touchdown and 40 yards on seven carries, and Darrow Messerly had 65 yards on four carries.

Tuss led Malta in passing yards going 3-for-4 for 110 yards and one touchdown. Freshman Stockton Oxarart was 1-for-1 for a two-yard touchdown.

Williamson had 91 receiving yards and one touchdown on two catches. Treyton Wilke had one catch for a two-yard touchdown, and Gilkerson had one reception for 19 yards.

"Wolf Point had a great game plan to take away our strengths, but our guys dug deep and found ways to make plays when we had to," Coach Oxarart said.

Wilke and Williamson each had an interception; Wilke's pick had a 19-yard return. Mears and Colton Honey each forced a fumble, Mears' fumble was recovered by Gilkerson for a 55-yard touchdown.

Scoring Summary:

1st Quarter: MAL: Rex Williamson 4 yard run (Jacob Smith kick) 7:34 7-0

MAL: Shawn Gilkerson 55 yard fumble return (kick failed) 4:58 13-0

2nd Quarter: WP: Corey Martell 1 yard run (Juliun Benson kick) 2:55 13-7

MAL: Kaden Bishop 79 kick return (run failed) 2:40 19-7

MAL: Connor Tuss 45 yard pass to Williamson (run failed) 0:42 25-7

3rd Quarter: MAL: Williamson 59 yard run (Darrow Messerly run) 9:55 33-7

WP: Benson 13 yard pass to Gaige Bushman (Benson kick) 2:19 33-14

MAL: Tuss 61 yard run (Camryn Mears run) 1:24 41-14

4th Quarter: MAL: Mears 10 yard run (run failed) 11:05 47-14

WP: Bushman 54 yard pass to Benson (kick failed) 7:19 47-20

MAL: Stockton Oxarart 2 yard pass to Treyton Wilke (Smith kick) 3:12 54-20