Mustangs Outpace Manhattan 13-8 to Win Fourth Class B Title

The 2024 Malta Mustangs football team has won this year's State B Championship with a 13-8 nail-biting win over the Manhattan Tigers at Mustang Field last Saturday.

The win capped off a perfect 13-0 season, a new best for the Mustangs, who were 12-0 in 2006, the last time that Malta hoisted the State B title. The Mustangs also won the State B Championship in 1996 and 2000.

"It feels awesome," Malta Head Coach Nick Oxarart said. "We had such a great group of seniors and just a lot of underclassmen that stepped up all season long and to finally cap it off with a victory is what you dream about. For it to happen against a phenomenal team, you know that defense of Manhattan, just didn't give us much and we just got a few plays when we had to and we just squeaked by a little bit, but we'll take it however, it comes."

Both teams competed on a snowy but shoveled field, with temperatures right around freezing point.

This year's title game was the closest Class B Championship game that Malta has played in, and Mustangs' victory was sealed by a defensive interception by junior Dawson Hammond in the back of the endzone, on Manhattan's play of the game, a fourth-and-goal from the 13-yard line.

"I've never felt more alive in my life," Hammond said. That's the happiest I've ever been, I don't even know what to say, it came to me and I went and made a play on it, and that's all she wrote."

Known for his efforts as a wide receiver and defensive back, Hammond's second favorite play of the game was called a helmet-to-helmet hit, which gave Manhattan favorable position in that final drive.

"I ripped my Jersey right here and I put the kid on his butt," Hammond said. "That's the hardest I've ever hit somebody in my life. And they called it helmet to helmet, but it was my shoulder. You can see the tear in my shoulder pad right there. That's where I hit him. Man that felt good."

Prior to that, Malta took a 13-8 lead thanks to a 20-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Stockton Oxarart (11-of-17 131 yds, 1td, 1int) to senior running back Treyton Wilke (5 car for 30 yds, 5 rec for 49 yds, 1td), on fourth-and-15.

"I have a sprained AC joint in my shoulder and I was telling myself the whole game that pain is temporary but championships last forever," S. Oxarart said. "I said a prayer to God and I threw it up and tried and Treyton came down with it, so I'm just so blessed."

Wilke was asked about the play.

"Coach just said, lob it up to Wilke and I was like, all right, I'm gonna go get this ball," Wilke said. "No one's gonna stop me and I went and got that ball."

Coach Oxarart confirmed it.

"You try to get the ball to your best players," Coach Oxarart said. "Stockton throws it up and Treyton has made those plays all year long, so for him to make that in the state championship is pretty fitting and I am just so proud of him and the guys that made that happen."

The Tigers' lone score occurred in their first drive of the second half, a 22-yard touchdown from Manhattan's Michael Stewart to Brayden Zikmund. And a two-point conversion from Stewart to George Stenberg.

Malta was first on the board, thanks to a seven-yard touchdown by seniors running Back Blaine Downing (11 car for 23 yds, 1 td). A point after kick was made by Landon Retan.

Malta went into the locker room at halftime up 7-0, but they were not satisfied.

"We were kind of angry because we felt like we were supposed to be up by more. Coach came in and told us what to do and stuff; how to stop the run, because that's what they do," Wilke said. "Then they came out. They scored on us right away, but we knew we were a bunch of dogs. We knew we were coming back."

The touchdown was set up by a 29-yard pass from Oxarart to Hammond (3 rec for 51 yds) and a 21-yard pass from Oxarart to sophomore Laytin Erickson (2 rec for 24 yds).

Senior Mason Simanton had one catch for seven yards.

Junior Straud Sims had a team-leading 15 tackles. Simanton had 10 tackles, sophomore Kenan LaBrie had 9 tackles (1 sack), Erickson had eight tackles. Hammond had six tackles, Downing had five tackles, S. Oxarart had four tackles, Retan had four tackles, sophomore Skylar Gilkerson had three tackles, Wilke had two tackles, senior Chuck Brettin had one tackle, and senior Kohner "Chaka" Schipman had one tackle.

Several Mustangs were asked how it felt to win the State B title.

Blaine Downing: "It's crazy, especially because it's been since 2012 that we've ever been in a state championship game, so it's really cool to honor those alumni in the past that have made it this far also."

Stockton Oxarart: "This is an unreal feeling. I've been dreaming of this since I was just a little boy. This has been my goal forever and it's kind of crazy. My last high school game was here at Malta field and a state championship win so it's just an unreal feeling."

Treyton Wilke: "Oh, it feels amazing. There's no other feeling in the world to explain what I'm feeling right now. I just want to thank the Malta community, God, you guys have been so supportive and there has been so much to love. I just love everyone who came up to this game. It just meant so much to the team and it even pushed us to play harder."

Mason Simanton: "Awesome way to end it, that's all I gotta say."

Dawson Hammond: "It's unreal, just this whole town and everybody here. I've dreamed of this my whole life, I've came up short a lot and I can't even describe it. It's better than anything I've ever felt."

Downing posted his second season of running over 1,000 yards. During the championship, he saw plenty of success as a run blocker.

"So they would load up like the opposite side of me the whole time, and so when we'd run it to my side with me lead blocking, and it worked really well and then passing, of course works really well also," Downing said.

Though Malta's defense was unable to sack Stewart on the last play of the game, pressure by Downing, who had 15 sacks entering the game, did speed up the final pivotal play of the game.

"I just heard blitz and I spun it up there as fast as I could and it was a little snowy out there, and I kind of missed, but we still executed," Downing said. "Got him out of the pocket, got him uncomfortable, so that was good."

That last drive wasn't Malta's only defensive stop in the red zone. The Mustangs stopped the Tigers a couple of times in the red zone.

Simanton said that their defense was the key to their victory.

"We played Lights out, defense," Simanton said. "Clearly, you saw that with that fourth down and holding." "That one play was oh, if we didn't get that we were losing, so I think our defense was definitely the best here."

Coach Oxarart also expressed pride in his team's defense.

"Our defense played aggressive and made plays when they had to," Coach Oxarart said. "It was kind of hard and we made a few mistakes, but got the stops when we had to. Our defense just played aggressive."