MANITOU SPRINGS – The Manitou Springs football team had produced all of three points in 47 minutes and 58.1 seconds.
Yet, when time expired it was the Mustangs dancing in celebration after Tate Christian fired off his best pass of the night, a 23-yard strike to tight end Ethan Boren.
Falling to the ground, Boren hauled in the catch, his entire body in the end zone, giving the Mustangs a thrilling 10-6 win over Salida, capping a memorable homecoming day.
This is the first win of the season for Manitou and there was no better way to script that drama.
“We’re at a point now where we’re really trying to put together four quarters,” coach Stu Jeck said. “I think right now, we’re a three and a half quarter team. And if we can figure out that last quarter to execute in a way that I know we have the ability to, this is going to be a really tough team to beat.”
This wouldn’t exactly be a night where the Mustangs (1-2 overall) put together three solid quarters. They made the switch to Christian at quarterback from wide receiver to inject a little energy into the offense.
After Brewer Matthews scored Salida’s touchdown, Manitou finally found some rhythm and got into scoring range. Christian misfired on a pass to a wide-open Nathan Gentzel that would have gone for a touchdown. Instead, the Mustangs settled for a field goal.
“It definitely took me a bit to get settled and I was nervous about being in a new position at the beginning of the game,” Christian said. “Once the game got going, I got more comfortable.”
Even as Christian got more comfortable, the Mustangs kept shooting themselves in the foot. Penalties put an end to promising drives and every time the team got within striking distance, they found a way to reverse course and lose yardage.
The seconds steadily ticked away until Salida had the ball with over two minutes to go, up three points. Facing 3rd and 10 with the clock running, Eli Hettle knocked the ball lose and recovered it on the 23, giving the Mustangs fresh life with 27 seconds on the clock. Christian took three shots at the end zone.
The first sailed over Boren’s head. The second was caught by Boren, but the side judge ruled him out of bounds.
With seven ticks left, the Mustangs could either go for one more shot or kick the field goal. They opted for the chance to win.
“I told Tate, the two things that couldn’t happen were a scramble or a sack,” Jeck said. “Two step drop and go.”
And it went. Boren hauled in the pass, giving the Mustangs their first win of the year and Jeck the first win of his head coaching career.
“It was very satisfying,” Boren said. “But we need to get to work and start putting the ball in the end zone.”
It was one of the most thrilling wins of the young high school football season and it all came on homecoming, as it should for any dramatic win.
“This game definitely didn’t let us down,” Boren said. “It’s been a while since we won on homecoming, so this feels good.”
So… with 7 seconds left, this happened. Final score @ManitouMustangs 10, Salida 6. @CHSAA #copreps pic.twitter.com/CFomhZukrW
— Daniel Mohrmann (@DanMohrmann) September 11, 2021