Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011

Mustangs shut out Northern Durham

The Middle Creek defense overpowered Northern Durham on Friday, posting a 32-0 shutout victory in the season opener for both teams.

The Mustangs limited the Knights rushing attack to just two total yards, and 46 yards of offense overall.

“Our defense did a good job all night of disrupting their offense,” said Middle Creek head coach Sean Crocker. “I’m really proud of the guys for the intensity they showed and for playing all four quarters.”

The Middle Creek front seven, especially the defensive line, overwhelmed Northern, and played in the Knight backfield much of the game.

Middle Creek led 19-0 at halftime. Quarterback David Salmon (12-26-125) threw a four-yard touchdown pass and ran one in from ten yards, while Devone Johnson also scored on a four-yard run in the first half.

In the second half the Mustangs scored on two short field goals by Matt Millington and a 23-yard touchdown pass from Sal Savarese to Naylaan Lopez. Lopez led Middle Creek with 143 yards rushing.

Ten Middle Creek players caught a pass, with Kevin Jones leading the team with three catches for 41 yards.

Crocker was pleased with some of the plays the offense made, but was concerned about the four turnovers Northern Durham forced.

Northern had a 95-yard kickoff return by Brandon Brown nullified by a holding penalty. Charah Wheeler completed six passes for 44 yards.

The game marked the return of Gary Merrill to the Northern sidelines for the first time since 2003. Merrill led the Knights to nine conference championships in his first run at the school. It also was the first time Middle Creek senior Rashawn King played in a game since 2009. King, who battled leukemia last year, rushed for 11 yards and caught one pass for 15 yards.