by Fred Conley
It's been a while since the Forrest City coaching staff used phrases such as "unbelievable" and "total team effort" to describe a Mustang victory.
But Friday's resounding 27-14 opening season win over Poplar Bluff, Mo. left the team and the coaching staff feeling much better about themselves.
Given little hope of being much better than a last or next-to-last place finisher in the AAAAA-East Conference by sportswriters and preseason polls across the state, the Mustangs took back a little measure of respect and pride with the victory.
In the middle of Sam Smith Stadium Friday, the Mustangs stood tall -- something they have not done in quite a while.
Twenty-four hours before the kickoff Forrest City Coach Donnie Willis said that he felt the team was "halfway to where they needed to be" going into the opening game.
At approximately 10:35, when the final second ticked off the game clock, Forrest City had come more than just "halfway."
The Mustangs were all the way there.
Sticking to a solid defensive game plan put in place by the coaching staff, the Mustangs pressured and hurried and yes, even sacked Polar Bluff senior quarterback Mark Gum repeatedly and dished out helmet-jarring hits on the Poplar Bluff running backs and wide receivers leaving them shell shocked and tentative when they were given the football.
"Our game plan was simply to send different people at Gum from as many different angles as we could," Willis said. "We did that. From the people up front in the trenches to the deep guys, we kept the pressure on for four quarters."
It worked. Gum did not look anything like the third-year starter who threw for more than 1,800 yards a year ago in leading the Mules to an 8-1 mark.
Gum managed to hurt the Mustangs early in the game, but a lengthy halftime during which the Forrest City coaches made the necessary adjustments, effectively shut down the Poplar Bluff passing game in the second half and made the Mules' running game nonexistent.
Poplar Bluff finished with minus rushing yards and senior tailback Todd Tinsley, coming off a 1,000 yard season in 2003, wanted no part of the Mustangs' bone-jarring defensive effort after halftime.
"We hit them high and low so many times, I thought we were going to snap them in half," said one of the Mustang coaches after the game.
Did Willis or defensive coordinator Chuck Sartain see the effort coming prior to kick off?
"Not really," Willis said. "It was really kind of a somber mood before we went out for warm ups. They (the players) never gave me any indication of what was to come. They just kept telling me not to worry and that they would 'take care of things.'"
The Mules struck first for a 7-0 lead but Forrest City tied it using a Ben Wright touchdown run.
Again, the Mules went up 14-7. Mustang senior Terrance Ware answered with a 48-yard scoring run to tie the game at 14-all.
Just before the half, Wright gave the Mustangs the lead and the defense did the rest.
Junior quarterback Marcus Fair added a touchdown run in the fourth to effectively seal the deal after Mules' kicker Trell Adington (who hit two 50-plus field goals a year ago) missed a chip-shot attempt -- badly.
Gum was forced to go the air again and again in the fourth period. Of the 17 offensive plays run by Poplar Bluff in the final quarter, 12 were passes. He completed only two.
Forrest City junior Jimmy Bean drove the final nail when he intercepted Gum in he final seconds.
"It was definitely unbelievable," Sartain said of the Mustangs' defensive effort. "I had hopes before the game that they would rise to the occasion. They did. It just fell into place."
There was a reason things fell into place.
"We didn't try a whole lot of new things at practice," Sartain offered. "We just kept working on the fundamentals and the kids kept getting better and better each day. On the field, they woke up."
When asked about key players, both Willis and Sartain agreed it was everyone.
"A total team effort," Sartain added. "Everyone did their job. And when you do that you have the chance to make good things happen."
Granted, this was just one game and the Mustangs have a long way to go through a very tough conference schedule, but it is a start and it is a chance for the team to build a good season.
It is too early to say whether or not the Mustangs can keep this kind of effort going for the next nine weeks, but the momentum is certainly there.
The players had plenty of time to enjoy their victory Friday and Saturday. Now, they must start preparing for what appears to be a talented West Helena team that shut out Marianna last Friday.
Can the Mustang players keep their intensity and game one effort going?
"I hope so," Sartain said.
The Forrest City Junior Varsity Mustangs get the opportunity to duplicate the winning efforts put forth by the varsity Mustangs tonight.
On Friday, the Mustangs opened the year with a 27-14 win over Poplar Bluff, Mo. At the same time, the Wynne yellowjackets were handing Searcy a 28-7 loss.
Tonight, the JV Yellowjackets will host the JV Mustangs at Yellowjacket Stadium.
Meanwhile, at Sam Smith Stadium, the Forrest City seventh and eighth-grade Colts will host West Memphis East. Game time is 5 p.m.
On Thursday, the Junior Mustangs will play at Wynne. Game time will be 7 p.m.
The Forrest City Mustang golf team will play their second match of the season today when the squad heads to Cabot.
The four-team match begins at 3:30 p.m.
The late registration period for all Forrest City fall leagues has been extended to Friday, Sept. 10.
The fall leagues include youth flag football, youth soccer, 16-under fast-pitch softball, 12-under youth baseball and adult and co-ed softball.
For more information, call Kenneth Taylor at 633-3667.