Houston won the coin toss and chose to defer to the second half. Sr WR Chris Collins received the opening kickoff and returned it out to the Dragon 38 yard line where a Mustang player made a touchdown saving tackle. Sr QB Jason Smith tested the Houston defense with handoffs to Sr RBs Casey Shockey and Noel Moyes. Facing third and four, Smith found Sr WR Lane Maynard who climbed a ladder to snag the pass for a twelve yard gain and a first down. The Houston coaching strategy of deferring the opening kickoff seemed to be backfiring as the Dragons continued to drive the ball down the field, effectively mixing up the run and pass. On second and ten at the 21 yd line, Sr WR Joe Crabtree made an excellent sliding catch down to the 15 yard line. After losing 5 yds on option right, the Dragons opted to call in Sr K Lane Maynard to attempt a 37 yard field goal. Maynard’s kick was true and the Dragons led 3-0 at the 7:05 mark in the first quarter.

Following the kickoff, the Mustangs put the ball in play at their own 40 yard line. The right side of the Dragon defense comprised of Jr LB Jacob Hunter, Jr LB Eric Burrus, Jr DT Laine Halfacre crashed into the ball carrier five yards behind the line of scrimmage for an apparent loss on the play. A late flag signaled a 5 yd facemask penalty against the Dragons. A Dragon offside penalty enabled the Mustangs to QB sneak it for a first down. A fired up Eric Burrus caught the Houston RB at the Collierville 48 but a flag against the Mustangs moved the ball back to the 33. On second and six, LB Eric Burrus slammed the Mustang running back for a one yard loss. A third down misfired pass forced Houston to attempt a fourth down field goal that sailed wide right.

The Dragons took over on the 20 yd line and a first down holding penalty against the Dragons put them in a second and twelve from the 18 yd line. The next play saw the Houston Defense recover a fumble to give their offense valuable field position. The Dragon defense was up to the task….on the series Sr DE Grant Hall fought off his blocker and stood the Mustang ball carrier up for a one yard loss followed by LB Eric Burrus’ tackle behind the line scrimmage forcing Houston into a 37 yard attempt. The kick was good and with less than a minute remaining in the first period, the score was tied 3-3.

After the opening kick off scare, the Mustangs chose to squib kick the ball and WR Chris Collins returned it to the 30 yard line. Facing third down and twelve from the 40, QB Jason Smith found Sr RB Noel Moyes streaking down the middle of the field but the Houston safety arrived at the same time as the ball and broke up the pass play to force a punt. On first down, Houston’s Jeremy Calhoun broke through the middle of the Collierville defensive line and found no secondary run support. Only a determined Lane Maynard saved a touchdown as he tracked down Calhoun at the Collierville 9 yard line. Two plays later, the Dragon defense forced a fumble giving the Collierville offense first and ten from their own 7.

The offense was unable to get untracked and was forced to punt from the endzone. A Houston rusher ran unchecked from the left end position and was able to partially block the punt. For the third time in the game, Houston’s offense had the ball within ten yards of the Dragon goal line. Finally, facing fourth and one, Houston was able to inch the ball over the goal line to give the Mustangs the lead, 10-3 with 4:38 remaining in the first half.

Collierville took the following kick-off out to the 26, where Jr RB Jason Goins found three yards then consecutive QB sacks forced the Dragons to punt from the 20. Maynard connected on a 46 yard punt to push the Mustangs back to their own 32. Jr LB Eric Burrus made two outstanding plays on the defensive series. On first down he shot the gap for an apparent loss on the play but the officials spotted the ball for no gain. Then Burrus sacked the QB for a loss allowing the Dragons to end the half trailing 10-3.

Having deferred the opening kickoff, the Mustangs put the ball in play with first and ten from their own 22. On second and short, Calhoun again broke through the initial line of defenders only to be tracked down again on a valiant effort by Sr S Lane Maynard. A personal foul on the play moved the ball to the Dragon 9 yd line. On the next play, Houston ran into the endzone to record their second touchdown of the game. The PAT was good and Houston led 17-3 with one minute having elapsed in the third quarter.

Noel Moyes took the kickoff and made a good return out to the Dragon 43 yd line. Movement on the offensive line pushed the ball back to the 38 where the Dragons faced first and fifteen. The Houston defense began to exert themselves on the Collierville protection and after another QB sack, the Dragons punted. The Dragon defense continued to fight back and forced Houston into three downs and a punt on the strong effort of LB Noel Moyes and DT Michael DeVinney.

Starting from their own 24, the offense could not control the fired up Houston offense. After another sack and two zero yardage plays the Dragons were forced to punt. Houston took the ball and put together a seven play drive that resulted in a field goal that extended their lead to 20-3 with 1:29 remaining in the third quarter. The Dragon offense appeared to put together a drive when six plays into the series a fumbled snap led to a Houston turnover. Again the Defense rose to the challenge and forced the Houston offense to punt away. The Dragons put together a nine play drive highlighted by a 23 yard pass and run combination of Smith to Crabtree. Sr All-Purpose Player Lane Maynard kicked a 32 yard field goal to whittle the score to 20-6 at the 4:54 mark in the fourth quarter.

Following the Dragon kick-off, Jeremy Calhoun again broke into the Collierville secondary carrying the ball all the way down to the Dragon 15 where he was caught by the ever-hustling Lane Maynard and a determined Noel Moyes. Two plays later, the Mustangs scored from 13 yards out to close out the scoring at 27-6 with 2:50 left in the game.

From the opening coin toss and deferral, Houston’s defense believed they could control the Collierville offensive attack and they lived up to their expectation. They were able to effectively disrupt the Dragon offensive scheme and stay in the face of QB Jason Smith all night. Within the disappointing loss, special recognition was earned Jr LB Eric Burrus and Sr All Purpose Player Lane Maynard for the heart and leadership that they exhibited in the loss.

The Dragons load the buses this Friday afternoon for a big non-region match up at Bolton. This will be the first re-match with Bolton since the hard fought game from November 7, 2003. In the 2003 game, the Dragons fought a tough Bolton team and some questionable officiating to fall in the last fifteen seconds of the game, 28-25. Travel and support the Dragons.