For the first twenty-two minutes of the twenty four minutes played in the first half, our Mustangs, with the exception of an interception glitch, totally outplayed Ludlow, our Senior Night opponents.  In the opening stanza we would pick up seven first downs and score on a two-yard Tommy Busby carry, finishing off a 52 yard drive.  Meanwhile Ludlow possessed the ball on two occasions – a 3 and out, and we returned the pass interception favor.  Total domination. For the first ten minutes of the second quarter it was more of the same as Landon Spaulding orchestrated yet another 52 yard drive, putting another six points on the board when Jaxon Miller fell on a ball in the endzone that was knocked loose from Spaulding as he was crossing the goal line.  Neither Ryan Eldridge’s PAT, nor our two-point conversion efforts were good, but we enjoyed a 12-0 lead heading to halftime with Ludlow nowhere close to figuring out the Brossart defense.  With merely 1:34 remaining in the half, Jaylen Stone returned a punt 45 yards, breaking two tackles that would have put the Panthers at mid-field, and scampered up the sideline to paydirt.  Suddenly it was 12-7 when Finn McMillan split the uprights, and neither the half, nor the Panthers scoring had ended.  Spaulding would then be intercepted for the second time, resulting in the Panthers possessing the ball, first- and- goal at the Brossart 4 Yard line.  They would get it as close as a half-yard away before flags became our friend, causing the Panthers to settle for a 22-yard Finn McMillan Field-Goal.  Suddenly, what looked like a Brossart cakewalk, nearly turned into a halftime deficit as the Mustangs demonstrated our school motto of “Charity First,” literally gifting the Panthers those 10 points.  With momentum now in a Ludlow uniform, they would receive the ball to begin the second half. 

That first Ludlow possession in the second half would be pivotal following a near-miss onsides kick attempt by Ben D’Alessandro, as the Mustangs emerged from halftime on a mission, causing loss after loss on that first series forcing the Panthers to punt.  A statement had been made, but we were unable to score ourselves in the third period as the two teams exchanged punches with the score remaining 12-10 with 12 minutes to play in the game.  In the fourth quarter Ludlow blinked first as a 55-yard Landon Spaulding run set up a 3 yard touchdown, culminating a 70 yard drive, as Spaulding called his own number, giving the home team an 18-10, and then 19-10 lead when Ryan Eldridge’s PAT attempt was good, making it a two-possession Brossart lead.  Six minutes later, Ludlow answered as Quarterback Miller Reed hit Jaylen Stone on a 50 yard touchdown pass, and when McMillen’s PAT was good, the Panthers were right back within 2-points at 19-17, with 3:52 to play in the game.  But this time not to worry, Spaulding put together another 51 yard drive resulting in his scoring the icing on the cake touchdown with 33 seconds remaining, giving the home team the 26-17 victory, assuring us a home playoff game with a win over Trimble County next Friday night.

On the night, Landon Spaulding was 9 of 14 through the air for 124 yards, and 2 interceptions.  His Ludlow counterpart, Miller Reed went 5 for 19 for 77 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception.  By land, Spaulding racked up 148 yards on 18 carries that included a pair of touchdowns.

Brossart picked up 16 First Downs to Ludlow’s 10, and also led in the Total Yards by a wide margin 337 yard to the Panthers’ 173.  On the ground, we gained 213 yards while holding Ludlow to merely 96 yards.

For his efforts on our behalf, Senior Quarterback Landon Spaulding was named the BMustangs.com Player of the Game.  His post-game interview can be heard near the end of the broadcast replay.