Just when the Mustangs thought they had the Kent County Cobras of the Junior Diamond Football League on the ropes late in the fourth quarter on Feb. 17, quarterback Darren Warren bobbed and weaved his all — all the way for an 87-yard touchdown run, to put the game out of reach.
Warren’s run gave his Cobras a 16-8 win and handed the Mustangs their second loss in three weeks.
Coastal Point • SUBMITTED:
Once Elijah Foreman squares his shoulders upfield, he's hard to stop. Foreman scored the Mustangs' only touchdown on a 58-yard scamper.The Cobras held a 2-0 advantage until the fourth quarter when Mustangs running back Elijah Foreman broke a 58-yard touchdown run up the middle to give them an 8-2 lead.
Mustangs head coach Jerry Kraft indicated that he felt confident leading by six as time ticked away in the fourth — especially the way his defense had been playing.
They’d caused the Cobras to play five three-and-outs and turned them over on downs once.
“I thought that, when we went down and scored, that we had the game won,” Kraft admitted. “Our defense is playing great football.”
Warren finished the game with a game-high 138 rushing yards but was unsuccessful for much of the game through the air – that was, until he completed his first two passes to reclaim the lead.
Warren had gone 0-9 throughout the first three quarters but finally was able to connect with his receivers and capped an 11-play drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kwame Mimms on fourth down and three.
Warren then punched in the two-point conversion for the 10-8 lead.
The Mustangs had a golden opportunity to score with four minutes remaining, following a 37-yard punt return by Foreman to the Cobras 27-yard line. But they failed to get the first down on a fourth-and-four running play and turned the ball over on downs.
Two plays later, Warren galloped all the way to the end zone for the eventual game-winning score.
“On offense, (Warren) was pretty much their show,” Kraft said. “But we had a couple key injuries that opened up some holes (in our defense) and they were able to exploit that.”
Mustangs safety Ryan Morse suffered a concussion in the win over the 49ers. Linebacker Matt Donahue left the game in the second quarter against the Cobras because of a severe concussion and very well may never play football again, according to Kraft.
The Mustangs (1-2) are set to host the Harlem Park Buckeyes (0-2) at Selbyville Town Park (Southern Delaware School of the Arts) on Feb. 24 at 11 a.m.
The Buckeyes lost their last game, 6-0, to the Cobras on Feb. 10.