FOOTBALL: Mustangs rout Charlotte, 34-14

Nixon-Smiley eyes were smiling when the Mustangs left Charlotte with a 34-14 win Friday, Sept. 17, in non-district action.

The Mustangs kicked off the scoring when Bradyn Martinez took an option handoff, broke through the line and raced virtually untouched 44 yards for the game’s first TD. The conversion attempt was no good, but Nixon-Smiley led, 6-0.

Not to be outdone, Dario Jantes took a handoff from quarterback Luke Moses on the next possession and rumbled 60 yards, outracing defenders for the second Mustang TD. A two-point conversion run by Martinez made it 14-0, Nixon-Smiley.

Charlotte started to put together a drive, but a blitzing, stunting defense from the Mustangs forced the Trojan quarterback to throw up an ill-advised desperation pass. Nixon-Smiley’s George Rodriguez plucked the wounded duck out of the air and took it to the house for a pick-six touchdown to make it 20-0. The conversion attempt was not successful and this would be the score at the half.

Later in the game, Jantes and Rodriguez showed off their power and speed from the backfield as they drove the ball to another TD, this time with Rodriguez doing the honors.

The final score of the game was another Martinez TD run, this one from 26 yards out, and Martinez would also add another two-point conversion. Charlotte scored twice in the game, but they were too little, too late for the Trojans to have any hope of catching up to the Mustangs.

Jantes ended up with a game-high 166 yards and a TD on 12 carries, while Martinez had 125 yards on just eight totes with the two scores and two two-point conversions. Rodriguez carried eight times for 82 yards and a TD, in addition to his INT return for a TD.

In all, the Mustangs rushed for 384 yards on 38 carries, more than 10 yards per rush, and altogether had 413 yards of total offense. 

Defensively, Nixon-Smiley only allowed 166 total yards to Charlotte, with most of that coming during garbage time. Jantes and Sebastian Ortiz were each in on 11 tackles, while John Garza added eight. The Mustangs also recorded five sacks.

Nixon-Smiley travels to Stockdale this week to take on the Brahmas in a district match that begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24.