PREP FOOTBALL 2016: Rain, but no parade for over-matched St. Vincent Mustangs

Fort Bragg’s Timberwolves marched onto Yarborough Field, marched over St. Vincent’s Mustangs and quietly left town with its undefeated North Central League I record still intact.|

There was no St. Vincent parade for it to rain on Saturday afternoon.

Fort Bragg’s Timberwolves marched onto Yarborough Field, marched over St. Vincent’s Mustangs and quietly left town with its undefeated North Central League I record intact. Fort Bragg scored on its first four possessions en route to a 56-7 victory that improved its record to 7-1 overall and 6-0 in league. St. Vincent is still searching for its first NCL I win after six tries. Overall. the Mustangs are 1-6.

The contest was over long before the rain came just before halftime, turning the second half into a running-clock affair, with both sides gamely trying to play on through a drenching downpour.

Fort Bragg kicked off with a busload of advantages. For starters, the Timberwolves were almost across the board 20 to 70 pounds heavier per man (and that is no exaggeration) than the Mustangs. They also had the hosts outnumbered 3-to-1.

The Timberwolves not only had size and number advantages, they are also extremely talented. Fullback Trystin Strickland is a 240-pound mobile redwood tree. He ran through trying but over-matched Mustang defenders. Quarterback Lucas Triplet has a howitzer for an arm, and when he wasn’t completing passes, he was scrambling for key first downs. Running back Shane Giaccani was the fastest man on the field, as he proved by returning a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.

Despite all that, there were a few bright spots for the Mustangs.

The highlight for the home side came early on in the second quarter when Tony Garcia-Bedoya took a Fort Bragg kickoff at the St. Vincent 16, busted right through a couple of early tackle attempts and raced 84 yards for a St. Vincent touchdown.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Giaccani took the ensuing Mustang kickoff back 99 yards for a return touchdown.

Although Fort Bragg dogged St. Vincent’s standout receiver Michael Davis all over the field, the senior did manage to grab two passes for nine yards, extending his streak of receiving to 17 straight games, including every game last season.

Faced with the Timberwolves’ size and strength advantages, the Mustangs tried their best to pull some sort of a miracle out of their helmets. They opened the game with a vintage hook-and-ladder play, with quarterback Will Davis passing to brother Michael, who pitched back to Garcia-Bedoya. The play surprised the Timberwolves to the tune of 20 yards.

Will Davis had a 13-yard run, but the next three plays netted one yard and Fort Bragg dominance was established.

St. Vincent linebacker Brian Giron, who at 160 pounds was almost 100 pounds smaller than Strickland, led the Mustangs in tackles with 13, playing a gutsy game against the massive Fort Bragg fullback, who had 185 rushing yards on just 12 carries. Linebacker Nick Murphy also had a good defensive game with nine tackles.

There just wasn’t much else for the Mustangs to cheer about as the only parade for the rain to drench was Fort Bragg’s parade to the end zone.

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