BY ADAM WAYBRIGHT
Stockdale came into their contest Friday night at home against Sunnyside with the hopes of stretching their winning streak to three straight games.
The Mustangs’ strong first-half performance pushed them to a 29-20 victory behind impressive performances by Junior Quarterback Jack Kaiser (3 TDs) and Senior WR Jeremiah Gradowitz (2 TDs).
That duo connected on Stockdale’s first drive of the game on a 4th and 5 from 15 yards out when Kaiser found Gradowitz in the back of the endzone to put them on top, 0-8.
“The coaches put us in a great position to execute,” Gradowitz said. “Shout out to the big boys up front too.”
On Sunnyside’s ensuing drive, Stockdale’s Elijah Hudson knocked the ball free in the backfield to set up a recovery by Miles Anthony who took it the distance for a 45-yard touchdown.
“It was the greatest feeling,” Anthony said. “But, I couldn’t have done it without my 10 teammates.”
Sunnyside responded with a 43-yard touchdown with 5:30 left in the half to cut the lead to 10.
Stockdale’s dynamic duo of Kaiser and Gradowitz got the Mustangs into the red zone once more after a 42-yard play but they weren't done there. They capped the drive off with a 20-yard strike from Jack to Jeremiah to go up 23-6 going into the half.
“Our line was giving me all the time in the world and (Jeremiah) getting open was pretty nice,” Kaiser said.
“Maintaining focus” was what Stockdale’s Head Coach Brett Shelton preached to his players after last week’s disappointing 2nd half performance against Independence and reiterated it tonight.
“The first three quarters were great. We’ve got to finish that 4th quarter. A win is a win but we’ve still got a lot of room to get better.” Shelton said.
Jack Kaiser hit WR Larry Brown in the end zone for the second week straight with 10:55 remaining in the game but the 2nd half struggles remained true for the Mustangs.
The Mustangs were outscored 14-6 in the 2nd half and were not pleased with that performance late in the game.
“The 4th quarter was not good so hopefully we can improve in our next game,” Jack Kaiser said.
Stockdale’s next game will come October 4th against BHS whom the Mustangs haven’t beat in over a decade.
