(Andre Lyseight/CHSAANow.com)
PARKER — The Ponderosa Mustangs upset No. 9 Pueblo South on Saturday afternoon in a Class 4A matchup.
Ponderosa (1-0) looked like the all around better team in the impressive 24-0 win over Pueblo South (0-1).
The Mustangs started the game clicking perfectly on offense. They were able to take the ball all the way to the 1-yard-line in the first drive and punch it in with junior running back Cole Hall.
Pueblo South had the opposite experience on offense and fumbled the ball on first drive due to a big hit on running back Dennis Ramos. Ponderosa recovered the ball in Colts territory on the 36-yard line and was able to capitalize with a field goal leading 10-0 in the first quarter.
Both teams half were drawing numerous penalties in the first half, what felt like every other play.
Ponderosa did not let that affect its game. But Pueblo South struggled to get anything to work on offense, and when it finally was able to get a breakthrough play, a penalty would call it back.
Towards the end of the second quarter, the Colts looked like they were gaining momentum, but a bad pitch that tumbled back into their territory caused a turnover on downs.
Even with Ponderosa’s dominant first half the Mustangs only led by 10 points.
In the second half, Ramos looked like he was on his way to leading Pueblo South to its first touchdown with multiple first downs, displaying his quick running and catching ability. Yet the Mustangs’ defense once again stepped up and got another stop on fourth down.
Ponderosa was able to take advantage of another turnover and put points on the board with another rushing touchdown from Cole Hall. The Mustangs’ defense put the Colts in check for the rest of the game to notch the shutout.
“Defense was pretty good, couple screw ups in the back end,” said Ponderosa coach Jaron Cohen. “We have kids who run to the ball, Coach O’Brien has got them believing in running with fanatical effort and that cleans up a lot of mistakes.”
The Mustangs finished the game off in the fourth quarter with a pass from quarterback Nick Wilson to receiver Ryder Ghidotti.
“We felt very well prepared with some of our new things on defense, some of the changes on our offense. We have been working for it very hard and our team executed,” Cohen said. “We have to play better every week because we didn’t even play that good, got some stuff to clean up.”
Pueblo South struggled in season opener on both sides of the ball.
“We didn’t play well in any phase, we got a lot to do and a lot to improve on,” said Pueblo South coach Ryan Goddard. “We have good kids in that locker room and good seniors in that locker room. They’ll take care of it, we’ll be alright.”
Pueblo South will look to bounce back from its loss next week against Pueblo East.