MidValleySports.Com

Muir quarterback Dejon Williams, always with his eyes downfield. (Photo by Doug Brown)

By Joe Torosian

(Burbank)- No one liked the officiating, the home team didn’t like what was going on with the clock, Burbank wasn’t happy with its offense, and Muir was trying to survive the loss of 16 players, including three starters on the offensive line, to grades.

On top of that, it just wasn’t a pretty game.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” said Mustang HC John Hardy about the job his team and quarterback Dejon Williams did in getting a 24-17 victory on Friday night.

Williams threw three touchdowns, and if anything can be more important than that he broke the back of the Bulldogs defense by converting nine consecutive third & fourth down situations midway through the contest.

He also completed nine consecutive passes to start the second the half, two of them going for touchdowns. A 7-yard scoring pass to Speedy Claxton gave Muir a 15-10 lead, and a 69-yard bomb to Taeon Mason struck paydirt and killed the will of Burbank.

“He’s just our guy that makes things happen,” said Hardy.

The Bulldogs came into the contest averaging 48 points a game, but they found themselves overmatched by the Mustang defense that wrecked havoc on seven second half possessions. The Stangs forced two punts, two turnovers on downs, a safety, four sacks, and ended a Burbank opportunity for a deep pass on the game’s final play with a sack.

***Muir quarterback Dejon Williams completed 17 of 29 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed/scrambled for 64 yards on 11 attempts.

***Burbank scored first with a 42-yard field goal by Herry Avetisyan with 9:17 to play in the opening period.

***Twenty-seven penalty flags were thrown in the game.

***The Mustangs took the lead with 13 seconds remaining in the first when Williams connected with tight end Brian Reyes for 11-yards and a touchdown. Martin Caro blocked the point after. Muir led 6-3.

***Bulldogs running back James Williams carried the ball 18 times for 67 yards. He also caught three passes for 42 yards, but he was held without a touchdown for the first time this season.

***With 1:26 to play in the first half Burbank retook the lead when Ryan Meredith scored on a 1-yard run. The touchdown drive was keyed by a 34-yard pass to Oharjee Brown. (It would be Brown’s only reception of the evening.

***Down 10-6, Williams patched a drive together from his team’s 37. A scramble and a pitch out to Claxton produced 20-yards. Two plays later Williams was flushed out of the pocket and gained 18-yards reaching the Bulldog 25. There was 46 seconds on the clock when the play began…and the same amount when it concluded. A pair of completions to Claxton, an incomplete pass, and another clock snafu, left Muir at the 13 yard line. On the next play Williams rolled out of the pocket again and took off down the sideline. As a defender approached him Williams hurdled the tackler just inside the five. The ball flew out of his hand and appeared to go out of the end zone. The ball was returned to the Mustangs when the officials explain that there had been an inadvertent whistle so there was no fumble. They did penalize Muir for hurdling, but it appeared no flag had been thrown. On third down and ten Williams next pass was incomplete. On fourth down a 30-yard field goal barely cleared the cross bar to make it 10-9 at the break.

***Muir’s Speedy Claxton rushed for 43 yards and added 9 catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.

***Burbank quarterback Ryan Meredith completed just 7 of 23 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown.

***”We didn’t get any help tonight from the refs.”—Mustang HC John Hardy.

***Following the 69-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Mason, the Mustangs Anthony Robinson added a sack/safety of Meredith to increase the advantage to 24-10 with 7:55 to play in the fourth quarter.

***Burbank started on the offensive line: LT: Michael Wong. LG: Mark Salgado. C: Daniel Murphy. RG: Max Montoya. RT: Jordan Meza.

***Muir started on the offensive line: LT: Jose Najera. LG: Michael Fulton. C: Jesus Vasquez. RG: Anthony Hernandez. RT: Steve Lopez.

***The Bulldogs closed the gap with 1:17 to play when Meredith hit Tony Toledo for a 38-yard touchdown pass on a fourth down and 22.

***The onside kick was unsuccessful, Muir poorly managed the final 1:14, Burbank got the ball back at its own 45 for one play…but it ended with another sack of Meredith.

***Burbank (2-2 in league, 5-2 overall) hosts Glendale (0-4 in league, 2-5 overall) next week.

***Muir (4-0 in league, 6-1 overall) waits for Arcadia (3-1 in league, 5-2 overall) to come to town.