Lipscomb Academy’s Mustangs collapsed in the second half, allowing the Pope John Paul II Knights to overcome a 14-0 halftime deficit and run away with a 33-14 victory that sinks the Academy to 1-1 on the season.
The August 30 Friday Night Lights-style festivities, dubbed Mustang Stampede, began with a concert at the Lipscomb Academy baseball field. The show features performers from the university CEA program: Kelle Cates, Abby Siler and Ele Ivory. Ivory was a contestant on Season 15 of NBC’s “The Voice” and was guest-coached by Lipscomb alum Kelsea Ballerini while on the show. Ivory also participated in the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest, named for the founder of The Beatles.
All the Mustang Stampede fun began at 4:30 and continued on well into the night as the crowd moved over to the football field, where thing took a turn for the worse.
The first quarter remained scoreless as both defenses found answers to both the rushing and passing game. However, it was the Academy that was threatening as the first quarter came to a close. Although the Mustangs were unable to score on the half-yard line and turned the ball over on downs, the Knights began their drive at the six-inch line and were unable to recover from this horrible field position.
The Mustangs capitalized on their favorable field position to score twice in the second quarter behind Kyle McNamara’s and Jayden Lyles’s touchdowns, giving Lipscomb a 14-0 lead coming into the second half.
The field position advantage favored the Knights in the second half as a high snap leading to a fumble set up JPII within the five-yard line for a quick score, cutting Lipscomb’s lead in half.
The mistakes continued for the Academy as penalties and missed opportunities cost them the lead and the game.
As the Mustangs struggled to regain their first-half performance, the Knights were happy to forget the first half and seemed to finally gain an offensive rhythm. A huge part of this second half success is due to running back Antwan Roberts, who led JPII’s offense with a dominant running performance for which the Mustangs had no answer as JPII scored 33 unanswered points.
Division 2 play continues next week for the Mustangs as they travel down the road to take on FRA.
For Mustang football coverage, continue to check in with Lumination Network.
Gallery by Mckenzi Harris.