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TOKYO – Sam Hopkins set a school record with a 96-yard touchdown pass reception on Friday as the American School In Japan Mustangs won their second straight after dropping their season opener.

The Mustangs used three big plays to clip the Robert D. Edgren Eagles 35-7 at Mustang Valley. Cody Hadden added a 28-yard touchdown reception and later ran an interception back 40 yards for a score.

“They got past our free safety once, they got past our cornerback once and they got a pick six,” said coach Michael Gros of the Eagles (0-3). “The defense played phenomenally except for those big plays.”

ASIJ’s Hayden Jardine went 6-for-11 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted twice. Nathan Kwon ran 16 times for 112 yards and a touchdown, Fred Gustafsson added a 19-yard scoring run and Andrew Stern a 22-yarder.

Edgren was finally able to answer in the third quarter when quarterback Zach Davis ran 1 yard for a touchdown.

Davis had 21 yards on seven carries and was 12-for-24 passing for 102 yards, with Lewis Murphy catching three passes for 43 yards. He and Mert Baysal each intercepted a Jardine pass, while Sayer Austin recovered two fumbles for Edgren.

“We have to catch the ball,” Gros said of the 12 incomplete Davis passes.

Edgren next heads to Zama American (2-1) on Friday, needing to win by 21 points or more to snag Japan’s host berth in the Far East Division II championship game. The Mustangs next visit Nile C. Kinnick (0-3).

ASIJ statistician Tom Jardine contributed to this report.

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