Menwith Hill's Edward Barrera rushes in the Division IV title game against Hanau. The Mustangs lost the game 58-20. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
Menwith Hill's Edward Barrera rushes in the Division IV title game against Hanau. The Mustangs lost the game 58-20. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
Menwith Hill's Le'Shawn Adams gets away from a Hanau defender in the Mustangs' Division IV title game loss against the Panthers. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
Menwith Hill's Christopher Cruickshank, left, put a stop to a rush by Hanau's Gerald Baeza. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
Mustang quarterback Scottie Setzer sprints away from Hanau's Kevin Perdue, in Menwith Hill's Division IV title game loss against the Panthers. (Michael Abrams / S&S)
All good things eventually must come to an end.
So it goes for the boys of the Menwith Hill Mustangs football team.
After a season that saw them go 3-0 in Division IV action, granting the school its first championship appearance, the Mustangs fell to division rival Hanau 58-20 at the DODDS-Europe Division IV football championship last weekend in Germany.
The excitement of playing in a championship atmosphere aside, team members say they gave it their all playing the nine-man game that is the signature of Division IV action.
“In the end, no one gave up,” running back and captain Le’Shawn Adams said after the game, where he scored two of the Mustangs’ three TDs. “That’s the main thing.”
Senior leadership played a big part in the success of the season, coach Pete Resnick said last week.
The size of Adams and guys on the line brought a sense of confidence to games played against division rivals and larger schools that play the standard 11-man ball, Resnick said.
“With the size of the kids we have, we’re like Goliath against these other schools,” Resnick said. “They’re like, ‘my god, how do they get those players at Menwith?’”
The small size of the school is good in a way, as bonds are that much stronger on the team, senior fullback Chris Cruickshank said last week.
“Everybody in this little school comes out for football and gives everything they’ve got,” he said. “That’s always a good thing. There’s a few individuals that do extra good, but they’re nothing without the line and the line’s nothing without them, so it all works together.”
In the end, it was a disappointing end to a memorable season, Adams said after the game.
“We had our chances and missed opportunities,” Resnick said in his post-game interview. “I’m glad our guys didn’t give up and still kept fighting even though things weren’t bouncing our way.”
