TOKYO – Whether catching passes or running back kicks on special teams, Devoney Stanley with the ball in his hands meant points for Nile C. Kinnick on Saturday.

The junior caught a 31-yard scoring pass, returned the opening second-half kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and the Red Devils hung on to edge American School In Japan 29-22 at Mustang Valley.

“He was the star of the game for us,” coach Dan Joley said of Stanley, who racked up 173 total yards on the pass catch, kick return and three punt returns.

With the win, the Red Devils improved to 2-1 overall and 1-1 against Division I competition, jumping back into the title-game race following their 13-6 loss Sept. 17 against Kubasaki. The Mustangs fell to 3-1 and 1-1, after having outscored their first three opponents 126-0.

“It was a great, physical football game. Both of these teams always go at it tough,” Joley said. “We needed this one. There aren’t that many games in the schedule, so every game is important.”

Chauncey Jamerson contributed 92 yards and two touchdown runs, including a 74-yarder in the second quarter, on six carries.

Kacey Walker, the starting quarterback, shook off injuries to run 12 times for 35 yards and went 5-for-8 for 97 yards passing. Backup QB Brad Deibel tossed the 31-yard TD pass to Stanley.

Walker “was dinged up pretty good, they came after him,” Joley said. “He would come off the field, tie his shoelaces tighter and just go back out there. He’s a tough kid.”

Defense also played a key role for the Red Devils, who recorded 6½ sacks and two fumble recoveries. Dwayne Lyon and Kento Jenista each had a sack and a fumble recovery. Jamerson didn’t have any takeaways, but he defended eight passes against ASIJ’s top receivers.

“The defense came to play today,” Joley said. “We beat a good football team. The kids proved to themselves that they’re a good football team.”

Kinnick led throughout, going up 7-0 on Stanley’s touchdown catch. He sparked a 22-0 run by the Red Devils with his kick-return touchdown, and Jamerson gave Kinnick its biggest lead, 29-6, with a 4-yard TD run.

The Mustangs didn’t quit, though, getting two fourth-quarter scoring runs from Andrew Howe, following Coe Laughlin’s second-quarter TD run.

Howe led the Mustangs with 108 yards on 15 carries. Jo Tsusaka added eight carries for 70 yards and Laughlin ran 10 times for 49 yards. Jack Ambrosino went 7-for-23 for 100 yards.

“We gave up some big plays; that hurt us,” Mustangs coach John Seevers said. “We lost to a better team. They have good skills players. They played a good football game.”

Kinnick and ASIJ each trail two-time D-I champion Kadena in the large-school standings by 1½ games.

The Red Devils next visit Yokota for the latter’s homecoming game on Friday; kickoff is at 7 p.m. “They’re ready to go back to work on Monday,” Joley said.

ASIJ gets a week bye before a two-week stretch of games against Okinawa teams. The Mustangs host Kadena on Oct. 15 with kickoff at 1 p.m., followed by a road trip to Kubasaki on Oct. 22.

“We’ve talked to the kids; they know what they have to do,” Seevers said.

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