Mustangs top Bulldogs to grab B East lead

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Jake Cotter heads to the end zone to score what proved to be the winning touchdown in Medina/Lyndonville’s key 42-28 victory over defending champion Alden this evening at Vets Park.

Putting together a huge second half rally, Medina/Lyndonville outlasted defending champion Alden 42-28 this evening at Vets Park to take over sole possession of the B East Division lead.

Trailing 21-8 at the half, the Mustangs scored touchdowns on 5 of 6 second half possessions including two by Jalin Cooper and one each by Izaiah Rhim, Eric Neace and Jake Cotter to claim the wild win and stay perfect at 3-0 in the B East Division as Alden drops to 2-1.

“It’s a big win for us. The kids have really worked hard and they really deserve it,” said Mustangs Coach Eric Valley. “I challenged them at half-time and told them they had a great opportunity before them in the second half and they came back out and really executed.”

Rhim started the Mustangs comeback with a 6 yard touchdown run with 3:33 to go in the third quarter cutting the deficit to 21-14. Neace keyed that drive with runs of 17 and 9 yards and an 11 yard pass reception from Rhim.

The Mustangs defense then came up with a huge turnover as Lucas Porter recovered an Alden fumble at the Bulldogs 38 on the first snap after the ensuing kickoff.

Capitalizing on the opportunity, the Mustangs quickly scored on a 1 yard TD run by Neace and a two-point conversion carry by Rhim to grab the lead at 22-21 with 1:08 to go in the third quarter.

The Mustangs upped the advantage to 28-21 on a 14 yard touchdown run by Cooper on a big fourth down and 8 play with 9:15 to go in the fourth quarter. Cotter had runs of 15 and 38 yards to key that drive.

Mason Lewis comes up with a key interception for the Mustangs as he takes the ball away from Bulldogs receiver Christian Snell.

However, Alden pulled back even at 28-28 pm a 13 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bryan Cybulski to Christian Snell and an extra point kick by Riley Pastuszynski with 6:52 remaining, a score set up by a fumble recovery at the Mustangs 13 yard line.

The Mustangs though answered the challenge driving 66 yards in 9 plays with the ensuing kickoff to regain the lead for good at 34-28 on a 16 yard touchdown run by Cotter with 3:19 remaining.

The Mustangs defensive unit then came up with another big turnover on an interception by Mason Lewis on Alden’s first snap after the ensuing kickoff.

“Our defense has really been solid for us giving our offense good scoring opportunities and in the second half they really buckled down and played more physical,” said Valley.

Cooper then put a firm lock on the Mustangs big victory when he broke loose on a 60 yard touchdown run with just 48 seconds remaining.

Alden grabbed  7-0 lead at the outset on a 26 yard Cybulski to Snell touchdown pass.

The Mustangs rebounded to take the lead at 8-7 on an 11 yard touchdown run and two point conversion carry by Rhim.

The Bulldogs though countered with a pair of touchdowns on a 67 yard run by Snell and a 19 yard pass from Snell to Jason Funk to regain what proved to be a short lived 21-8 lead at the half.

Cotter finished with a total of 133 yards rushing, Cooper 127 and Neace 73.

On defense, Porter led the way with 9 tackles ad Ronnie Koonce and Dawson Joy both had 6.

The Mustangs next host University Prep of Rochester in a non league Homecoming game next Friday.

Mustangs quarterback Izaiah Rhim reaches over the goal line to score a two-point conversion.