The PCM Mustangs opened up with a bang for their season opener, defeating the Newton Cardinals, 44-18, in a game heard live on the KRLS3 stream Friday.

There were plenty of different vibes throughout the evening in Monroe. While the Mustangs held firm control most of the game, there was a stretch in the first and second quarter where Newton had virtually everything fall their way. RB Nate Maki picked up a botched handoff and turned it into a 45 yard TD, the longest play of the game, cutting into the Mustangs’ 15-0 lead. They were on the door to potentially tie the game on the next possession, but a lost fumble killed the Cardinals’ momentum. It was all PCM from there, scoring a touchdown on the ensuing possession. They would not let off the gas.

Running back Aiden Anderson led the way with his hat trick, finding the end zone three times in the first half. He went out for a bit, dealing with some cramps in the 3rd quarter, but returned late in the fourth, just in time to stand next to quarterback Augie Stock during victory formation.

The Mustangs biggest issue was their special teams. Punter Brayden Berger had two of his attempts blocked, leading to 11 points for the visitors. There was also miscommunication in the return game as Jacob Van Winkle picked up a kickoff that was destined to be a touchback and only got back to the 15-yard line. A couples of snafus aside, it was a strong performance all around for PCM.
PCM head coach Greg Bonnett takes this opening game in stride and knows there are definitely things that need to be cleaned up.

“I think overall we came out and we were physical. We executed our game plan with success. There were things that, this first week, got to clean up, a little bit sloppy at times. Special teams obviously got to get better. I think that was one of the areas where we drastically need to improve on, but overall we had a lot of playmakers out there and guys are flying around. I thought we conditioned well for being the first game of the season. Guys just flew around, made a bunch of plays when they really needed to. To me, it was just exciting to get our team back out there, to get the crowd here, just be able to play under the lights again. Every game is a gift and I’m not going to take it for granted.”

The 1-0 Mustangs hit the road for a short trip to the 0-1 Pella Christian Eagles next week. The game can be heard on 92.1 KRLS.