When the two teams met at the junction again on Friday night in Le Grand, the Mustangs found the road to victory, 7-0 winners over the Comets at East Marshall High School.

“We’ve been talking about this game since before the season,” Lee said. “We felt like last year, that was a turning point for them, and for us. … This is a big one for us. I realize it’s only Week 1, but as far as attitude and effort and what it means for the program, it’s bigger than I can say.”

Carter Lavender’s 45-yard touchdown reception on a pass from Jacob Farrington in the second quarter, plus an Eli Burns point-after kick, stood strong as the only points the Mustangs needed on Friday.

The win ends a 12-game winless streak for East Marshall dating back to 2021.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - BCLUW’s Cael Keller, right, runs for a gain as East Marshall defensive back Kaleb Grant (15) looks to make a tackle during Friday’s football game in Le Grand.

“There wasn’t much momentum coming off last year,” said Farrington, a junior and one of four captains for the Mustangs. “But it’s a new team, a new season, and we were ready to go tonight.”

At the start of the second half, BCLUW found success with a “wildcat” formation that had Owen Myers or Cael Keller taking direct snaps and making plays in the open field. The 52-yard drive ended in heartbreak for the Comets, fumbling a snap on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line.

And as injuries mounted for BCLUW on a hot August night in Le Grand, East Marshall chewed away at the clock.

“It’s no secret that our depth is not there,” BCLUW coach Jeff Pikna said. “We had to put some inexperienced guys in, you know, it’s no fault of their own. They just weren’t prepped for the moment correctly by me.”

It was the fourth time in the game that the Comets had gotten inside the red zone only to turn the ball over. BCLUW also fumbled the ball away in East Marshall territory three times in the first quarter.

A controversial final play where Jacob Farrington appeared to have the ball stripped away by BCLUW’s Carter Gallentine with no time remaining on the clock was ruled on the field as Farrington being down while Gallentine ran into the opposing end zone.

But Pikna didn’t want to use that as an excuse for the early turnovers.

“I think our guys thought this was maybe a cupcake game, and I tried to stress before the game that wasn’t the case,” Pikna said. “We can’t come in here unprepared and beat anybody.”

Pikna offered high praise for his team’s defensive effort, holding a team to seven points for the first time in three years. The Comets take on another familiar foe next Friday against AGWSR for BCLUW’s home opener.

“That was probably the best defensive game in my time here at BCLUW,” Pikna said. “We maybe could have forced more turnovers. But we need to take care of the ball.

East Marshall burned seven minutes of clock in the fourth quarter with hard running from Connor Hassin, Drew Wheater and Xavier Slifer, combined with Farrington hitting his groove and finding receivers when necessary to move the chains.

“Throwing and catching is a strength of our team,” Lee said. “We had a couple opportunities early on where we didn’t connect but Carter’s a really nice athlete that’s got a knack for being in the right place at the right time and Jake settled down a bit at the end of the first half and into the second half and showed he can throw the ball really well.”

Lavender added an interception on BCLUW’s final offensive drive, which came one play after a tackle for loss by Johnathan Edel. The Mustangs welcome Saydel to Le Grand next week.

“We’ve got the momentum now,” Farrington said. “We just have to stay focused and be prepared for Saydel.”