The Aldine defense held Spring Woods on six fourth-down plays, making the difference in a 31-10 victory Saturday night at Thorne Stadium. After starting the season 0-5, the Mustangs have earned back-to-back wins in District 19-5A.

“We are playing better and getting better. Right now we believe we are 2-0 in district not 2-2,” Aldine coach Bob Jones said. “We still have to play MacArthur, Eisenhower, and Nimitz in hopes that if we play well we’ll have a chance to get into the playoffs.”

Aldine established dominance early. Kicker Arnaldo Aguilar got things started with a 30-yard field goal to put the Mustangs on the board. After the Aldine defense stuffed Spring Woods on two consecutive drives, a score was soon to follow.

Aldine’s Tyson Williams faked a punt on fourth-and-2 to pick up a first down just cross midfield. A few plays later, quarterback Darron Thomas connected with Tavon Bolden for a 33-yard touchdown strike.

The Mustang defense came up big again after a fourth-down sack to force a turnover on downs. Running back Otis Wiley’s 14-yard run and Williams’ big gain on a reverse, set up a 5-yard touchdown run by Wiley with 4 minutes remaining in the first half.

”We probably played better than we did all year offensively,” Jones said. “I think our defense played pretty well with the fourth down stops. Spring Woods is a good football team.”

Spring Woods (0-7, 0-4) did not go away quietly. Tiger quarterback Sammy Bissett connected with Greg Burks streaking down the sideline for a first down. That, along with a run by Tramarcus Williams, set up a 28-yard field goal by Jose Razo at the end of the half. This brought the halftime score to 17-3 in favor of Aldine.

With a 14-point advantage at halftime, the Mustangs wasted no time putting more points on the board. Thomas completed passes to Clyde Green and Bolden to move the chains. But the 29-yard run by Wiley set up a Thomas-to-Williams touchdown pass from 21 yards out.

On the next drive, Spring Woods was just crossing midfield when Aldine’s Dontae Williams came out of the pile with a fumble recovery. This turnover resulted in a 14-yard touchdown run by Thomas midway through the third quarter, which was ultimately the Mustangs’ final touchdown.

Mustang defenders Phillip Dean and Anthony Lewis both recorded sacks during the Tigers’ next drive to give the ball back to their offense. Then it was Spring Woods’ defense stopping Aldine on a fourth-and-14 down and distance.

Later in the fourth quarter, Spring Woods’ Corey Ardoin intercepted a Mustang pass and ran it back inside Mustang territory. Deep in their own territory, the Mustang defense kept the Tigers out of the end zone at the goal line.

After Aldine’s offense came up short, the Tigers put together a scoring drive. With Spring Woods in good field position, running back Joel Wright found a crease in the Mustang defense and scored on a 20-yard run.

On Aldine’s next drive, the Tigers’ Ardoin recovered a fumble to give his team one last chance at a final score. With seconds remaining in the game, Tiger quarterback Cody Jarboe found Josh Kiker and T. Williams both for 15-yard completions.

But with five seconds left, Spring Woods was denied at the goal line to end the game.

GAME LEADERS
Passing:
A – Sammy Bissett 5-of-9, 64 yards
SW – Darron Thomas 8-of-13, 89 yards, 2 TD

Rushing:
A – Otis Wiley 18/130/TD
SW – Joel Wright 8/58/TD

Receiving:
A – Tyson Williams 6/49 yards/TD
SW – Greg Burks 2/44 yards

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