ELDON, Mo. - The Eldon Mustangs surged into the start of Missouri's high school district competition on a winning note Friday night, beating Tri-County Conference rival Hallsville 35-8.
It was the Mustangs' Senior Night.
The Mustangs close out the regular season with a 5-4 overall record and 4-3 conference mark. The Hallsville Indians fall to 4-5 and 2-5.
Eldon now awaits MSHSAA's official announcement on its first-round Class 3 District 3 opponent next Friday. Following Friday's game, Mustang officials felt they would likely be traveling to Springfield to open district competition against Springfield Catholic.
A couple of long, time-consuming drives highlighted Eldon's opening scores of each half against Hallsville.
A 16-play, 63-yard drive that ate up nearly eight minutes of the game clock ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by fullback Isaiah Parsons with 2:05 remaining in the first quarter. The PAT attempt was wide left, however.
There would not be another score until the final seconds of the first half, after Eldon marched 59 yards on 11 plays. The first pass completion of the night by senior quarterback Austin Kempker - who returned to the lineup after missing two games with an ankle injury - resulted in a 12-yard TD pass to senior wideout Morgan Anderson. Junior Trenton Dillon ran in the two-point conversion to make the halftime score 14-0.
Eldon took the kickoff to begin the second half and drove 68 yards on 15 plays in 8:13. A 19-yard run by Dillon off a fake punt kept the drive alive, and 10 plays later Parsons scored his second TD from three yards out. The PAT attempt failed.
Inside the final minute of the third quarter, Eldon blocked a Hallsville punt. The Indians pounced on the loose ball in the end zone for a safety, and it was 22-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, after getting the ball back on the safety, Kempker again struck through the air. He found senior tight end Jacob Whittle wide open behind the Hallsville secondary. Whittle sprinted in for the touchdown reception covering 45 yards.
Inside the final four minutes, the two teams traded touchdowns. Hallsville junior Graham Moser scored on a 13-yard run and, with 27 seconds left, Eldon junior Jordan Metz answered with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Junior tailback Isaiah Merida rushed for 125 yards on 23 carries to power the Mustang attack while Parsons finished with 43 yards on 11 attempts and two TDs.
Kempker completed 3-of-6 passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns.