Broncos host first round of playoffs Friday

After a rough start to the season, the Mustang football team is exactly where they wanted.

Mustang will kick-off its playoff run Friday when they host Edmond Santa Fe at Bronco Stadium. Mustang High School is the only team from the westside in class 6A-1 that is hosting a playing game this week. The other three quarterfinal matchups will be played in or around Tulsa.

“It’s huge for our kids. I think for our community, it’s really a special thing,” coach Lee Blankenship said. “Anytime you can host a playoff game, there’s a lot of pride associated with that, and our kids are fired up to do it. I think they understand how special it is.”

According to Blankenship, this will be the second time Mustang has hosted a playoff game since Class 6A split into two divisions.

“6A-1 is tough, man. Every week you’ve got to come to play,” Blankenship said. “It’s a big deal for our kids to earn the right to have a home-field playoff advantage. We’re excited about it. They call it homefield advantage for a reason. We’ve got to take advantage of that advantage.”

However, it’s going to take more than home-field advantage for Mustang (6-4, 5-2) to get past ESF.

The Wolves enter the contest with a 6-4 record. They are coming off a 41-6 victory over Norman to close out the regular season.

Santa Fe, which played in the 2020 6A title game, is led by several talented players on both sides of the ball. That includes senior wideout Talyn Shettron, who has committed to Oklahoma State University.

Shettron has big play ability and track speed. His match-up with Mustang cornerback Jacobe Johnson could be the highlight of all the firstround games.

“They’ve got one of the best receivers in the country in the Shettron kid,” Blankenship said. “And then his brother (Tabry) is an outstanding player, too. I think they’re both committed to Oklahoma State.”

Santa Fe quarterback Scott Pfieffer and tailback Demarius Robinson also have the ability to hurt opposing defenses.

“This is a team that’s in the finals a year ago, which is a big deal for them,” Blankenship said. “And really for any team on this side of the state to be able to break through and get in that game. So, we feel like it’s a good matchup for us. We’re excited for it. And we’re going to give everything we’ve got to be on the top of that scoreboard when it’s all said and done.”

Yet, the Broncos have shown they can match firepower with any team. Quarterback Tristen Russell enters the game with 2,416 yards, 28 touchdowns and just three interceptions on 129-of-193 passing.

Jay Bedford has paced the ground attack with 653 yards and 12 touchdowns. Johnson leads receivers with 1,016 yards and 12 TDs while Keegan Bass added 672 yards and nine scores.

Mustang’s biggest issue has been turnovers, which showed its ugly head in their 44-41 loss to Moore in the regular season finale. Even though Blankenship called it a trap game, they can still learn from it.

“We’ve got to eliminate turnovers. We’ve got to force turnovers on the defensive end, and we’ve got to win in the penalty,” Blankenship said. “If you look at our games, this is a team, we have proven that we can beat anybody in the state, and we’ve proven that we can get beat by anybody in the state. When you look at the games we’ve won and lost, it’s almost without question the games we win, we’re taking care of the ball. We’re forcing turnovers.”

If the Broncos want to make a long run into the playoffs, it’s going to start Friday at 7 p.m. at Bronco Stadium. Every team starts with a 0-0 record, and all have an opportunity to be the last one standing.

“When you get to the playoffs, we talked about it in our pre-practice meeting just a little bit ago, it’s all about determination and toughness,” Blankenship said. “Everybody’s a little tired. Everybody’s mentally and physically exhausted. Everybody’s a little banged up. It’s just the toughest team’s going to go win on Friday nights in the playoffs. We’re really challenging our guys to make that us.”

“It’s a big deal for our kids to earn the right to have a home-field playoff advantage. We’re excited about it. They call it homefield advantage for a reason.”

- Lee Blankenship

Mustang head coach