Mustang twice rallied to take the lead against Bixby, but the Spartans scored the final 27 points to hand the Broncos a 46-20 loss in their district opener Friday, Sept. 25, at Bronco Stadium.

A touchdown pass from Kason Delgado to Obama Bell put Mustang ahead 20-19 early in the third quarter. Bixby answered with a touchdown and two-point conversion, then added 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

The Broncos fell to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in district play on a night that began with a weather and lightning delay of more than an hour.

Big plays bring Mustang back

Bixby built a 12-0 lead less than three minutes into the game, scoring on its opening possession and again after recovering a Mustang fumble. The Spartans failed on both two-point attempts.

Delgado and Jonathan McCorvey provided Mustang's first answer. McCorvey caught a crossing pass and turned it into a 78-yard touchdown, cutting Bixby's lead to 12-7 after the extra point with 3:52 left in the first quarter.

Turnovers disrupted both teams in the first half. Mustang lost a fumble and threw two interceptions, while the Broncos' defense recovered a Bixby fumble and intercepted a pass.

Special teams delivered Mustang's first lead. After the defense forced Bixby to punt from its own end zone, Gabriel Osborne Jr. fielded the kick and broke through the coverage for a touchdown. The extra point put the Broncos ahead 14-12 with 2:50 remaining in the second quarter.

Bixby responded with a touchdown drive, taking a 19-14 lead into halftime after scoring with 43 seconds left.

Spartans take control late

Mustang opened the second half with productive runs from Santos Archangel and benefited from a Bixby face-mask penalty. Delgado then found Bell, who slipped a tackle and raced down the sideline for a touchdown about 90 seconds into the third quarter.

The two-point attempt was stopped, leaving Mustang ahead 20-19.

Bixby regained the lead with 2:09 left in the quarter, going up 27-20 with a touchdown and successful two-point conversion. Delgado's third interception ended Mustang's next possession and gave the Broncos four turnovers for the night.

The Spartans extended their lead to 33-20 early in the fourth quarter. Mustang punted on its next possession, and Bixby added another rushing touchdown with 4:26 remaining. A final touchdown in the closing seconds brought the score to 46-20.

McCorvey finished with three catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, according to the MHS Bronco Sports broadcast's postgame statistics. The broadcast selected Osborne as Mustang's player of the game for his punt-return touchdown and contributions on offense and defense.

Line score

Team 1 2 3 4 Final
Bixby 12 7 8 19 46
Mustang 7 7 6 0 20

Sources