By Ava Nicols
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa Mustangs defeated Washington Union High School, 35- 26, in an away game on Oct. 15.
In the first quarter, sophomore wide receiver Reece Leonard helped start the game off with a 40-yard touchdown. The score after the first quarter was 14-7, with the Mustangs in the lead. According to Leonard, starting off in the lead is what kept the team motivated.
“That was a great first quarter for me, and it really got me going,” Leonard said. “Same for the other guys; we all felt the momentum throughout the whole game after starting off on the right foot.”
Junior Cole Crotty had a catch and run for about 27 yards during the second quarter, putting the Mustangs on the five-yard line. From there, he passed the ball to Leonard, who caught the ball for the second Mustang touchdown of the game.
“It was a great team bonding experience to travel all the way to Fresno and play a complete game,” Crotty said. “I thought we played to our full potential and took advantage of the opportunity to play against that team even though we weren’t planning on playing them.”
Leonard was one of the top performers of this game. Leonard helped lead the Mustangs to victory by making two out of the five touchdowns. According to Leonard, he is continuing to show motivation and dedication to the team as he improves and learns from his teammates. Being a sophomore on varsity, the team has high expectations for Leonard, and he has kept up with all of the upperclassmen on the team.
“It’s really been great,” Leonard said. “I love the experience of playing with all these guys. We have each other for those tough losses and then to celebrate the big wins. I hope our hard work really is apparent in our games because everyone has really been giving it their all in practice, and I think we all deserve it.”
According to Leonard, the Mustangs are feeling good after their game against Washington Union, and the win helped the Mustangs set their future goals as they head into the final games of their season. The Mustangs’ next game will take place on Oct. 22, where they will play the Peninsula Panthers at 3 p.m. at Peninsula.
“I’m excited to see how we do in these next couple games,” Leonard said. “During practice, we’ve been playing hard and seeing our effort show up during the games will be a really rewarding feeling.”
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