The Metea Valley varsity football team beat the Plainfield Central Wildcats 31-6 in their first home game of the 24/25 season.
Last Friday’s game was particularly special for the Mustangs as Metea has not won a home game since their sophomore year. The win was even more significant due to the Senior Night celebration.
“They played really well, and we knew after last week, we were [very] close against a good team, and the things we had to fix, we fixed,” head football coach John Parpet said. “There was a little bit of a lull in the game because our kids aren’t used to being that far ahead. So I thought that they did a [great] job of responding and getting another touchdown to put it away.”
The Mustangs started off the game strong with junior wide receiver Dylan Liner scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter. Both were passed by senior quarterback Jake MacLeod. Afterward, senior kicker Cameron Leys was able to successfully score two extra points and a field goal to allow Metea to take the lead 17–0.
“Our [offense] was really good, and our quarterback play was outstanding,” Coach Parpet said. “It was a kind of ‘pick-your-poison’. Are you going to try to stop the run or stop the pass, [Plainfield Central] said, we are going to stop your run. And it opened up a lot of passing lanes. So it was really nice to be able to get our passing game [going].”
In the second quarter, the Mustangs scored a third touchdown while the Wildcats were at 0. Senior wide receiver Dominic Smith scored the touchdown, which was followed by an extra point from Leys, to make the score 24-0.
In the 3rd quarter, Liner scored the fourth touchdown of the game. Leys scored the extra point for the Mustangs, scoring 31-0. Near the end of the third quarter, the ball was snapped over the punter’s head, allowing the Wildcats to steal the ball and receive their first and only touchdown.
No points were scored in the fourth quarter and the game ended, rewarding the Mustangs their first home game win after two years.
“We will continue this momentum into future games by doing the same thing that we do every day, whether we win or we lose,” Coach Parpet said. “We preach fundamentals. You continue to work on your fundamentals and [don’t] let small things slip. That’s the easiest thing you can do after a win, you relax and you let little things go by that you typically wouldn’t. We have to maintain that and just continue to preach fundamentals.”
The Mustangs’ overall season record advanced to 1-1. They hope to keep their momentum going while hosting the Lincoln-Way Central Knights next Friday.
