The Mustang’s football team was beaten 56-7 against the highly ranked Naperville Central Redhawks. Despite the unfortunate loss, the Mustangs’ student section was filled with energy, celebrating their homecoming football game with blackout/senior royalty.
Following the game a day later was Metea’s homecoming, a big distraction around this time of year, which concerned head football coach John Parpet.
“[The team gets] worried about having their clothes, and then they want to do the festivities,” Parpet said. “But I think [this year,] they did a really good job of blocking that out [for the game].”
Another factor at play was the opponent. The Naperville Central Redhawks are ranked #20 in the state.
”You don’t have a choice when you know you’re playing that team, they’re 6-0 now,” Parpet said. ”We went on a four game stretch here where [all four of the] opponents are in the top 10. So yes, it’s hard, and we’re beat up but I think they did a good job [of persevering through it].”
Parpet also spoke about how the scheduling affected the performance of the players.
“It’s where it all kind of plays out,” Parpet said. “You have Cal’s Angels this week, so they say when they want to be able to have homecoming and when we have that home game.”
Although the Mustangs weren’t able to score much this night, their offense was entirely focused on the passing game.
“We didn’t think we were going to be able to, but we threw the ball really well,” Parpet said. “I think we completed our first 15 passes then they started “drop eight” where they’re playing eight guys in coverage and rush in only three, so it gets harder to find those windows, and we wouldn’t get the running game to complement that. “
Regardless of the defeat, the Mustangs did not let it dim the homecoming spirit. With the seniors in gold and the rest of the students in black, the school came together to celebrate a memorable night.
The football team hopes to get a late-season win as they hit the road and play conference rival Neuqua Valley Wildcats on Oct. 18, at 7pm.
