Courtesy of Timmy Miller

Mustangs await their season debut.

The hype has never been this big. Friday, Aug. 29,  was Metea Valley football’s debut game against Downers Grove South to open the 2025 season, with an entirely new team under a new head coach determined to change the way our program is perceived, make a statement that Metea Football is a force to be reckoned with, and prove that this team is never outworked. The vibe at Mustang Stadium was different, buzzing with energy as the lights illuminated the turf. Every player who stepped onto the field carried with them the hours of offseason training and the belief that this season would be different.

“The energy was electric,” junior Tyler Darche said.

From the very first snap, Metea came out ready. On the opening drive, the Mustangs ran the ball effectively, keeping the chains moving. The drive ended in a statement play—a rollout by junior quarterback Charlie Larson who found senior wide receiver Trent Sterling in the end zone for the first touchdown of the season. The Mustangs marched 75 yards in nine plays, eating up nearly six minutes of clock. Just like that, Metea was on top 7-0.

Momentum grew on the ensuing kickoff. Junior kicker Ryan Lozowski booted a perfectly placed ball that bounced high and gave senior Cordae Kennedy a chance to recover it. The Mustangs had the ball back with excellent field position, but couldn’t capitalize. Still, they managed to chew time off the clock before handing it to their defense. That defense, a group that had put in countless hours of work this summer, came out with fire. On DGS’s first possession, penalties and swarming tackles quickly forced a punt, keeping the Mustangs in control.

The second quarter saw more of the same. Metea’s offense mixed the run and pass effectively, moving the ball downfield. Larson connected on a key third-down throw to Sterling to keep the drive alive, and junior running back Marquis Brown capped it off with a five-yard rushing touchdown to push the lead to 14-0. The crowd roared as the Mustangs looked dominant on both sides of the ball.

But football is a game of momentum swings. With under a minute left in the first half, a fumbled punt return gave DGS the ball deep in Metea territory. They punched it in with just 37 seconds left, cutting the lead to 14-7 at halftime.

DGS carried that spark into the second half. They struck quickly with a 46-yard completion and followed it up with a touchdown. Electing to go for two, they were stopped by a strip from sophomore linebacker Tré Jordan, but the Mustangs now trailed 19-14 after an interception and another touchdown. The question loomed: would this be another season-opening heartbreak, or a true turning point?

Metea answered. Larson handed the ball off to senior playmaker Zoelen Terry, who outran the defense for a 66-yard touchdown. The Mustangs reclaimed the lead, 20-19, and the energy shifted once more. On the very next DGS drive, Metea’s defense forced a punt—only for Jordan to come up with a highlight block. The ball rolled into the end zone for a safety, igniting the home crowd and giving Metea even more momentum.

The Mustangs didn’t stop there. Larson launched a deep strike to senior Christopher Jordan for a 46-yard touchdown that stretched the lead to 29-19. The defense clamped down from there, with junior Paris Jackson and senior Winston Morrison making key plays, including a sack that set up a fourth-and-long. Lozowski sealed the deal with an interception, and Larson later delivered the final nail in the coffin with a quarterback run to the end zone. The scoreboard read 35-19 as the final whistle blew.

For the first time since 2014, Metea Valley football has won a week 1 game. 

“It feels great to win, especially in our season opener,” Darche said. 

When the game came to an end, it wasn’t just about the impressive score on the board. It was about the fight, the resilience, and the electricity that carried our mustangs through every play. 

“It definitely felt surreal,” sophomore Shea Ruxton said, “we also expected this as a team, we put in countless hours in the weight room and worked every day for the past eight months to get this moment; we aren’t done here.” 

This was more than a season opener; it was a turning point. A reminder that this program will not be what it has been in years past. One game down with a long season ahead, but one thing is clear: Metea Valley football has arrived.