The Manitou Springs Mustangs''s recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their fourth straight loss. They ended up on the wrong side of a tough 40-14 walloping at the hands of La Junta. Manitou Springs has struggled against La Junta recently, as their match on Thursday was their ninth consecutive lost matchup.
Several Mustangs players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Nate Gentzel, who rushed for -13 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 181 yards and a touchdown.
La Junta's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Rylan Schmidt led the charge by rushing for 62 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, while also throwing for 115 yards and a touchdown while completing 83.3% of his passes. Schmidt is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last four games he's played. Ethan Leyba also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
Manitou Springs' loss was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their overall record down to 3-5. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 5-3 Florence and 5-3 Rye (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 65.6% over those games). As for La Junta, the victory for they keeps them at an undefeated 8-0.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Manitou Springs will face off against Lamar at 7:00 p.m. on October 27th. Lamar is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak. As for La Junta, they will head out on the road to face off against Florence at 7:00 p.m. on October 27th. Florence will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.
