Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but unfortunately for The Needles Mustangs, they weren't the ones who walked away with it. They lost to Lincoln County at home by a decisive 32-15 margin on Friday. While losing is never fun, Needles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 726th in California, while Lincoln County is ranked 54th in Nevada).
It was another big night for Kristian Johnson, who rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 11.2 yards per carry, and also picked up 55 receiving yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Kalen Bart, who rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
Needles' defeat dropped their record down to 5-5. As for Lincoln County, their victory ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 5-5.
Needles does not have any more games scheduled as of now. Lincoln County will head out on the road to face off against Pershing County at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Pershing County's favor is that they have now posted big point totals in their last seven games.
