Crosby keeps Mustangs on top

Senior wide receiver has a hand in two key plays as Mitchell beats Hudson 28-21 in OT.

By FRANK PASTOR
Published October 8, 2005

HUDSON - D.J. Crosby proved a master of deception as Mitchell hoodwinked Hudson 28-21 in overtime Friday.

The senior wide receiver and cornerback intercepted a pass in the end zone on the final play of regulation after purposely allowing a receiver to get behind him, then acted as a decoy on Tate Humphrey's winning 10-yard pass to Ian Beckett.

After Wes Foster and a couple of teammates sealed Mitchell's fourth win over Hudson in five meetings by batting down Kyle Hatcher's desperation pass for Dylan Jordan, wide receiver John Saxer celebrated with a cartwheel at midfield.

"The season hasn't been going the way we wanted it to go," said Crosby, who had three receptions for 84 yards. "But (Friday), I think we showed how we could have played once everybody's focused and once everybody believed we could win."

Humphrey passed for 201 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 75 and two scores. On the winning touchdown, Crosby ran a slant from the right side to the goal post, leaving Beckett wide open out of the backfield.

Mitchell (3-4) practiced a different defense this week, thinking it needed to blitz more and control the line of scrimmage. After allowing more than 250 yards rushing in the first half, the Mustangs returned to their base 50 with a double eagle look against the fullback trap and limited Hudson to 48 yards on the ground in the second half.

"I challenged them this week, and for some of them their football careers were on the line because it was time to step up or to look somewhere else at some other spots," said Mitchell coach Scott Schmitz, "and they stepped up."

Vince Ferlita ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns, and Ryan Attaway added 154 rushing yards for Hudson (5-2). The Cobras played most of the game without wide receiver/safety Royce Simonds (knee), and Hatcher was removed for three possessions during the third and fourth quarters after losing his composure, coach Mark Nash said.

"You never want a loss late in the season," Nash said. "I thought we lost our composure a little bit, and that bothers me."

[Last modified October 8, 2005, 01:27:10]