Pershing County Mustangs Season Preview - State Championship Edition
Updated: Nov. 20, 2024
By: J. Ray Dockter
Pershing County Mustangs
Good morning and welcome to Battle Born Preps preview coverage of the 2024 NIAA State Championships, taking place over the next week in various locations throughout the state.
The fall sports season has flown by, and high school football was once again the top draw in the northern part of the state. I originally interviewed Coach Mike Brooks on August 10th of this year for this preview but unfortunately, I was unable to put it out at that time due to unforeseen circumstances. I couldn't be more excited to preview/review his team for this season. Without further ado, here is Today's team: Pershing County.
Head Coach: Mike Brooks, seventh season as Head Coach at Pershing County (46-17 overall, 34-8 league in six seasons overall) Coach Brooks spent six seasons as an Assistant at Pershing County prior to his selection as Head Coach. He also doubles as the school's Athletic Director and Wrestling Coach also. * Current updated record as of Nov. 18, 2024; is 57-17 overall, and 42-8 in league.
Previous (2023) Season Record: 9-4 overall, 6-1 league
Current (2024) Season Record: 11-0 overall, 6-0 league (Current as of Nov. 18, 2024)
Overview: Nobody cares, work harder! That's the Mustangs rallying cry for this season as they look to regain their previous glory of the past 20+ years. The Pershing County Mustangs will look to 'Finish The Job' that they set out to achieve at the beginning of this season as they take on the Incline Highlanders for the 2A State Championship this Saturday (November 23, 2024 at 10 AM at McQueen HS). The Mustangs came into this season with high expectations after a runner-up finish capped off last year's run to the State Championship game. The Mustangs will look to claim their 11th State Championship if they can defeat the Incline Highlanders on Saturday.
Last season, The Mustangs were defeated soundly by Lake Mead Christian Academy in The NIAA 2A State Championship Game at Allegiant Stadium with Coach Brooks stating "Last season we started off 0-3, which I was not happy with, before winning nine straight. We were 'League' champs, we played at State inside Allegiant - it was really exciting for our kids. We exceeded our expectations, and The [Las Vegas] Raiders were really gracious to us. It was a phenomenal experience other than the final [score]." Coach Brooks continued on by saying "Lake Mead was insanely good last season. Their QB (Jerry Meyer) set an 11-man State Record for Passing TDs (with 58) last season, luckily for the rest of us he transferred to Waxahachie, Texas for his Sophomore season. It was a tough situation but we ended up State Runner-Ups." Meyer currently reports 11 D-I offers to date so he is the real deal, like Coach Brooks said previously.
The Mustangs have used last season's disappointing finish to fuel them through the offseason last year and began the season with high expectations. The Mustangs have a big group of Seniors and Juniors that make up their 26-man Varsity roster and Coach Brooks was pretty high on them entering the season stating that "A lot of them started for us as Freshman and Sophomores, they have gotten experience, and they are a lot better this year." Coach Brooks squad returned eight starters on both offense and defense and that has helped contribute to their success this season. The Mustangs program had about 50 players come out for Football this fall - pretty impressive considering that Pershing County HS only has about 180 students enrolled in their school, meaning that about 56-percent of their male student population represented them on the gridiron this season.
Offensively, you'll see the 'Stangs run a "Ground and Pound" offense that has multiple concepts including the flex-bone, triple option, wing-t and veer mesh rushing out of different sets. Think of it a lot like Fernley's base offense but the style if different - Coach Brooks and his squad were looking to incorporate more passing into their offensive output this season and he confirmed that saying "Yes, we were [able to] throw the ball with more efficiency." Coach Brooks squad worked on passing a lot during last offseason and he has been happy getting his offense to a more 80-20 split on running and passing this season.
Defensively, The Mustangs mostly play a 4-2-5 base defense with Coach Brooks pointing out that "we are pretty aggressive at blitzing, our main coverage is man, with a two read on the back end where our [line]backers are expected to fly around and make plays.
Mustang Pride: Pershing County has been on an unbelievable run of success over the past quarter century having won seven state championships during that time including two separate three-peats (2010-2012, and 2016-2018). They are Ten Time State Champions, with their first win coming almost 100 years ago - in 1927 (Small), followed up by Championships in 1976, (1A), 1978 (1A), 2004 (2A), 2010 (2A), 2011 (2A), 2012 (2A), 2016 (2A), 2017 (2A), and 2018 (2A) which was Coach Brooks first year as HC of The Mustangs.
Brooks said his teams were "Competitive in 2019, [we] went undefeated in Spring 2021, and in (Fall) 2021 and 2022 we were competitive but didn't compete for State Championships like we expect to." The Mustangs were "back up in 2023 with State Runner-Up finish" but they are looking for the final breakthrough this season, attempting to go undefeated and winning the school's 11th State Championship.
The key to the Mustangs success today and into the future will be dependent on "moving the ball on first down, finding cohesion (in the trenches) is key. [We must be] executing and knowing what to do, our kids have really stepped up. They haven't missed a beat." Coach Brooks said during our conversations.
Players To Watch:
RB/LB Tyrn Sam, Senior: Sam, The Northern 2A Player of The Year last season, is violent on the football field. He is aggressive and sets the tone on both sides of the ball. He's also someone that teams will have to scheme for... Referred to as 'The 2A's version of Keeshawn Love' (as he plays in the same offensive scheme as Love). Coach Brooks said he would give Sam as many carries as he could handle this season.
RB/DB Izayuh McGlothin, Senior: Named to The 'All League' Team beginning his Freshman year McGlothin has not disappointed for The Mustangs. He was named All League First Team as a RB last season but his biggest impact can be found on the defensive side of the ball where Coach Brooks described him as "[a] physical tackler for a corner, he is not afraid to come up and hit." He'll be expected to slow down The Highlanders precision Air Attack this Saturday.
RB/DB Denzel Zaldivar, Senior: Brooks was "looking for a big year for him." He was described as a Reggie Bush-type player by the coaches at the Eastern Oregon Football Camp in Late July. Zaldivar has been described as "great in the open field, [he is] phenomenal, truly electric. If he sees a crack - he's housing it [because], good night, he's fast - but also quick. Once he gets 'North and South' he is at full speed in two-three steps." Remarked Coach Brooks - Zaldivar's comp is recent Nevada commit and Truckee RB Joe Birnbaum, due to his burst and quickness.
RB/LB Luis Sanchez, Senior: Heading into the season Sanchez was responsible for 11 Interceptions over the last two seasons. He plays The 'Rover' position (a modified OLB/SS) in The Mustangs 3-3-5 defense and is described as a "Ball Hawk" by his head coach. Coach Brooks later said, "[Sanchez] is just one of those guys who always finds himself in the right spot and has a great feel for the game."
QB/DB Travis Donaldson, Senior: Donaldson is in his third season as a starter at QB for the Mustangs and he has impressed this season with his ability to lead their high-scoring attack. He experienced a passing jump this season and should be a First Team All-League selection once again this season.
OL/LB Efrain Aceves, Senior: Aceves played great last season, fighting through injuries that cost him five games. The second half of the season last year he played really well and came into this season with big expectations. He has succeeded in meeting all of those expectations this season as a leader for The Mustangs as a Senior playing in his final game for a State Championship Today.
DB Michael Reitz, Senior: A first-year starter for Pershing County this season Reitz has not disappointed as he has corralled seven interceptions and has been a huge playmaker for The Mustangs in the defensive secondary. He'll be expected to keep the Highlanders WRs in check if the Mustangs are able to win their first state championship since 2018.
OL/DL Brain Flores, Senior and OL/DL Daniel Jimenez, Senior: Anchors on the Mustangs lines that have contributed to 3,200 total yards of offense and have limited opposing offenses to 54 points all season.
TE/DE Taylor Montes, Junior: The only Junior on this list Montes is the latest in a long line of Montes who have suited up for the Mustangs. He is used to success in the Red and Black. He has contributed over 240 yards of total offense as well as seven touchdowns this season.
Season Schedule with Results
Aug. 16 vs. Wooster, Win, 49-7
Aug. 23 at Portola (Calif.), Win, 47-13
Aug. 30 vs. North Tahoe (Calif.), Win, 50-0
Sep. 19 vs. Silver Stage, Win, 58-0
Sep. 27 vs. Yerington, Win, 54-0
Oct. 11 at Dayton, Win, 48-8
Oct. 18 vs. West Wendover, Win, 52-6
Oct. 24 at Battle Mountain, Win, 35-0
Nov. 1 vs. Coral Academy of Science - Reno, Win, 65-7
Nov. 8 vs. West Wendover, Win, 59-6
Nov. 16 vs. Lincoln County, Win, 51-7
Nov. 23 vs. Incline - NIAA 2A State Championship Game at McQueen HS at 10 AM
J. Ray Dockter has been covering high school sports since 2022. If you have a story worth telling let him know via Twitter @J_RayDoc.
Comments