The Allen Mustangs used the second half of Friday night’s football game against Tishomingo to pull away and win by a decisive margin.

However, the final score of 54-32 didn’t reflect how close the game was at halftime. The Mustangs scored a whopping 22 points in the third quarter, and then 24 in the fourth.

“Tishomingo’s got some good players and really good coaches, and we kind of got away from who we were there for a second, the identity we’ve been trying to establish,” Allen Head Coach Matt McCreary told The Allen Advocate. “And, coming out from the half, I told them we were going to get back to what we do, and that’s what we did. We got back to who we were, playing hard-nose football, and kind of wore them down.”

Indeed they did wear down Tishomingo, rushing for 312 yards in the game.

“I was really proud of our kids,” McCreary said. “They came back, fought back, and did really well. Showed a lot of heart.”

McCreary said many non-starting players were able to get into the game.

“Everybody who practiced this week got in there,” McCreary said, “I wanted to make sure that everybody got to play during that fourth quarter, and they did.”

Allen will travel to Stratford Friday to battle the Bulldogs. The non-district game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Stratford dropped their season opener to Christian Heritage 27-6.

Allen vs. Tishomingo

Tishomingo was first on the board when they scored on a passing touchdown with under a minute left in the first quarter. After a failed two-point conversion, the score was 6-0, Indians.

The Mustangs answered near the end of the second quarter when they tied the score on a touchdown pass, then briefly took the lead after a successful two-point conversion, 8-6 Allen.

However, the Indians quickly answered with another passing touchdown, but again failed a two-point conversion.

The score at halftime was 12-8.

Second Half

The Mustangs came out from the halftime break and quickly scored on a rushing touchdown. After a failed two-point conversion, Allen led by two, 14-12.

The Mustangs scored again a few game minutes later on a pass play. The two-point conversion was successful, making the score 22-12, Allen.

With about five minutes left in the third, Tishomingo answered with a touchdown, however, keeping the Indians in the game. Tishomingo’s two-point conversion made the score 22-20, Allen.

But the Mustangs quickly scored again and ended the third period at 30-20.

And Allen continued to roll through the fourth period, scoring three rushing touchdowns and completing three two-point conversions, making the final score 54-32, Mustangs.

Statistics

Allen had 424 yards of total offense -- 112 yards passing and receiving -- and 312 yards rushing on 43 runs. An average of 7.3 yards per carry.