The Allen Mustangs beat the Porter Pirates Friday to advance in the state Class A playoffs despite being down 11 players.

Nine players were out due to quarantine, but Head Coach Rob Green said they should be back in time for Friday’s game against Gore.

“We went into the game short-handed,” Green said. “But we kind of managed to pull together and had a good win.”

Porter was first to get on the scoreboard with an 80-yard touchdown run with about five minutes left in the first quarter. The extra point kick was good, putting the Pirates up 7-0.

However, the Mustangs answered with a 31- yard touchdown pass from Chad Milne to Quinton Walker. Shawn Husband rushed the ball in afterward for a two-point conversion to put the Mustangs in the lead, 8-7.

And that was a recurring theme of the game; the Pirates scored each quarter, then Allen would answer. Until the fourth period, however, when Allen’s defense held strong.

In the second quarter, the Pirates scored on a 30- yard touchdown pass with 1:44 left in the half, but the extra point attempt failed.

And, again, the Mustangs answered, that time on a 15-yard touchdown run by Husband, but the twopoint conversion failed. However, the Mustangs had the lead 14-13 going into halftime.

Second Half

Porter scored about midway through the third quarter, and, were successful at the two-point conversion.

Allen answered on a rushing touchdown by Shawn Husband, but were unsuccessful on a two-point conversion attempt, leaving Porter with the lead going into the fourth quarter, 21-20.

And in the fourth quarter, Allen’s defense battled hard and didn’t allow the Pirates to get any more points.

“In the fourth quarter, I feel like the defense stepped up and made a couple of big stops,” Green said, “and we were able to score later on to take the lead. It turned into a pretty exciting game.”

Exciting indeed as the Mustangs scored a touchdown with 3:52 left in the game on a two-yard keeper by Chad Milne. Shawn Husband then rushed the ball into the end zone for the two-point conversion to make the final score 28-21, Mustangs.

The Mustangs (6-5/3-4) have a playoff game against the Gore Pirates (7-0/6-0) Friday. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Gore.

Game Statistics

Offense

The Mustangs had 373 rushing yards and 77 passing yards for a total of 450 yards.

Rushing

Shawn Husband rushed 48 times for 292 yards, two touchdowns, and two two-point conversions.

Chad Milne kept the ball 14 times for 81 yards and one touchdown.

Passing

Chad Milne completed nine of 16 passes for 76 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Receiving

Quinton Walker caught three passes for 38 yards and one touchdown; Quinn Corum caught two passes for 18 yards; Shawn Husband had two grabs for four yards; Coyt Bell caught one pass for 10 yards; and Tagus Howard had one grab for six yards.

Defense

Caden Howard and Tagus Howard both made five solo tackles and five assisted tackles.

Other players with tackles and assists were Quinn Corum, 4-2; Gage Husband, 3-3; Chad Milne, 3-0; Clayton Shackelford, 2-1; Rodey Arnold, 1-3; Brody Wallis, 1-1; Coyt Bell, 1-0; Quinton Walker, 0-1; and Kylan Sanders, 0-1.

Standout plays

Caden Howard forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.