The Mathews High School football team took on the West Point Pointers last week in a pair of games. Last Wednesday, the JV Devils hosted West Point and fell to the Pointers, 38-24. Two days later, the varsity Devils traveled to West Point, falling 68-0.

JV Devils

In last week’s JV contest, Mathews played hard and had a lot of opportunities to win, but had too many mental mistakes and penalties to overcome, according to head coach Dustin Mullins.

“We scored at the half to get the ball back and we held the ball all third quarter,” he said. “Every time we score or were in position we had a flag. After that we got into our emotions and that took us out mentally. They scored on the next drive and put the game out of reach. We scored again before the game was over.

“Those young players played a really good game to end the year showed a lot of growth for this season,” Mullins said. “I’m proud of our guys and looking forward to them having experience next season.”

Varsity

In the varsity game, the Pointers returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. “From there we had too many mistakes and the score reflected that,” Mullins said. “We had some bright spots. We threw the ball a lot more effectively and that helped sustain us running the ball a lot better. We keep showing growth in every game so that’s what we’re looking for. The team played till the end and rallied in the second half to play more effectively so we see the growth as a team.

“We had bright spots on defense as well some really good open field tackles that we saw along with our D-line fighting hard. [It was a] tough loss but this is a season of growth,” he concluded.

The season’s last MHS home game will be held on Friday when the Devils welcome Charles City, beginning at 7 p.m. Seniors on the football team, cheerleaders and members of the band will be recognized.