The Center Hill Mustangs came up short Sept. 9 against the Horn Lake Eagles with a score of 6-24.

“The defense came out Friday night and played much closer to their full potential than they have in any other game this season,” defensive line coach Kurt Pinnix said. “They put together a very inspiring performance in the face of some large obstacles and against a very good football team.” Pinnix said the team has to answer a series of questions as they prepare for this week’s game against Amory.

“The first question we have to ask ourselves is how do we get better as a defensive unit? How do we apply what we want to accomplish to what our opponent is good at as an offensive unit?” Pinnix explained.

Although the entire defense shined against the Eagles, junior defensive end Justin Jackson stole the show by scoring the only Mustang touchdown of the game.

“The ball just popped into my hands,” Jackson said. “I just thought, ‘I gotta score.’ We don’t get the chance to do that much on the defensive side. It was a once in a lifetime thing to me.”

Jackson said it felt good when he reached the end zone after a 72-yard dash.

“I just wanted to set the tempo for my team and turn the game around and get the win,” he said.

Offensive line coach Jacob Faust acknowledged his players have some work to do.

“Obviously the offense struggled this past week,” Faust said. “At times we were able to do some great things, but we were way too inconsistent to really get anything done. I was very proud of our boys and the effort they put forth, but this week we need to focus more on the little things in order to improve.”