The Meridian Mustangs saw more home football action this week, looking to bounce back from last Friday’s 30-22 loss to Culpeper County against one of their biggest rivals in the Brentsville Tigers. The weather was wet and windy, but the heavy rain held off, and the Falls Church crowd was treated to a competitive contest.

Brentsville received the ball first and had no issues moving it on its opening possession, scoring a touchdown to go ahead 7-0. The Mustangs responded by racking up some solid yards themselves, but their drive stalled out inside of opponent territory as they turned the ball over on downs. There would be no further scoring throughout the first quarter and most of the second, until the Tigers failed to convert on a risky fourth down play at around their own 25-yard line. That gave Meridian the ball with excellent field position, and the eventual result was a tying touchdown courtesy of Jack Villano with mere seconds left before the intermission.

The Mustangs weren’t able to take advantage of their first possession after halftime, but played formidable defense on Brentsville’s ensuing drive and forced a punt, which they blocked and recovered at the opposing 10-yard line. A few plays later, Oumar Thompson rushed into the end zone for a 14-7 lead, but the momentum was short-lived as the Tigers immediately answered with a long touchdown run on their first play of the next drive. The teams would complete the third quarter tied at 14 apiece, trading a few more punts before Brentsville took the lead with a third touchdown midway through the fourth. The Mustangs’ efforts to march down and even the score again were thwarted by a fumble, and Brentsville was able to put the game away by adding seven more points minutes later, winning by a final score of 28-14.

With the loss, Meridian drops to 1-3 on the season and is yet to record a victory at home. The Mustangs will have another chance to fix that next week, though, as they’ll play host to James Wood on Friday night.