LAMBERT — Jordan is heading to the first 6-Man football state championship game in program history.
The Mustangs continued their impressive postseason run with a 50-37 win over Richey-Lambert on Saturday in an all-East semifinal game.
Jordan, which lost to Richey-Lambert 103-51 in the season opener for both teams back in August, never trailed on Saturday. Keenan Murnion hit Dawson Murnion for a 5-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter, and the Mustangs would lead the rest of the way.
Seth Prevost would find the end zone for Richey-Lambert to bring the score to 7-6 by the end of the first quarter, but the Mustangs seemed to always have an answer. Keenan Murnion hit Edward Murnion for a touchdown for a back-and-forth start to the second quarter. Prevost would again cut the lead back to one point, but Jordan would ultimately take a 32-19 lead into the halftime break.
Richey-Lambert closed within 32-25 on a touchdown pass from Gabe Gonsioroski to start the second half before Jordan would build its largest lead of the game. Keenan Murnion intercepted Gonsioroski and returned the pick for a touchdown, and the Mustangs recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff to set up a Keenan Murnion-to-Cole Murnion touchdown pass. That would give Jordan a 44-25 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Fusion wouldn’t go away quietly, putting up 12 unanswered points to get back within one score in the fourth. Richey-Lambert’s Hunter Watson snagged his third interception of the game to give the Fusion new life, but Jordan’s defense tightened and forced a turnover on downs. Keenan Murnion hit Edward Murnion for another score to give Jordan the final 50-37 advantage.
Jordan, which entered the playoffs as the East’s No. 3 seed, has now knocked off three consecutive higher-seeded opponents on the road, defeating Roy-Winifred in the first round, Hot Springs in the second round, and Richey-Lambert in Saturday’s semifinal. The Mustangs (10-2) will stay on the road next week, traveling to Wibaux (11-0) for the 6-Man state championship game.
Wibaux defeated Grass Range-Winnett 60-6 on Saturday.
