Metea Valley foils the trap, moves to 3-0

The first three touches for Metea Valley running back Tre’Sean Mackey ended in touchdowns as the Mustangs defeated East Aurora 47-0 at home Friday.

One year removed from a 1-8 football season, the Mustangs are 3-0 in 2011.

“It’s hard to find too many negatives until you look at the tape after a game like tonight,” said Metea coach Ted Monken.

Metea linebacker Andre Lagasca recovered an East Aurora fumble on the Tomcats’ third play of the game. When the Mustangs offense took over, quarterback Jarrett House immediately found wide receiver Aaron Laskey streaking toward the goal line for a 25-yard touchdown pass.

“We challenged the guys all week to not let this be a trap game,” Monken said.

The Mustangs’ first two offensive plays of the game resulted in touchdowns. Mackey broke through tackles and picked up enough blocks to rumble 52 yards for the score on the next Metea possession.

“If it wasn’t for the other 10 guys on the field I wouldn’t have scored,” Mackey said. “I give all the glory to them.”

As the rain reached its peak level of the night, House fumbled a snap on fourth-and-6. The senior quarterback recovered in time to hit senior Ben Hulett for a touchdown pass.

With the Mustangs up 21-0 after the first quarter, the heavy rain and slick turf created an even steeper uphill battle for East Aurora.

“The conditions made it a little hard to cut, but our coaches went over some cutting drills before the game that helped a lot,” Mackey said.

The significantly outnumbered Tomcats fought through the miserable weather conditions in the second half. East Aurora’s defense did not allow a second-half touchdown.

“We have around eight or nine first-year players out on the field. Every play becomes a learning experience,” said East Aurora coach Bill Bryant. “They have a no-quit policy. These are tough kids.”

The only score of the second half for the Mustangs came on an interception touchdown return by junior Luke Rozier.

“We still have a long way to go,” Monken said. “Our opponents to this point haven’t been the toughest in the state of Illinois.”

The Mustangs defeated Plainfield East in the first game of the season and then downstate Quincy in Week 2.

“To go from 1-8 last year to 3-0 this year feels good,” Mackey said.