Middle Creek's 35-21 loss to Garner Friday night certainly wasn't the night the Mustangs wanted to have in their annual big meeting with their biggest non-conference rival.
Mistakes - missed blocking assignments, dropped passes - were a big part of what put the Mustangs in a 28-0 hole, but there were several positives they can take out of the contest, played before 4,000 fans as they head back into Tri-Nine Conference play.
Among them:
• The play of junior quarterback David Salmon. Salmon was 14-of-42 (33 percent) with two picks but his night was marked by a handful of key drops in the passing game early. The second half saw Salmon take over the game at times, knowing when to scramble (He ran for two scores) and when to scramble just enough to buy time to get the ball away to a receiver.
• Standout Garner running back Juwan Moye (10 carries, 43 yards) wasn't much of a factor, thanks to Middle Creek's speed off of the edge. Moye couldn't get outside in the running game and that's the first time that's come close to happening this season.
• The Middle Creek secondary played pretty well. Yes, they gave up a TD pass but it was an amazing diving catch by Damian Ellis in the corner of the end zone against very good coverage by Brian Broadney. Garner averaged just 2.3 yards passing per attempt and had one completion - the TD pass - that covered more than five yards.
