By J.R. TIDWELL / Editor

Isabella set two school records during an 81-0 drubbing of Ellwood Christian on Oct. 19.

The Mustangs have new personal bests for most points scored in a game as well as largest margin of victory.

According to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society (AHSFHS), Isabella’s previous mark for most points scored in a single contest was a 75-40 victory over R.C. Hatch on Oct. 15, 2010.

The previous largest margin of victory was 74-0 over Jefferson Christian on Aug. 29, 2008.

However, Isabella coach Tate Leonard made it clear after the game that his team did not intentionally run up the score on purpose.

“I thought we executed,” he said. “Ellwood is down right now, of course, but I do think our kids had a great week of practice. Everybody got to play and got a lot of snaps.”

Isabella only attempted three passes in the contest, and two of those were screens in the backfield.

Otherwise, all of the plays the Mustangs ran were runs with no trickeration.

It did not help that Ellwood Christian turned the ball over eight times throughout the contest, with that tally excluding a couple of turnovers on downs.

The Mustangs scored on seven of their first nine plays from scrimmage, with one of those “failed” plays a touchdown that was brought back by a block in the back penalty.

Just 12 seconds into the contest Jonathan Alstott made a 50-yard touchdown run, with Jake Logan making it 7-0 IHS after the PAT.

Isabella recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and the next play saw Jarrett Baker connect with Kendall Reeves for a 50-yard touchdown pass.

The Mustangs’ third offensive play was a 23-yard run for a score by Lance Price to make it 21-0 IHS with 9:26 remaining in the opening quarter.

Another fumble recovery on the following kickoff saw a 39-yard touchdown run by Reeves. Only 20 seconds ticked off the clock between the touchdowns by Price and Reeves.

Braxton Giles made an interception and returned it to the Ellwood Christian 7-yard line.

Jason Wilson would have made a 7-yard touchdown carry on the next play, but the aforementioned penalty brought it back.

Instead, Wilson made a 12-yard touchdown run the next play.

An interception by Logan led to a 6-yard run and score by Zachary Chapman to make it 41-0 Isabella just halfway through the first quarter.

After another fumble recovery, Price carried the ball 55 yards to the house.

Baker made it 54-0 IHS, the score at the end of the first quarter, with a 63-yard touchdown run.

Ben Martin had a 9-yard run for a score before an interception by Elijah Littlefield led to a 46-yard touchdown scamper by Chapman.

A fumble recovery by R.J. England led to a 5-yard run and score by Scottie Johnson to make it 74-0 Mustangs midway through the second quarter.

That was the end of the scoring for the opening half despite a fumble recovery by Iverson England.

The second half was played with six-minute quarters and a running clock.

Micah Drinkard made the final score of the night for Isabella on a short run with 2:50 remaining in the game.

The victory put IHS at 5-3 overall and 4-2 in Class 1A, Region 3 play. The Mustangs have a tough road showdown with Holy Spirit on Oct. 26.

“It’s going to be a big deal for us,” Leonard said. “If we win, it, we’re guaranteed to be in (the playoffs) and finish third. If we don’t win, a lot of things could happen. So, we want to make sure we win it, take care of business and finish strong. They are a great football team, and it will be a huge challenge for us.”