By J.R. Tidwell / Editor

The regular-season finale for Isabella and Verbena ended in a 47-6 victory for the Mustangs on Nov. 2.

Isabella turned a 28-0 halftime advantage into a 47-0 lead by the end of the third quarter en route to the win.

“I thought our kids came out and played with good effort,” said Isabella head coach Tate Leonard. “We have had a lot of adversity throughout the year, but they have stuck it out and stuck together.”

Verbena was plagued by turnovers in the contest. Isabella made five interceptions and recovered three fumbles, while the Mustangs lost one fumble of their own.

Braxden Giles picked off Jacob Sanders at the Isabella 37-yard line and returned the ball to the Verbena 31.

The Mustangs capped the ensuing drive with a short touchdown plunge by Cole Atchison. Atchison made the point after, and IHS led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Cole Reeves recovered a fumble for Isabella just before the end of the opening quarter, and the Mustangs turned that into points when Jarrett Baker connected with Kendall Reeves for a 24-yard touchdown pass just 11 seconds into the second quarter.

Giles made his second interception of the night on the Red Devils’ next offensive play, and that started a Mustang drive capped off by a short run for a score by Atchison to make it 21-0 Isabella.

The Mustangs had a drive stall deep in Red Devil territory with about a minute remaining before halftime, but an interception by Kendall Reeves gave IHS possession once again at the Verbena 40-yard line with 25.5 seconds left before intermission.

Baker connected with Kendall Reeves again, this time from 17 yards out, for another score just 9.2 seconds before the break.

A 25-yard touchdown run by Jason Wilson and a short run for a score by Jake Logan made it 41-0. IHS made it a 47-0 advantage when Zachary Chapman juked a defender before finding the end zone from 12 yards out.

The final score of the night came when Sanders found Imani Walls for a 70-yard touchdown pass to put Verbena on the board.

The Red Devils end the 2018 season at 0-9.

Isabella (7-3) will travel to play Marengo (9-1) in the opening round of the AHSAA state playoffs on Nov. 9.

“We have to have a great week of practice,” Leonard said. “We have a huge challenge in front of us. We’re not just happy about being in the playoffs; we want to advance in the playoffs. We are looking to put the best plan that we can together, and we are going to work hard next week to get ready.”