VETERAN running back Giovanni Viscomi rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns as the Mustangs pounded the Cheetahs on the ground, rushing for a total of 304 yards. The Cheetahs gave the Mustangs a tough game and Andy Cochrane had 155 yards and a touchdown on the ground, but saw their perfect season come to an end at the final hurdle.

Paul Tiggardine started the game in style with a 39-yard scamper for Doncaster to put the ball at the Chiltern 25. A two-yard run from quarterback Graham Lightfoot and a six-yard gain from Viscomi to the three followed a 10-yard facemask penalty. However, that brought up a fourth-and-two, but the 43-year-old Viscomi powered his way in for the score. Mark Blyth booted the extra point to make it 7-0 to the local boys.

Chiltern tried to hit back as quarterback Rob Suttling found Abdul Lawal for nine yards and Conrad Patrick for 25, however, he misfired when looking for Patrick on third-and-16 and Martin Homer’s 48-yard field goal attempt was blocked. Chiltern again moved downfield, but Suttling was picked off by Lee Walker who, strangely, ran straight out of bounds with room to run down the sideline. They couldn’t take advantage, though, but neither could the Cheetahs when Bradley Zalad sacked Suttling at the Doncaster 35.

Steven Egbury carried for most of the yardage on the Mustangs’ next drive and set up Lightfoot’s four-yard touchdown pass to wideout Ian McCartney, who fell over in the end zone and caught the play action score while lying flat on his back. Blyth’s kick was blocked to keep the score at 13-0. The half ended with defensive back Christopher Birks intercepting Suttling at the Doncaster 41.

Cochrane came out of the locker room at halftime in bullish form, with runs of 26 and 17 yards setting up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Suttling to Spencer Whybrow, who redeemed himself in spectacular style after dropping an easy score two plays earlier. Suttling hit Lawal for the two-point conversion to make it 13-8.

Defensive back Neil Kettlewell then picked off another Suttling pass and Viscomi ran for 22 yards on four carries to set up Lightfoot’s two-yard bootleg off a misdirection waggle play, a staple of Doug McLean and John Gurga’s Wing-T offense. Blyth’s extra point went wide left to make it 19-8.

Doncaster made it 25-8 early in the fourth quarter when Tiggardine went in from four yards, but Egbury was stuffed in the backfield on the two-point conversion. Chiltern returner Ally Reid then took the ensuing kickoff 46 yards to the Doncaster 28 before being forced out of bounds by kicker Blyth, but it only delayed the inevitable as Cochrane burst through the line of scrimmage to score a 17-yard TD. He converted his own touchdown for another two points to cut the gap to 25-16.

Still the Mustangs weren’t finished and it was apt that Viscomi completed the job as he got on the end of a 19-yard Lightfoot throw to set up his own six-yard run, with Blyth slotting the PAT to complete the scoring.