Giving up two touchdowns and a safety in the first quarter had to be a stunning start to Saturday’s Class 5A state final for the vaunted Mullen defense.
But it only made the end result sweeter.
The top-ranked and defending champion Mustangs rallied Saturday from a 16-0 deficit to drop Pomona 27-24 at Invesco Field at Mile High.
The Mustangs (14-0) won their fourth big-school championship since 1998 and third under seventh-year coach Dave Logan.
The Panthers (12-2) got off to a dream start behind two rushing touchdowns from Tyler Pace and a safety when the ball was snapped out of the back of the end zone on a Mullen punt.
The Mustangs, who hadn’t allowed more than 15 points in any game this season, rallied slowly behind the legs of bruising running back Adonis Ameen-Moore, who put the Mustangs up for good on a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
The Panthers, however, made sure no one celebrated too early as a Nathan Grimes 10-yard touchdown run and subsequent 2-point conversion made it 27-24 with 3:36 remaining. The Panthers got the ball back with just over two minutes remaining but the Mustangs defense held.
