MONUMENT – Crane didn’t waste any time in Monument.

Crane defeated the Monument/Long Creek/Dayville football team 48-0 Sept. 12. The Mustangs scored three touchdowns on their first three possessions against the Tigers. Crane’s Raymond Thompson took the ball 68 yards for a touchdown on the first play following the kick off. Thompson put on a repeat performance following a Tiger punt on the next Crane drive. He took the ball 88 yards on the play. Crane’s quarterback Ryan Opie hit Royal Henricks with a 59-yard pass for a touchdown on the second play of their third drive to take the lead 22-0.

Crane coach Stub Travis said Opie has performed well as a freshman.

“We started freshman quarterback Ryan Opie because Dallen Davies is banged up,” Travis said. “Opie threw the ball real well for us. He’s got a strong arm.”

Crane only failed to score a touchdown on two of their drives in the first half. They punted once and fumbled a ball that was recovered by the Tigers. The Mustangs led 42-0 going into halftime.

The Tigers picked it up on defense in the second half and only allowed one touchdown in the half. They also forced the Mustangs to fumble the ball on their first three drives of the second half.

However, the Tigers defense wasn’t enough to win. They didn’t earn a first down in the game and never seemed to get their offense going. They punted the ball six times, turned it over on downs four times and had a fumble and an interception.

Despite the loss the Tigers coach Butch Sagaser said the team improved from their 46-22 loss to Jordan Valley.

“We have been getting better and I believe we will get better,” Sagaser said. “We didn’t get a win, but we’re getting better. We looked a lot better in the second half. We’ll get some wins this season.”

The Tigers will face travel to face Adrian at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19.

“Adrian’s a good team,” Sagaser said. “We should be able to play with them if we keep improving. We have to want it.”