Friday night’s game between the Mavericks and the Stony Point Tigers was the most action-packed game of the season for the Mavs. The Mavericks led for a good portion of the game but in the end, the Tigers came back and won 30-34.

“They gave their best effort and gave everything they had, and we just came up short,” head coach Lee Penland said. “It was heartbreaking for all of us.”

In the first week of conference play, the Homecoming game between McNeil and Stony Point showed the Mavs in control for most of the game. They came out strong, putting points on the board early with a 27-yard field goal by Justin Johnson and a 1-yard running touchdown by Colton Russell in the first quarter.

After allowing a Stony Point touchdown, putting the score at 10-7, McNeil came out strong in the second quarter with a 64-yard pass from Hayden Cooper to Riley Bloodgood.

After a great Homecoming halftime show, the Mavs outscored the Tigers in the third quarter leaving the score 30-20 with McNeil on top going into the fourth quarter.

With the score 30-27 going into the final seconds of the game, the Tigers charged down the field and scored the winning touchdown serving McNeil their 4th loss of the season, making their district record 0-1.

“I think we played a good game overall,”junior Derien Runnels said. “Probably the best so far but didn’t have that last bit of fight to finish it out to get the win.”

The visiting Mavericks face off against Westwood Friday at 7 p.m. at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in what should be a great game. With only district games left on the schedule, every game counts. If the Mavs can beat Westwood on Friday they can swing momentum on their side and turn things around.