2008 CHAMPIONS OF THE QYFL   

The Milton Mustangs football team of Massachusetts is a member of the Quincy, Massachusetts youth league.  It is a local league that is made up of five teams from Quincy and one team from Milton.  The league was started almost sixty years ago.  Milton Mustangs youth football is for youths from 4th to 8th grade who want to learn the sport of American football.  Our philosophy is to teach and instruct young people in the sport of football, but more importantly instill in all Mustang players the principles of discipline, teamwork, strong character, sound work ethics and sportsmanship.

   WHO ARE WE? MUSTANGS! 

Since 1994 the Mustang program has stood for more than just football; the program is more about sportsmanship, discipline, commitment, teamwork, hard work, character development, and being a stand up citizen both on and off the field. Football is only the game we play to achieve these goals.

    The Mustang program is special and different for many reasons.  The practices are intense and conditioning is challenging.  The lesson learned: there are no short cuts in life, anything of value has to be earned.  Mustang priorities are family, school, religion, and then football.  Without the first three priorities, you can’t be a true Mustang.  Most of our players who go on to high school or other football programs find that the practices are easier than those they have been through with the Mustangs, making them better prepared for football at the next level.  Mustang conditioning is a staple of the program and has helped ensure players’ safety and has secured a lot of fourth quarter victories by being in superior condition at the end of the game.  When a player has participated in a full season of the Mustang football program it makes a statement, the statement, that player has endured and overcome, raising his or her own personal bar.  Once a Mustang player leaves the program they are only gone in body, the lessons learned in the Mustang program last a lifetime.

“Once a Mustang, Always a Mustang”

VARSITY TEAM

    Winning has never been the ultimate goal for the Mustang program.  We believe that if every player takes responsibility for their actions on and off the field and gives 100% effort, we have a chance to win every time we take the field.  The winning part will take care of itself. The Mustang Varsity has won eight QYFL championships out of the twelve seasons the Mustangs have participated in the Quincy Youth Football League; The Mustang Varsity has not lost a game since 2004.
      The 2006 Mustang Varsity team had big shoes to fill. Last season’s 2005 Mustang Varsity team set the bar high, going undefeated, out-scoring opponents 220 to 32, and winning the QYFL championship.  In addition, the 2006 Mustang Varsity lost five returning varsity players to private schools and non-football related injuries, these players if they played, would have been a big part of the team.  The team began the season with only two returning defensive starters and three offensive starters back from last season’s championship team.
       The 2006 Mustang Varsity season started out with a big question mark, who was going to step up and who was going to make the big plays?  We now have our answer: a Mustang Varsity defense that never allowed a single touchdown all season, with two or three in-season one yard defensive goal line stands.  The Mustang defense always answered the call.  The Mustang special teams was our secret weapon, scoring numerous times on punt and kick returns and blocking punts throughout the season.  The Mustang offense used a balanced attack, throwing and running the ball to control the tempo of most of the games. By utilizing multiple formations and up to twenty different variations of plays, they made most opponents defenses unsure of where the offense was attacking from.
        The final game of the season was the QYFL Championship against one of the best teams in the league, the West Quincy Elks.  The Mustangs and Elks have sustained a rivalry through the years and both teams are capable of beating each other on any given Sunday.  The stage was set at the recently renovated Veteran’s Stadium in Quincy on newly installed synthetic turf.  The game would be a defensive battle with both sides unable to mount any substantial drives.  The difference in the game was, as it has been all season, the Mustang defense.  Not only did the defense only give up four first downs all game but a defensive interception in the second half put the only score on the board.  The turning point of this championship game was the goal line stand late in the fourth quarter.  The Mustang defense shut down the Elks offense which allowed the Mustang offense to almost run out the clock.  The last down of the game had the Elks offense on the Mustang thirty yard line with eight seconds left in the game.  The ball was snapped and the Elks tried to run right on a sweep but were stuffed by five Mustang defenders to end the game and secure the Mustang win.  The final score was 6-0 Milton Mustangs, once again the Varsity team is the QYFL champion.
The Mustang defense did it all this season, not allowing a touchdown all year and scoring touchdowns when the team needed them.  The defense is the reason the Mustang Varsity went 9-0.  With the 2006 season behind us and two undefeated seasons and two QYFL championships in our grasp, it is clear that the foundations of the Mustang program are working.
        It has never been about individual stats or individual recognition.  It is always team first, but I would like to recognize the departing Mustang varsity eighth graders.  I have had the honor of coaching these players for the past four years at various levels of the Mustangs program.  They have endured a lot of tough practices over the last four years and they never quit, they are all true Mustangs.  The eighth graders are as follows: Nick Primiani, Nick Noonan, Matt Regan, Jack Davis, Alex O’Donnell, Joe Corcoran, Cameron Flaherty, Ebuka Nwanekezi, Christian Adley, Craig Hawkins, Thomas O’Connor, Dylan Olson, Andrew Sheehan, Brendan Smith, Seamus Queally and Harry Bacon. Remember “Once a Mustang, Always a Mustang”

JUNIOR VARSITY/FRESHMAN TEAMS

      The Mustang program was designed for the two lower levels, Junior Varsity and Freshman, to disregard winning in favor of equal playing time for all players, thus leading to player development and overall participation.  We have tried to stay true to these principles and still put a lot of effort into achieving these goals to the best of our ability. This year’s Mustang JV and Freshman teams made huge player development strides, with second year players finally understanding the game of football and using the skills that they had been taught correctly.  For some first year players, this was a year to get their feet wet in the game of football and build a foundation for the following year.   It has been our experience that the first year of football is an orientation period, just getting used to this very different sport.  Regardless of playing experience, both levels showed an unbelievable level of enthusiasm both on and of the field, at practice and in the games.  Our true success is that everyone came in as an individual, but left as a team and all became a

“Mustang for Life”.