Midland Valley loses against Westside in Game of the Week

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s week 14 of Under the Lights, and the state championship hopes are still alive for 17 of our local high school football teams from across the CSRA.

Playing in their respective state quarterfinals Friday night, the undefeated 12-0 Midland Valley Mustangs were hosting their third playoff game in a row.

We were live from the Valley, where to say this is a massive game for the Mustangs is an understatement because if they win, they’ll host the class 4A upper state championship game next week.

The second double-digit win season continued Friday for the Mustangs.

They’re back, hoping to make a statement after barely slipping past South Pointe in the fourth quarter last week.

On Friday, they faced Westside out of Anderson, S.C. It’ll be one of the toughest teams they’ve faced this season.

Both Westside and Midland Valley have faced familiar opponents this year in Airport and Easley.

While both sailed past Airport, Easley was a different story.

The Rams beat Easley 63 to 35. Midland Valley beat them in the first round by a touchdown 28 to 21.

Staying in this one, they’ll have to buckle down to make every drive count.

“We’ve been down late and two of our last three games, and still found a way to win those football games. And so, you know, I think our guys have just gotten the confidence of knowing that hey, no matter what the situation is, as long as we keep doing the things that we’re capable of,” said Midland Valley Head Coach Earl Chaptman.

Westside’s defense hasn’t really let anything through this post-season. They’ve only allowed 13 points through the post-season so far.

We’re back to where the season ended for the Mustangs last year.

In the first round last season, Midland Valley hopped on a bus to take on Westside. Their bags came back packed for good, losing 45 to 35.

This year, Midland Valley hoped to treat them with the same courtesy.

Talking to Chaptman, they’re using the home-field advantage in this one, giving the Mustangs a boost in confidence every down.

But fans aside, the Mustangs had more to talk about than just the playbook this week.

They’re finding a way to keep this team undefeated, while not letting emotions get in the way of their success.

“We have to control our emotions, right, and we have to channel our emotion in the right way, football is the emotional game, especially when you’re playing in big rivalry games and things like that there’s a lot of emotion involved. So you got to control it and channel it into the way the things that are gonna help you be successful,” said Chaptman.

Midland Valley lost to Westside 68 to 53.

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