The Poplar Bluff Mules were looking for redemption on Friday as they aimed to capture their first win of the season facing the Chaminade Red Devils.

In an intense battle, the game went down to the wire where the Mules' defense stood tall in the final seconds to defeat Chaminade 14-12.

Mules assistant Austin Jefferson said everyone stepped up and gave the defense a lot of praise for doing their jobs and more throughout the entire game.

“The team stepped up and showed out tonight,” Jefferson said. “Hats off to the defense and the defensive staff. We put in a great deal of effort from the entire team, and it paid off. Last week we talked about being a new team this weekend. After the hurt we suffered last week, they didn’t want to have that feeling again, so everyone came out with the right energy. I think the butterflies finally went away and we started to play our game, but it was the defense that came out strong from the game. They came ready to take care of business.”

The Mules jumped out on the boards first after pushing down the field in the first quarter. After getting to the goalline, sophomore runningback Devin Ferguson got into the endzone with a one-yard run touchdown.

The Mules held a 6-0 lead for most of the game, but Chaminade finally got things rolling in the fourth. Marcus Allen plunged across the goalline with a five-yard to even the score. Due to a missed field goal attempt, the game remained 6-6.

Similar to the Mules' previous game, senior quarterback Jay Edmundson was activated in the final five minutes of the game. Edmundson put his quick feet to work and charged down the field with a 45-yard touchdown with a quarterback keeper, followed by a successful two-point conversion. The Mules got back on top with a 14-6 lead.

After Chaminade’s failed attempt to respond, the Mules had one chance to extend the lead but came up short. With less than minutes remaining in the game, Chaminade made some big plays to charge down the field.

Chaminade got in the right position and capitalized with a four-yard rushing touchdown from Madden Irving—cutting the lead down to two. The last thirty seconds was crunch time, and Chaminade did everything in their power to squeeze into the endzone, but the Mules’ defense held strong to stop the two-point conversion attempt.

Edmundson threw 5/10 with 64 yards and led the Mules in rushing with 82 yards and one touchdown. Ferguson had 50 yards rushing with a touchdown and Caden Jenkins rushed for 44 yards and captured 41 yards receiving. Defensively, JR Lathon had an interception and Bryce Dobbs had a sack.

The Mules improve to 1-1 on the season and will host Farmington High School next Friday for homecoming at Mules Stadium.