By Becky Roa (September 18, 2003)

George Mason junior Mohamed Zohir returned the second half kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown that ended a 16-quarter scoreless stretch dating back to 1999 against Stonewall Jackson and led his Mustangs to a 9-0 victory Friday night on the Generals’ home field.

Zohir’s dramatic third quarter return "relieved the pressure on all the players," said Mason head coach Tom Horn. Two series later, senior Peter Dittmar added three points to the Mustangs’ score with a 25-yard field goal. Mason’s defense took care of the rest of the game. 

"Defense has been a real back bone for us this year," said Horn, talking specifically of senior linebackers Chris Epling and Matt Williams who both had at least five tackles or tackles-for-loss in Friday night’s game. 
 

The win brought the Mustangs’ record to 2-1, somewhat surprising considering the lack of experienced leadership on the team. Currently, the Mustangs have only five seniors dressing for games. Asked what his main concern for the future was, Horn said, "We have to score more. The defense has been carrying us." He noted that his personnel on the varsity squad are being moved around in hopes of finding players who "will get us into the end zone." He added, "We are taking one day, one play and one game at a time." .

"The defense has been carrying us, we have to score more  points," said Mason head football coach Tom Horn. The  defense, above in game two, has shut out two of the first three  teams it has faced. The Mustangs now stand at 2-1.  (Becky Roa photo)

Unless hurricane Isabel gets in the way, The Mustangs’ next competition will be Friday night against AA William Monroe at 7:30 p.m. "It’s going to be a battle against a high scoring offensive team and a hard hitting defensive team," said Horn.