The West Jones Mustangs and Northeast Jones Tigers met for the 42nd time Friday night.

And it’s hard to imagine a more thrilling finish than what happened at Mustang Stadium on this particular cool, fall evening.

Adam Herrington booted a 27-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Mustangs to a hard-fought, 10-7 victory over the Tigers.

The win, which assures the Mustangs of a playoff berth, lifts West Jones to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in Region 5-4A. The tough-luck Tigers fall to 3-6 overall, 1-4 in the region.

The game was knotted at 7-7 midway through the fourth quarter when the Tigers took over on their own 35-yard line, following a punt. NEJ moved downfield for a pair of first downs before facing a fourth-and-4 at the West 33. The Tigers went for it, but Eric Shelby was stopped short at the 30.

The Mustangs took over with just 1:06 remaining to play and quickly came up with a big play.

Quarterback Chase Headrick found senior wideout Justin Brown for a 46-yard completion all the way to the NEJ 24. Headrick then hit Kraig Simpson for 15 yards to the 9.

Jerrell Knight gained three yards on first down, but then was dropped for a loss of four on second down. The Mustangs let the clock wind down to 2.8 seconds showing before calling timeout.

Senior center Will Pitts snapped the ball, Simpson got the ball down cleanly and Herrington booted the game-winner, which gave West Jones its only lead of the night.

For the game, the Tigers had 14 first downs, compared to 10 for West. NEJ rushed it 48 times for 192 yards and ended up with 209 yards of offense. West Jones was held to 13 yards net rushing, but had 176 yards through the air to end up with 189 yards of offense.

Individually, Headrick was 14-of-22 through the air for 157 yards. Tiger quarterback Chucky Nichols rushed 17 times for 113 yards, while Shelby gained 46 yards on 15 attempts.

West’s Tyler Gardner had five receptions for 36 yards, while Brown ended up with 73 yards on four receptions.

Northeast Jones got going quickly to start the game.

NEJ’s Chris Moncivais intercepted a pass on West’s first play from scrimmage, returning it from the West 22 to the 15.

On the very next play, Nichols ran the option to his left for a touchdown. Shawn Myrick’s extra point made it 7-0 with 9:05 left in the first quarter.The Tigers had another opportunity to put points on the board midway through the second quarter. However, a high snap thwarted Myrick’s chance for a 32-yard field goal.

The Mustangs got their only touchdown of the night at the start of the second half.

West Jones took the kickoff and drove 55 yards in 11 plays for the score. They converted a fourth-and-1 at the NEJ 46 when Knight gained two yards. Later, Headrick tossed a lateral to Gardner at the wideout slot. Gardner promptly found Regrick Young for a 19-yard gain down to the NEJ 6.

Headrick eventually got the touchdown on a sneak from the 1. Herrington’s extra point tied the game at 7-7 with 7:03 left in the third quarter.

The Mustangs had another chance when Brian Wells came up with a fumble at the Tiger 36 late in the third quarter. But the NEJ defense held and forced a punt.

West Jones travels to Petal for a crucial region game next week. The Tigers will end the season by hosting South Jones.