Ronnie Bohnert of Manitou Springs knew before the game against St. Mary’s that if his team played to its ability, it should take the victory at the Grace Center. He was a big reason why the Mustangs did.

The Mustangs (3-4, 2-3) defense dominated the first half against 2A Tri-Peaks rival St. Mary’s (1-6, 1-4) and never looked back en route to a 39-7 victory.

“I think we came in knowing St. Mary’s wasn’t as good as we could play, if we played up to our expectations,” Bohnert said.  “We expected to win this game — we expect to win every game — but we have to come in and execute like we did tonight.”

The Mustangs took advantage of a fumble to score on a 5-yard run by Taylor Utt in the first quarter. Bohnert then intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown.

“We’ve played pretty well defensively all year,” Manitou Springs coach John McGee said. “It’s starting to come together.’’

St. Mary’s switched to the shotgun formation in the second quarter, and Michael Francis caught a touchdown pass from Alex Rivera.

But Bohnert gave his team a pad with second-half touchdown catches of 10 and 16 yards from quarterback Chad Sienknecht.

Falcon tight end Paul Rotering runs after making a catch Friday night against Canon City. Photo by KIRK SPEER, THE GAZETTE