Leatham completed 24 of 36 passes, spreading the wealth to eight different receivers.

Middle Creek (5-1, 3-0) struck first in the waning seconds of the first quarter on a four-yard Kevin Jones touchdown run to give the Mustangs a 6-0 lead.

The Jaguars fumbled the ensuing the kickoff and Middle Creek capitalized. The Mustangs scored less than 30 seconds later on a Stephen Sladek one-yard plunge to push their advantage to 12-0.

Athens (3-2, 1-1) finally found its way onto the scoreboard courtesy of a snap over the head of the Middle Creek punter, who knocked it out of the back of the end zone for a safety, but couldn’t gain any momentum from the good fortune.

The Mustangs answered quickly with two scores just 59 seconds apart. After a Garrett Leatham to Dexter Montague 18-yard touchdown pass, Athens again gave the ball right back to Middle Creek with an interception on the very next play. The opportunistic Mustangs wasted no time pushing their lead to 24 on Sladek’s second touchdown of the game.

Athens answered late in the half on a three-yard Ben Snotherly touchdown run to make it 26-10, but its defense couldn’t slow down Middle Creek’s passing attack. The Mustangs marched 65 yards in just 29 seconds to score with two ticks left in the second quarter and close the half with a 33-10 lead. Both teams found the end zone twice in the second half.

Leatham hooked up with wideout Devonte Knox for two touchdowns – one in the third quarter and another in the fourth. Knox finished with a game-high nine receptions for 181 yards.

The Jags scored consecutive rushing touchdowns. The first came with 3:09 left in the third quarter on Snotherly’s second score of the game. The latter was a seven-yard scamper by running back KyRee Green, who had his streak of four touchdown games snapped at three.

The Tri-Nine is now down to just two unbeatens in conference play – Middle Creek and Fuquay-Varina. The Bengals did not play Friday. The Mustangs are off next week.