MACKSVILLE — It isn’t clear what was said in the Macksville High School football team’s locker room at halftime Friday night, but whatever it was, it worked.
The Mustangs rallied to a 52-26 victory over Pretty Prairie, scoring 30 unanswered points in the second half to come back from a 4-point deficit.
Macksville improves to 5-0 overall, 3-0 in district play.
Defensively, the Mustangs were able to get a stop to open the second half, in which the Bulldogs were held to 94 rushing yards compared to the 175 rushing yards in the first half.
The Bulldogs did all of that without their leading rusher, Tanner Cooper, who was out with an injury.
“We talked at halftime about doing the things that we were capable of doing  and rising up and playing how we were capable of playing, and we really did a great job of that in the second half,” Macksville head coach Jeff Kuckelman said. “They were a little bit handy capped, obviously, with probably their best player out.
“We did a good job of standing up in that second half and doing the things we talked about at halftime. Our d-line didn’t get driven out and our linebackers came up and made plays.”
On the back of the momentum from stopping a Pretty Prairie rushing game that ran all over the Mustangs in the first half, Macksville was able to get its offense running on all cylinders.
Filbert threw a pair of touchdown tosses to Adam Oak for 23 and 24 yards. He finished the game with 153 passing yards, giving him a total of 1,091 yards on the season.
“Well, we changed some things at half, and we found some openings in their zones,” Filbert said. “We just ran a good play. Adam ran a good route.
“I’ve got great receivers, and my line gives me time. That’s just how it is.
Filbert also ran for a pair of touchdowns in the second half, cruising for a 57-yard score and a 1-yard dive into the end zone.
The Mustangs started the game ahead after a 35-yard pass from Filbert to Tanner Tranbarger, who was the leading receiver for Macksville with 98 yards.
Then Pretty Prairie tied and went ahead, scoring 20 unanswered points in the first and second quarters.
Oak found some success running the ball, scoring on a 45-yard run and a 77-yard sprint, giving Macksville a 22-20 lead. He finished the game with 138 rushing yards and 49 receiving yards.
Oak said the whole team stepped up in the second half.
“It was a great second half,” Oak said. “Our coach at halftime said that this is our field, and it is our field. We stood by that and played well in the second half.”
However Pretty Prairie went ahead again before the half on a 6-yard run from Tyler Markus, making it a 26-22 advantage for the Bulldogs after the first 24 minutes.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
At Macksville
Friday
Pretty Prairie       12  14   0   0   —  26
Macksville             6  16  22  8   —  52
First quarter
Macksville — Tan. Tranbarger 35 pass from Filbert (pass fail)
Pretty Prairie — Schnittker 31 run (run fail)
Pretty Prairie — Broce 16 pass from Mains (run fail)
Second quarter
Pretty Prairie — Broce 20 pass from Mains (Markus run)
Macksville — Oak 45 run (Tan. Tranbarger from Filbert)
Macksville — Oak 77 run (Tay. Tranbarger from Filbert)
Pretty Prairie — Markus 6 run (run fail)
Third quarter
Macksville — Oak 23 pass from Filbert (Filbert run)
Macksville — Oak 24 pass from Filbert (run fail)
Macksville — Filbert 57 run (Tay. Tranbarger pass from Filbert)
Fourth quarter
Macksville — Filbert 1 run (Ibarra pass from Filbert)