That sounds odd. It’s usually Misenheimer who leaves opponents whipped and beaten.

But the 6-foot behemoth stood off by himself, leaning on a truck, shirtless and in despair, a stone cold, hollow look in his eyes.

“It’s tough being a senior,” said the pride of East Rowan. “I think about being a sophomore or a junior and saying, ‘Yeah, I’ve got next year.’ But now, with every game, it gets shorter and shorter.”

Misenheimer has five regular season games left, and unless the Mustangs (3-3 overall, 1-2 in the South Piedmont Conference) pull off a minor miracle, his high school football career will end without a playoff run for the first time in four seasons.

East has two devastating losses in the SPC with only three berths available.

What hurt the much-sought after college recruit the most was that his team didn’t play like East Rowan. It just didn’t have enough oomph when it counted and was in a deep hole by halftime, losing 28-0.

“It was rough,” Misenheimer said of Jeff Safrit’s halftime tirade. “But we shouldn’t have to have that. The team ought to click and not get smacked around and fussed at.”

Misenheimer was like most of the Mustang seniors. He was sure West was not better.

“I know you have to say that,” said receiver Brent Lambert. “But we just didn’t stop them. I think we could have.

“We just didn’t.”

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So what else is new?

No one has stopped the upstart Falcons. The Mustangs were like the four teams before them. They didn’t want to give the Falcons any respect, but after being soundly beaten on the scoreboard, they had to, albeit reluctantly.

“They definitely have a chance at a championship,” Misenheimer said. “I don’t know many teams who are as dynamic as they are. They have phenomenal athletes who make the plays.”

The game was supposed to be a showcase between the baseball player (East’s Cal Hayes) and the basketball player (Scooter Sherrill). But Sherrill was held in check and Hayes suffered a minor knee injury.

With Sherrill under wraps, East turned its attention to walloping West’s small offensive line, especially center Daniel Kluttz, all 175 pounds of him.

Kluttz had the duty of looking across the line at those Mustang monsters. All week long, he could see Misenheimer and Henry Faavesi in his sleep — a combined 12 feet and 510 pounds coming down on his head.

“I thought about it — you can’t help but think about it,” said Kluttz. “But I can’t be intimidated by them. Misenheimer’s good. They have a great defensive line, big and strong.

“But it’s a rivalry. We didn’t back down.”

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While the 28 points in the first half showcased West’s speed and fancy footwork, it was the defense that kept East’s offense stifled.

The defensive intensity picked up in the second quarter. With the score 7-0, Brant Marlin racked up the first sack on Drew Davis. After going up 14-0, West made the statement of the ballgame on East’s next possession.

Jason Fink, Marlin and newcomer Kendall High buried Davis on first down. James Francis nailed him for a sack on second down. On third down, the snap went over Davis’ head. When the beleaguered sophomore dove on the ball and looked up, there was Marlin standing over him glowering menacingly.

It was 4th-and-37.

Luke and Josh Drechsler each had a sack and Luke blocked a punt. Marcus White came up from the secondary bullwhipping the Mustang runners. Horatio Everhart knocked down passes and Brandon Bailey was picking them off.

“You can name them all,” said West coach Scott Young, an East graduate. “The defense was fan-tastic. Everybody had a heck of a ballgame.”

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Want the mindset of the Falcons? Marlin was not even supposed to play because of a broken toe. But this game was too big. Too emotional. If there was pain inside that right shoe, he didn’t feel it. West had never been 5-0 before and he was going to be a part of it.

“Coach told us there was a lot of emotion in this game,” said Marlin, a 6-1, 235-pound brute. “This was his old stomping grounds and he wanted to kick tail. It got us hyped.”

Misenheimer was hyped for the game, but apparently, he was one of the few Mustangs who was.

“You work all week and some guys come out saying, ‘It’s just Friday.’” he said. “People look past the game to other things instead of putting all they’ve got into the game. You’ve got to get pumped up for the game! This is what it’s all about.”

And with that, Danny Misenheimer paced around the parking lot some more.

There are five games left for East Rowan. But even with two league losses, there is still something very important to play for.

Their seniors, whose careers are quickly coming to an end.

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