San Diego finds some space. Alex Goff photo.

The San Diego Mustangs emerged victorious in a thrilling contest against the Pendleton Arabians in Round 1 of the Boys HS National Championships HS Club bracket.

The Mustangs claimed a narrow win with a final score of 33-31, thanks to a clutch late try and a clutch kick from Rocco Pool.

The first round of the championships witnessed the San Diego Mustangs, control the field early on. James Curtis scored within the first few minutes and when Braden Scott and Benjamin Jolley added tries before 20 minutes were up, Pendleton was in real trouble.

But Pendleton responded. Sam Rhea scored, and while Scott answered with his second, Pendleton started to figure out what channels they should attack.

"Credit to Pendleton, they adjusted and came right at us," said San Diego Head Coach Matty Sandoval."

Nick Trout, Nate DeRolf, and Rhea again staked Pendleton to a clim lead. But William Barrett's late try and Pool's kick made it 33-31, and San Diego held on.

This was a thriller on a day with more than a few. Pendleton came out of it thinking they had not played well, but they had matched an outstanding team play-for-play. San Diego? They did just enough, and the players credited their unit. Now they move on to face the Charlotte Cardinals.