SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2006-8

By Bill Engelhardt
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Last Friday evening, October 13, the Mustangs of South Western visited the Panthers of Central York and came away with 25-23 victory in an aerial showdown that saw the Mustangs rack up 218-yards and 2 touchdowns passing and the Panthers counter that with 233-yards and 2 touchdowns. The Mustangs started off the show with three-play a 62-yard opening drive, featuring a 6-yard run by Eric Updegrove, 5-yards of which was given back on a subsequent penalty, and a beautiful 61-yard touchdown bomb from J. C. Laughlin to Drew Snyder. Snyder kicked the extra point and the Mustangs were up 7-0 at the 10:21 point in the first quarter.

The Panthers then mounted a 41-yard drive that ended at the Mustangs 36-yard line when a run on a fake punt failed to gain a first down. A series of punt exchanges followed before the Mustangs started a drive on their own 41-yard line. A 41-yard pass from Laughlin to Jesse Smith put the Mustangs at the Panthers 18-yard line and three plays later Donnie Brady scored on a nifty 12-yard jaunt. The extra point was missed and the Mustangs led 13-0 midway through the second quarter.

On the Mustangs next possession Clay Chaney intercepted a pass for the Panthers at the Mustangs 33. On the very next play Nate Petry lofted a picture perfect 67-yard touchdown strike to Parrish Fells as the clock ran out in the first half, and Alex Kelly’s extra point kick made the score 13-7.

Late in the third quarter Ryan Brunner intercepted a pass for the Panthers and returned it 24-yards to the Mustangs 46-yard line. The drive stalled at the 12-yard line and Alex Kelly kicked a 29-yard field goal for the Panthers to make the score an interesting 13-10 in favor of the Mustangs at 9:13 in the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs punted on their next possession and the Panthers concluded a 56-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Petry to Fells. Kelly’s extra point put the Panthers up 17-13 with 4:20 left in the game.

The never say die Mustangs then took the kickoff and started a 75-yard drive. A six-play drive, featuring a 13-yard pass from Laughlin to Jason Gigous, put the ball at the Panthers 42-yard line. Laughlin cranked up his arm and threw a 42-yard touchdown strike to Tim Smith. The extra point was missed but the Mustangs were up 19-17 with 1:59 left in the game.

The Panthers took the kickoff at their 15-yard line and the Mustangs Chris Wilson sacked the quarterback back at the 7. On the next play Drew Snyder intercepted a Panthers pass and returned it 30-yards for a touchdown and the Mustangs were up 25-17 with 1:01 left in the game.

The Panthers took the kickoff and started an 80-yard drive on their 20-yard line. This drive featured a 23-yard pass from Petry to Andrew Tuleya and a 34-yard pass from Petry to Ryan Wolf that put the ball on the Mustangs 3-yard line. Ryan Brunner then scored on a 3-yard run with 26 seconds left in the game. A two-point conversion pass attempt failed and the Mustangs held on for the two-point victory.

This was a game for the ages and, as Mustangs coach Don Seidenstricker pointed out, you had to feel sorry for whoever lost. The fans on both sides of the field were treated to all of the thrills and excitement they could handle in this topsy-turvy battle.

Chad LaGore and Tim Smith led the Mustangs with 12 tackles each, followed by Jason Gigous with 11 tackles and Drew Snyder with 10 tackles. Then followed Corwyn Gordon and Jesse Smith with 8, Chris Wilson with 7, Seth Barnes, Duane Rowlette and Eric Updegrove with 6, Dan Dukes, Cody Shue and, Jason Sneeringer with 5, Mike Stremmel with 3, and Randal Barnett and Donnie Brady with 1 tackle each. Tim Smith also had 4 big pass defenses, one of which saved a touchdown in the end zone, and Chris Wilson recorded 2 big sacks for the Mustangs.

Aaron Repman returned 3 punts for 29-yards, with the longest going for 14-yards, and Seth Barnes returned 2 punts for 3-yards, with the longest going for 6-yards. Repman also returned 2 kickoffs for 31-yards, with the longest going for 19-yards, and Chris Helwig returned a kickoff for 13-yards. Drew Snyder kicked off 5 times for 253-yards, with the longest going for 57-yards. Snyder punted 5 times for 167-yards for a 33.4-yard average, with the longest going for 57-yards, for the Mustangs.

Donnie Brady, Dan Dukes, Jason Gigous, Corwyn Gordon, Chad LaGore, Dale Mills, Cody Shue, Jesse Smith, Jason Sneeringer, Drew Snyder, Eric Updegrove and Chris Wilson manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Seth Barnes, Duane Rowlette, Tim Smith and Mike Stremmel patrolled the secondary.

The Mustangs gained 107-yards rushing and 218-yards passing for a total of 325 yards of offense. J. C. Laughlin completed 7 of 18 passes for the 218-yards, including touchdowns of 61-yards to Drew Snyder and 42-yards to Tim Smith, 2 passes for 40-yards to Updegrove, and passes of 41-yards to Jesse Smith, 25-yards to Brady, and 9-yards to Gigous. Tim Smith lead the rushing attack with 39-yards, followed by Donnie Brady with 33-yards and a touchdown, Eric Updegrove with 28-yards, and Jason Gigous with 7-yards.

The Central York Panthers gained 80-yards rushing and 233-yards passing for a total offense of 313-yards. Nate Petry completed 11 passes for the 233-yards, including the touchdowns of 67 and 11-yards to Parrish Fells and 3 passes for 55-yards to Ryan Wolf, 2 for 60-yards to Troy Blankenstein, 2 for 26-yards to Andrew Tuleya, 1 for 11-yards to Le’Roy Calhoun and 1 for 3-yards to Ryan Rabuck for the Panthers. Fells led the Panthers with 49-yards rushing, followed by Tyler Gray with 35-yards, Ryan Brunner with 18-yards and a touchdown, Mike Shope with 3-yards, Clay Chaney with 2-yards, Blaine Liggins with 2-yards, Pat Strine with 2-yards and T. J. Shaffer with a yard. Nate Petry rushed 6 times for minus 32-yards.

L’Mar Calhoun returned a kickoff for 10-yards, Le’Roy Calhoun returned one for 22-yards, Blaine Liggins returned one for 6-yards and T. J. Shaffer returned two for 26-yards for the Panthers. Joe Dizio kicked off 3 times for 137-yards, with the longest going for 53-yards. Clay Chaney punted 7 times for 280-yards for a 40-yard average, with the longest going for 50-yards, for the Panthers.

The 105 member strong South Western Mustang Marching Band, 9-time Cavalcade of Bands Champion, a 2000 Tournament of Bands Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion provided the half time entertainment with the 2006 musical program entitled “Colourful Rythms,” which featured musical themes from the Millennium Celebration at Epcot Center, including “Time Prologue,” “Chaos,” “Life” and “Celebration.” Then followed the main theme from the Cirque du Soleil production, “Journey of Man” and “Tribal Mustang.” The closing number was a “lilting” Irish melody leading to the majestic strains of “We Go On.” The 124 member strong Panthers Marching Band entertained after the game with selections from “West Side Story,” including “Mambo,” “Maria,” “Cool,” “America,” ”I Have a Love,” and “Tonight.”

The Mustangs of South Western are 6-1-0 overall and 4-0-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 160-63-1 (.717) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 301-181-8. The results of the 490 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .624 winning percentage and a .631 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs continue league play and visit the undefeated Colonials of New Oxford. The Colonials are coming off of a 34-7 mauling of the Lions of Red Lion. This game could go a long way in deciding the division championship and from here it looks like the Mustangs are ready to continue their winning ways. GO MUSTANGS GO.