SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2009-8

By Bill Engelhardt
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Last Friday evening, October 16, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Lions of Red Lion at the Mustang Corral and galloped to a 41-0 shutout. Levi Sager took up right where he left off a week ago with touchdown runs of 42 and 2-yards. The Lions opened the game by going three and out and the Mustangs drove 51-yards in three plays, ending with Sager’s 42-yard touchdown jaunt. Ian Smith’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 7-0 at the 8:25 point in the first quarter and the Mustangs were off to the races.

The Lions punted after a short 4 play drive, the Mustangs turned the ball over on downs after a 7 play 31-yard drive, featuring a 33-yard pass from Ian smith to Kyle Mahorney, at the Lions 27-yard line, the Lions punted after a three and out, and the Mustangs drove 52-yards in 6 plays, featuring a 38-yard run by Sager and ending with Sager’s 2-yard touchdown jaunt. Smith’s extra point upped the score to 14-0 at the 9:23 point in the second quarter.

The Lions went three and out again and attempted to punt but the punter caught the snap with his knee down and the Mustangs were in business at the Lions 15-yard line. J. R. Mummert bulled his way 9-yards to the 6, Sager darted to the 2, and Smith called his own number and ran it in from the 2-yard line. His extra point kick made the score 21-0 at the 7:20 point in the second quarter. That’s the way the first half ended.

The Mustangs opened the second half with a 6 play 20-yard drive but ended up punting. The Lions ran off 4 plays before Jake Myers intercepted a pass from Tanner Klinefelter and returned it 51-yards for a Mustangs touchdown, upping the score to 27-0 at the 7:08 point in the third quarter.

After exchanging punts, the Mustangs drove 60-yards in 4 plays (aided by a 15-yard penalty), featuring a 22-yard run by Jeb Shipley and Shipley’s 16-yard touchdown run. Smith’s extra point kick upped the score to 34-0 with 10:13 left in the game.

The Lions fumbled and Matt Funk recovered it for the Mustangs at the Lions 31-yard line. Ryan Sexton then launched a 31-yard touchdown jaunt and Smith’s extra point made the final score 41-0 in favor of the Mustangs with 9:46 left in the game. The mercy rule went into effect and the continuous running of the clock brought the game to a swift end.

Billy Utz led the Mustangs defense with 11 tackles, followed by Cody Fricke with 10, Kyle Mahorney and Jake Myers with 8 tackles each, Ryan Sexton with 7, Levi Sager with 6, Colby Fuhrman and Dan Laird with 5 tackles each, Brad Conroy, Leonard Sturgis and Jake Shaffer with 4 tackles each, Aaron Bosley with 3, Casey Froehlich, Carnie Fryfogle, Kyle King and Tyrell McCleary with 2 tackles each, and Matt Funk, Jeff Hacker, Jimmy Nicklas, Mike Pugh, Norton Redding, and Jeb Shipley with 1 tackle each. Myers, Sexton and Utz each recorded a sack, and Sexton and Shipley each were credited with a pass defense, for the Mustangs.

Ryan Sexton returned 1 kickoff for no yards for the Mustangs. Jeb Shipley returned a punt for 5-yards and Tyrell McCleary returned a punt for 1-yard for the Mustangs. Norton Redding kicked off 7 times for 319-yards, with the longest going for 60-yards and a touchback for the Mustangs. Mike Felton punted 5 times for 156-yards, with the longest going for 43-yards, for the Mustangs.

Aaron Bosley, Mason Brady, Matt Funk, Cody Fricke, Colby Fuhrman, Dan Laird, Kyle Mahorney, Jake Myers, Ryan Sexton, Jake Shaffer, Billy Utz, and Anthony Wildasin manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions, with help from Brady Conroy, Carnie Fryfogle, Jeff Hacker, Josh Hertz, Tommy Nicklas, David Messinger, Woody Stetter, and Leonard Sturgis. Kyle King, Tyrell McCleary, Jimmy Nicklas, and Levi Sager patrolled the secondary, with help from Marty Deal, Casey Froehlich, and Mike Pugh, for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 219-yards rushing and 38-yards passing for a total of 257- yards of offense. Levi Sager led the Mustangs rushing attack with 7 carries for 100-yards (including touchdowns of 42 and 2-yards), followed by Jeb Shipley with 4 for 42-yards (including a 16-yard touchdown), Ryan Sexton with 1 for 31-yards and a touchdown, J. R. Mummert with 13 for 28-yards, Jeff Hacker with 1 for 7-yards, Kyle King with 2 for 4-yards, Tyrell McCleary with 1 for 3-yards, Marty Deal with 1 for 2-yards, Ian Smith with 4 for 1-yard (including a 1-yard touchdown), and Bobby Porter with 2 carries for 1-yard. Quarterback Smith completed 4 of 8 passes for 38-yards, 1 for 33-yards to Kyle Mahorney, 1 for 6-yards to Mummert, 1 for 4-yards to Jimmy Nicklas, and 1 for minus 5-yards to Shipley, for the Mustangs. Ian Smith kicked 5 extra points, Jake Myers returned an interception 51-yards for a touchdown, Mike Felton, Jimmy Nicklas, and Jeb Shipley each intercepted a pass, and Matt Funk and Leonard Sturgis each recovered a fumble for the Mustangs.

The Lions gained 96-yards rushing and 49-yards passing for a total offense of 145-yards. Jeremy Knaub led the Lions rushing attack with 16 carries for 123-yards, followed by Steve States with 6 for 5, K. J. Gauntt with 1 for no yards, Dylan McCoy with 1 for no yards, and Tanner Klinefelter with 11 carries for minus 32-yards. Sophomore quarterback Klinefelter, replacing Chad Kelly (nephew of Hall of fame quarterback Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills) who has been dismissed from the team, completed 5 of 15 passes for 49-yards, 1 for 27-yards to Branden Kessler, 2 for 13-yards to Dylan McCoy, 1 for 5-yards to Steve States, and 1 for 4-yards to Erik Althoff, for the Lions.

The 83 member 9-time Cavalcade of Bands Champions, Tournament of Bands Group IV Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion South Western Mustangs Marching Band put on a stirring half time performance, from the sidelines due to the weather. The field production of the 2009 edition of the Band, under the guidance of second year Director Ethan Clark, is titled “Horsing Around in the Mustang Corral” and is a 50th anniversary musical celebration featuring the school “Alma Mater,” “Magnificent 7,” a lullaby of “All The Pretty Little Horses,” and “The Red Pony.” The 24 member strong Mustangs Cheerleading squad, swelled to 45 members for the second half when the JV and middle school cheerleaders joined in, and the Lions Cheerleaders were fantastic in rousing their fandom.

The Mustangs of South Western are 7-0-0 overall and 4-0-0 in York Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 180-77-1 (.700) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 321-195-8. The results of the 524 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .622 winning percentage and a .628 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs continue league play and visit the den of the Panthers of Central York (5-2 overall, 4-0 YAIAA Division I), in a showdown for the Division lead. The Panthers are coming off of a 49-6 victory over the winless Eagles of Dover. From here it looks like the Mustangs are poised to continue on the winning track. GO MUSTANGS GO.