SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2010-1

Preseason Review

By Bill Engelhardt
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The Mustangs of South Western return to gridiron action Friday night, September 3, as they host the Warriors of Gettysburg at the Mustang Corral to kick off the 2010 season. The Mustangs are looking forward to a successful season as they enter the 51st year of the football program. They have a career 324-197-8 record with a .622 winning percentage and a .628 non-losing percentage. They are 319-188-8 in regular season play. This year the Mustangs have a good group of returning starters and lettermen and promising new players to watch, and hope to continue the winning tradition, which includes 11 league titles since 1990 and 15 in the history of the school.

Seniors Aaron Bosley, Brady Conroy, Tyler Frederick, Matt Funk, Ryan Sexton, Jake Shaffer, and Leonard Sturgis, and junior Mike Felton are returning starters. Seniors Jeff Hacker, Josh Hertz, Cody Kephart, Tommy Nicklas, Norton Redding, and James Stetter are also returning lettermen. Seniors Marty Deal and Mike Pugh and juniors Ryan Dotson, Carnie Fryfogle, Jesse Good, Zach Gross, Brandon Krise, and Keith Pappas are up and comers to watch this year.

The graduation of key players Mason Brady, Cody Fricke, Colby Fuhrman, Kyle King, Kyle Conaboy, Dan Laird, Kyle Mahorney, Tyrell McCleary, David Messinger, J.R. Mummert, Jake Myers, Jimmy Nicklas, Levi Sager, Jeb Shipley, Ian Smith, and Billy Utz still leaves the Mustangs with a good group of seasoned players. Senior Frederick and juniors Good and Gross are all contending to replace Ian Smith at the all important quarterback position. The stiff competition should leave the Mustangs in good shape at that position. We look for Felton, Hacker, Sexton, Shaffer, and up and comers Pugh and Fryfogle to vie for playing time and continue the great running tradition of the Mustangs. We are looking for Felton, Krise, Nicklas, and Kephart to form the nucleus of a solid receiving corps. As a sophomore, Felton had 24 receptions for 369-yards and 6 touchdowns last year (putting him in the top 5 in school history for touchdown receptions). Hacker and Sexton also have experience at catching passes out of the backfield.

Bosley, Conroy, Funk, Hertz, Redding, Stetter, and Sturgis, all should figure prominently on the offensive and/or defensive lines, with help from up and comers Dotson and Pappas. Among the returning players, Bosley (31 tackles), Funk (15 tackles), Sturgis (14 tackles), and Conroy (8 tackles), have significant experience on either the offensive or defensive line. The development of the rest of the trenches will play a big role in the success of the Mustangs this year.

Frederick, Sexton and Shaffer leave the Mustangs in great shape at the linebacker position. All are seasoned veterans with a great track record. And Fryfogle, Good, Hacker, Nicklas and Pappas will fit in nicely here as well. Felton, Kephart, and players to watch Deal, Fryfogle, Krise and Pugh should all see plenty of action in the secondary.

The punting game is in the capable hands of junior Mike Felton. Last year he punted 34 times for an average of 31.74-yards, with the longest going for 56-yards. Kickoffs are in the very capable hands of senior Norton Redding. Last year he registered 47 kickoffs for 2,133-yards.

Don Seidenstricker is going into his 33rd year with the Mustang program and has a 183-79-1 (.698) record, including 12 league championships and 9 District 3 playoff appearances, as he goes into his 25th year as head coach. As always, Don is ready to charge out of the gate and lead the Mustangs against the Gettysburg Warriors. In his preseason outlook he said, “The outcome of the 2010 season will be dependent upon our ability to get beyond the 50th Anniversary Season of last year that lived up to all our expectations. We do return enough experience, and players, (seventy-seven suited up), to wage a legitimate run on the Division.

Our exhibition season is a challenging one with scrimmages against Cumberland Valley and Red Land followed by the first five games versus Gettysburg, Cedar Cliff, Lower Dauphin, Susquehannock, and West York. If we are able to stay healthy, and gain some success in the above schedule, our Division schedule could be interesting.

The off-season was extremely productive with many hours spent in the weight room, camps, and 7 v 7s. Our team has the right attitude headed into this season, and the upperclassmen are ready to get the 51st season underway.”

From here it looks like the South Western Mustangs are reloaded and ready to mark their 51st season with all the thrills and excitement their faithful fans have come to expect. Last season was certainly one to remember and I think the Mustangs are up to the challenge of continuing their winning ways. I can’t wait for the start of the 2010 season. GO MUSTANGS GO.