SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2012-9

By Bill Engelhardt
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Last Friday evening, October 19, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Lions of Red Lion at the Mustang Corral and galloped to a 28-5 victory. Junior running sensation Dillon Thomas led the way with three rushing touchdowns. He now has rushed for 1,071-yards and 12 touchdowns for the season to date.

The Mustangs opened the game with a surprise onside kick and Chris Weibe recovered the ball at the Red Lion 47-yard line. The Mustangs were not able to capitalize on their recovery as they went three and out and punted. The Lions ran off five plays and punted. The Mustangs ran off five plays and punted.

The Lions then ran off two plays before fumbling and Gabe Morela recovered the fumble for the Mustangs at the Lions 27-yard line. Five plays later Dillon Thomas plunged in for a 5-yard touchdown. Jake Tracy’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 7-0 at the 3:07 mark in the first quarter.

The Lions then drove 49-yards to the Mustangs 16-yard line where they fumbled and Ryan Lane recovered for the Mustangs. The Mustangs ended up attempting a punt from their 20-yard line and the snap sailed over the punters head. Brad Gladfelter recorded a sack by tackling the punter in the end zone. That made the score 7-2 at the 9:15 mark of the second quarter.

The teams exchanged punts and then Jerome Robinson intercepted a Lions pass for the Mustangs and returned it 12-yards to the Lions 45-yard line. A seven-play drive, featuring a 9-yard pass from Tyler Sterner to Mike Mooradian to the 13-yard line, ended with Sterner’s 1-yard touchdown plunge. Tracy’s extra point kick upped the score to 14-2 with 37 seconds left in the first -half.

The Mustangs muffed the kickoff to start the second half and Ben Otte recovered for the Lions at the Mustangs 27-yard line. After advancing to the 15-yard line in six plays, Devon Bohlen kicked a 32-yard field goal for the Lions. That made the score 14-5 in favor of the Mustangs at the 8:39 mark of the third quarter.

The Mustangs then drove 80-yards in five plays, featuring a 38-yard run by Dakotah Moses. Dillon Thomas ended the drive with a 22-yard touchdown run. Tracy’s extra point upped the score to 21-5 at the 6:57 mark of the third quarter.

The Lions then drove 35-yards to the Mustangs 30-yard line, only to turn the ball over on downs. The Mustangs then drove 70-yards in six plays, featuring a 26-yard run by Thomas and ending with another 26-yard run for a touchdown by Thomas. Tracy’s extra point kick closed out the scoring at 28-5 with 11:33 left in the game.

Jake Tracy kicked off 5 times for 229-yards, with the longest going for 53-yards. Payton Taylor returned 1 kickoff for 12-yards. Brandon Utz punted 3 times for 102-yards, with the longest going for 36-yards, for the Mustangs.

Chris Weibe, with 10 tackles, a fumble recovery, a caused fumble, a pass defense, and a pass hurry, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Payton Taylor with 8 tackles and a pass defense, Gabe Morela with 6 tackles, a recovered fumble and a sack, Devon Ackerman, Eddie Lane, and Aram Moffitt with 6 tackles each, Ryan Lane with 5 tackles, a recovered fumble and a pass defense, Dillon Thomas, Gunner Holtz, and Hunter Palmer with 4 tackles each, Jerome Robinson with 2 tackles, an interception and a pass defense, Mike Duffy with 2 tackles and a pass defense, Ryan Krebs, and Aaron Uttley with 2 tackles each, and Matt Helwig, Jordan Markle, Brandon McMinn, Sean Secola, and Wyat Trostle with 1 tackle each.

Devon Ackerman, Alex Jones, Matt Helwig, Gunner Holtz, Ryan Krebs, Eddie Lane, Ryan Lane, Aram Moffitt, Mike Mooradian, Gabe Morela, Dakotah Moses, Shawn Secola, Brady Shultz, Dillon Thomas, Aaron Uttley, and Chris Weibe, manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions, with help from Brandon McMinn, Ethan Paul, Josh Walker, Wayne Trostle, and Brandon Utz. Mike Duffy, Jordan Markle, Hunter Palmer, Jerome Robinson, Payton Taylor, and Bobby Wildasin patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs, with help from Aaron Doll.

The Mustangs gained 243-yards rushing and 26yards passing for a total of 269-yards of offense. Quarterback Tyler Sterner completed 3 of 6 passes for 26-yards, 1 for 11-yards to Payton Taylor, 1 for 9-yards to Mike Mooradian, and 1 for 6-yards to Jerome Robinson, and quarterback Mike Duffy failed to complete a pass in 3 attempts, for the Mustangs.

Dillon Thomas led the Mustangs rushing attack with 20 carries for 160-yards (including touchdowns of 5, 22, and 26-yards), followed by Dakotah Moses with 4 carries for 47-yards, Bobby Wildasin with 5 carries for 23-yards, Zach Osborne with 4 carries for 10-yards, Taylor with 3 carries for 6-yards, Camden Brown with 1 carry for no yards, Brandon Utz with 1 carry for no yards, and Sterner with 2 carries for minus 2-yards (including a 1-yard touchdown). Jake Tracy kicked 4 extra points, Ryan Lane, Gabe Morela, and Chris Weibe each recovered a fumble, Robinson intercepted a pass, Morela recorded a sack for an 8-yard loss, and Weibe recorded a pass hurry, for the Mustangs.

The Lions gained 91-yards rushing and 50 yards passing for a total of 141 yards gained. Blake Cahill completed 5 of 23 passes for 50-yards, 1 for 17-yards to Mitch Baublitz, 1 for 13-yards to Seth Haight, 2 for 10-yards to Dan Althoff, and 1 for 10-yards to Alex Keller, for the Lions.

Ken Holloway led the Lions rushing attack with 10 carries for 32-yards, followed by Cahill with 6 carries for 21-yards, Josh Jones with 7 carries for 20-yards, Don Gurreri with 3 carries for 10-yards, and Ryan Edie with 1 carry for 8-yards. Devon Bohlen kicked a 32-yard field goal, Brad Gladfelter recorded a safety by tackling the Mustangs punter in the end zone after a bad snap, and Dan Godfrey recorded a sack for a 7-yard loss for the Lions.

It was Band Night at the Mustang Corral and the 90 member strong Emory H Markle Intermediate School Marching Band performed the Spanish number “El Gato” and Santana’s classic hit “Evil Ways” in a pre-game show. They were joined by the Mustangs Marching Band for the joint performance of another number. The 9-time Cavalcade of Bands Champions, Tournament of Bands Group IV Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion 59 member strong South Western Mustangs Marching Band put on a stirring post game performance, presenting their 2012 field show “Unity: A Natural Balance.” The show took us on a musical and visual exploration of the three natural forces among us: Water, Air and Land. The show opened with “Of Men and the Sea,” depicting the energetic role of water in our world. The raging water calmed us as we turned our eyes to the sky, then with a ballad highlighting the beauty and mystery of the night air and the “stars.” The show closed with the exotic sounds of the land in “Puma.” The 91 members strong Lions Marching Band put on a stirring half time show entitled “Escape from the West Side, featuring music (familiar and unfamiliar) from West Side Story.

The 23 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad and the Lions squad were very impressive as they roused the faithful.

The Mustangs of South Western are 4-4-0 overall and 1-2-0 in York Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

The Mustangs have a career record of 341-210-8. The results of the 559 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .619 winning percentage and a .624 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs visit the Bearcats of William Penn (3-5 overall, 2-1 league) at Small Athletic Field in York. William Penn is coming off of a 50-24 loss to the Rockets of Spring Grove. The Mustangs are looking to remain on the winning track. GO MUSTANGS GO.