SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2013-2

By Bill Engelhardt
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Last Friday evening, August 30, the Mustangs of South Western visited the Warriors of Gettysburg at Warrior Stadium and galloped and passed to a resounding 40-22 victory to begin their 54th season, the second under head coach Damian Poalucci. Mustangs’ running back Dillon Thomas kept the offense moving with 153-yards rushing on 15 carries.  He scored 2 rushing touchdowns for the Mustangs.  Quarterback Tyler Sterner accounted for 217-yards and 3 touchdowns passing on 10 completions to round out the well-balanced offense.

The Warriors opened the game and punted after a five play 11-yard drive.  The Mustangs wasted no time in driving 65-yards in two plays, featuring a 6-yard pass from Sterner to Brady Thayer and a 59-yard touchdown jaunt by Thomas.  Brock Geiman’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 7-0 at the 8:51 mark in the first quarter.

The Warriors went three and out and punted.  The Mustangs drove 23-yards in 4 plays, featuring a 24-yard pass from Sterner to Hunter Palmer, and punted.  Logan Bowman intercepted a Warrior’s pass but the Mustangs punted again.  The Warriors drove 18-yards and punted.

The Mustangs then mounted a 66-yard four-play drive, featuring a 52-yard pass from Sterner to the sure handed sophomore sensation Noah Staub and a 2-yard touchdown run by Camden Brown.  Geiman’s extra point kick upped the score to 14-0 at the 10:30 point of the second quarter.

The Warriors went three and out, including a sack for a 10-yard loss by Gunner Holtz, and punted.  The Mustangs then drove 54-yards in four plays, ending with Sterner’s 35-yard touchdown pass to Thayer.  Geiman’s extra point kick upped the score to 21-0 at the 6:10 mark of the second quarter.

The Warriors then drove 57-yards in five plays, ending with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Jesse Stouch to Tyler Lampe.  The extra point was missed and the score stood at 21-6 with 3:52 left in the half.  That’s where the score stood at the end of the first half.

The Mustangs opened the second half with a six play drive that ended with a Warrior’s interception by Dalton Lyons at the Gettysburg 43-yard line.  The Warriors went three and out, and suffered another sack for an 8-yard loss by Holtz of the Mustangs.

The Mustangs then drove 68-yards in seven plays, featuring a 12-yard pass from Sterner to Brown, an 18-yard pass from Sterner to Wyatt Trostle, and a 13-yard touchdown pass from Sterner to Staub.  Geiman’s extra point kick upped the score to 28-6 at the 3:28 mark of the third quarter.

The Warriors went three and out and punted.  The Mustangs then drove 60-yards in five plays, ending with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Sterner to Brandon McMinn.  The extra point attempt failed and the score went to 34-6 at the 11:14 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Warriors then struck quickly with a 71-yard touchdown jaunt by quarterback Jesse Stouch.  Stouch then threw a 2-point conversion pass to Nathan Sharrah and the score went to 34-14 in favor of the Mustangs with 10:53 left in the game.

Shortly thereafter the Warrior’s Michael Ingalsbe intercepted a Mustangs pass at the Mustangs 10-yard line.  Two plays later The Warriors scored when Austin McGee fumbled into the end zone and the Warriors recovered it for a touchdown.  Stouch threw a 2-point conversion pass to Lane Sherman and the score went to 34-22 with 8:36 left in the game.

The Mustangs then drove 78-yards in eleven plays, featuring runs of 13, 8, 17, 4, and 2-yards by Thomas, and ending with his 13-yard touchdown run.  That closed out the scoring at 40-22 in favor of the Mustangs with 3:29 left in the game.

Sophomore Brock Geiman kicked off 6 times for 257-yards, with the longest going for 57-yards, and punted 3 times for 100-yards (for an average of 33.33-yards) with the longest going for 39-yards.  Brady Thayer returned 3 punts for 12-yards, with the longest going for 8-yards.  Payton Taylor returned 3 kickoffs for 34-yards, with the longest going for 18-yards, for the Mustangs.

Gunner Holtz, who had 8 tackles, 3 sacks, and a pass hurry, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Dillon Thomas with 7 tackles, Tyler Jachelski with 5 tackles, Domnick Holcombe, Ryan Krebs, Ryan Lane, Hunter Palmer, and Payton Taylor, with 3 tackles each, Logan Bowman with 2 tackles, an interception, and a pass hurry, Wyatt Trostle with 2 tackles and a sack, Brenden Fahs, Brady Thayer, Jonas Walter, Gage Thomas, and Aaron Uttley, with 2 tackles each, Skylar Bowman with 1 tackle and a pass hurry, Matt Helwig with 1 tackle, and Gus Landis with a pass hurry.

Rich Bosse, Skylar Bowman, Matt Helwig, Domnick Holcombe, Gunner Holtz, Tyler Jachelski, Ryan Krebs, Gus Landis, Ryan Lane, Elder Sterner, Dillon Thomas, Wyatt Trostle, Aaron Uttley, and Josh Walker, manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions.

Logan Bowman, Brenden Fahs, Hunter Palmer, Payton Taylor, and Brady Thayer patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 255-yards rushing and 217-yards passing for a total of 472-yards of offense. Quarterback Tyler Sterner completed 10 of 15 passes for the 217-yards and 3 touchdowns, 2 for 65-yards to Noah Staub (including a 13-yard touchdown), 2 for 41-yards to Brady Thayer (including a 35-yard touchdown), 1 for 39-yards and a touchdown to Brandon McMinn, 1 for 24-yards to Hunter Palmer, 2 for 18-yards to Dillon Thomas, 1 for 18-yards to Wyatt Trostle, and 1 for-12-yards to Camden Brown, for the Mustangs.  Thomas led the Mustangs rushing attack with 15 carries for 153-yards (including touchdowns of 59 and 13-yards), followed by Brown with 12 for 54 (including a 2-yard touchdown), Trostle with 9 for 33, Sterner with 4 for 17, Bret Hertzog with 1 for 3-yards, Miles Francis with 1 for no yards, Jonas Walter with 1 for minus 2-yards, and Ryan Krebs with 1 for minus 3-yards.  Brock Geiman kicked 4 extra points, Logan Bowman intercepted a pass and returned it 3-yards, Gunner Holtz recorded 3 sacks, Trostle and Josh Walker each recorded a sack, and Skylar Bowman, Holtz, and Gus Landis each recorded a pass hurry, for the Mustangs.

The Gettysburg Warriors rang up 104-yards rushing and 59-yards passing for a total of 163-yards gained.  Quarterback Jesse Stouch completed 5 of 11 passes for the 59-yards and 1 touchdown, 1 for 43-yards and a touchdown to Tyler Lampe, 1 for 6-yards to Tyler Clapsaddle, 1 for 6-yards to Austin McGee, 1 for 6-yards to Kobe Wansel, and 1 for 1-yard to Jacob Boehner, for the Warriors.  Stouch led the Warriors rushing attack with 71-yards on a 71-yard touchdown run, followed by Mitchell Hoffman with 3 carries for 19-yards, McGee with 6 for 14-yards, Wade Laudeman with 1 carry for 5-yards, Lane Sherman with 1 carry for no yards, and Boehner with 1 carry for minus 3-yards.  An unknown player recovered a Warriors fumble into the end zone for a Warriors touchdown, Stouch threw a 2-point conversion pass to Nathan Sharrah and a 2-point conversion pass to Sherman, and Michael Ingalsbe and Dalton Lyons each intercepted a pass, for the Warriors.

The 10-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, presenting their 2013 field show “Joyful Beethoven.”  The Ode to Joy theme from the 9th Symphony is among the most recognizable melodies of all time.  Throughout the show this melody was combined, altered, and woven into many of Beethoven’s other compositions.  The show opened with a bold statement of the Ode to Joy theme that transitioned into the main theme from the fifth Symphony, featuring a horn trio of Amanda Smith, Nicia Werner, and Briannah Rohrbaugh.  Following a brief interlude of the Ode to Joy, the passion of the Egmont Overture was heard.  The music evolved from passion to triumph as the band segued into the Overture from Fidelio.

The Mustangs and Warriors Cheer Leading squads were very impressive as they roused the faithful on both sides of the field.

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

The Mustangs have a career record of 339-202-8.  The results of the 549 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .627 winning percentage and a .632 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs host the Colts of Cedar Cliff at the Mustang Corral.  Cedar Cliff opened the season with a 53-7 win over the Buckskins of Conestoga Valley.  The Mustangs displayed a well-balanced and exciting offense and solid defense in their season opener.  They are looking to continue in their winning tradition and make this a memorable season.  GO MUSTANGS GO.