SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2013-4

By Bill Engelhardt

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Last Friday evening, September 13, the Mustangs of South Western visited the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division’s powerhouse Rams of Central Dauphin and were edged 17-14, with a field goal deciding the contest with 4:20 left in the game.  In this seesaw game, the Rams won the first half 14-0 and the Mustangs won the second half 14-3.

The Mustangs opened the game with a three and out series and punted into the wind.  The Rams then drove 41-yards in nine plays, featuring a 20-yard pass from Nate Dickey to Malachi Holmes.  Holmes topped the drive off with a 1-yard touchdown run and Jacob Kerschner’s extra point kick put the Rams up 7-0 at the 6:52 mark of the first quarter.

The Mustangs then drove 55-yards in nine plays, featuring a 13-yard pass to Noah Staub, only to have Steven McNeal intercept a pass for the Rams at their own 28-yard line.

The Rams and the Mustangs then exchanged punts and the Rams punted again.  The Mustangs then had an 8-play drive end with an interception by Spencer Joppy, who returned it 21-yards to the Mustangs 34-yard line.  After a 5-yard penalty, Holmes rambled 28-yards to the 1-yard line and Raleigh Sirb plunged in for a 1-yard touchdown.  Kerschner’s extra point kick put the Rams up 14-0 with 6:58 left in the first half.

Payton Taylor returned the kickoff 28-yards and the Mustangs drove 16-yards, only to have AJ Perez intercept a pass and return it 20-yards for the Rams.  Ryan Lane returned the favor by recovering a Rams fumble for the Mustangs.  The first half ended with no further scoring.

The Rams opened the second half with a 59-yard drive, featuring a 28-yard run by Holmes, only to have Hunter Palmer recover a Rams fumble for the Mustangs at their own 9-yard line.   The Mustangs then drove 91-yards in seven plays, featuring a 21-yard pass from Tyler Sterner to Logan Bowman.  The drive ended with a 48-yard touchdown run by Dillon Thomas.  Brock Geiman’s extra point kick made the score 14-7 in favor of the Rams at the 5:06 mark of the third quarter.

The Rams ended up with a 7-yard punt into the wind to their own 28-yard line.  The Mustangs drove 28-yards in seven plays, featuring a 13-yard pass from Sterner to Logan Bowman and ending with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Thomas.  Geiman’s extra point kick tied the game at 14 with 1:16 left in the third quarter.

The Colts and the Mustangs exchanged punts.  The Mustangs punt into the wind put the Rams in good shape at the Mustangs 33-yard line.  The Rams drove to the 12-yard line in five plays and sure-footed Kerschner kicked a game winning 29-yard field goal, making the score 17-14, with 4:20 left in the game.

Sophomore Brock Geiman kicked off 3 times for 170-yards, with the longest going for a touchback, and punted 5 times for 174-yards (for a 34.80-yard average), with the longest going for 49-yards.  Payton Taylor returned 1 kickoff for 28-yards and Brady Thayer returned 2 punts for 13-yards, with the longest going for 13-yards, for the Mustangs.

Dillon Thomas, who had 8 tackles, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Ryan Lane with 4 tackles and 1 recovered fumble, Logan Bowman with 4 tackles and 1 pass defense, Payton Taylor with 4 tackles, Hunter Palmer with 3 tackles and 1 recovered fumble, Gunner Holtz with 3 tackles and 1 sack, Skylar Bowman, Matt Helwig, Ryan Krebs, and Josh Walker with 2 tackles each, Aaron Uttley with 1 tackle and 1 pass defense, and Tyler Jachelski, Brandon McMinn, Tyler Sterner, and Wyatt Trostle with 1 tackle each.

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

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

The Mustangs gained 209-yards rushing and 60-yards passing for a total of 269-yards of offense. Quarterback Tyler Sterner completed 6 of 20 passes for 60-yards, 2 for 34-yards to Logan Bowman, 1 for 13-yards to Nah Staub, 1 for 9-yards to Camden Brown, and 2 for 4-yards to Dillon Thomas, for the Mustangs.

Thomas led the Mustangs rushing attack with 20 carries for 122-yards (including touchdowns of 48 and 1-yards), followed by Wyatt Trostle with 8 carries for 45-yards, Brown with 9 carries for 25-yards, Sterner with 4 carries for 15-yards, and Jonas Walter with 1 carry for 2-yards.  Brock Geiman kicked 2 extra points, Ryan Lane and Hunter Palmer each recovered a fumble, Gunner Holtz recorded a sack, and Logan Bowman and Lane each recorded a pass defense, for the Mustangs.

The Rams gained 206-yards rushing and 50 yards passing for a total of 256 yards gained.  Nate Dickey completed 5 of 14 passes for 50-yards, 2 for 28-yards to Malachi Holmes, 1 for 13-yards to Jake Notenstine, 1 for 6-yards to Vinit Patel, and 1 for 3-yards to Jacob Perry, for the Rams.  Holmes led the Rams rushing attack with 7 carries for 114-yards (including a 1-yard touchdown), followed by Codie Zimmerman with 5 carries for 32-yards, Steven McNeal with 3 carries for 25-yards, Weedon Shay’Quan with 4 carries for 18-yards, Dickey with 7 carries for 17-yards, Raleigh Sirb with 4 carries for 6-yards (including a 1-yard touchdown), and Manny Gonzalez with 1 carry for minus 6-yards.  Jacob Kerschner kicked a 29-yard field goal and 2 extra points, Spencer Joppy intercepted 2 passes, McNeal and AJ Perez each intercepted a pass, Perez recovered a fumble, and McNeal and Zimmerman each recorded a half sack, for the rams.

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 27 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad and the Rams’ squad were very impressive as they roused the faithful.

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

The Mustangs have a career record of 339-204-8.  The results of the 551 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .624 winning percentage and a .630 non-losing percentage. 

Next week the Mustangs host the YAIAA Division II Colonials of New Oxford (2-1 overall, 0-0 league).  New Oxford is coming off of a 51-14 win over the Indians of Waynesboro.  During the last two weeks the Mustangs have held their own in games against powerhouse teams and are now looking to resume their winning tradition.  GO MUSTANGS GO.