SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2014-2

By Bill Engelhardt

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Last Friday evening, August 29, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Warriors of Gettysburg, the newest member of the York Adams Interscholastic League (YAIAA), at the Mustang Corral and were edged 44-41 in a donnybrook.  The Mustangs are in Division I and the Warriors are in Division II so this was a non-league encounter.  Gettysburg joined the YAIAA in fine fashion as Kobe Wansel returned the opening kickoff 93-yards for a touchdown.  Michael Heeschen’s extra point kick put the Warriors on top 7-0 fourteen seconds into the game.

The Mustangs went three and out and punted and the Warriors drove 50-yards in six plays, ending with Wade Laudeman’s 30-yard touchdown run.  Michael Heeschen’s extra point attempt was blocked by Corbin Byers, leaving the Warriors up 13-0 at the 7:02 mark in the first quarter.

Drew Hartlaub then ran the Warriors kickoff back 91-yards for a touchdown.  Andrew Slater’s extra point kick made the score 13-7 with 6:49 left in the first quarter.

After a 63-yard kickoff return by the Warriors, the Warriors drove 32-yards in four plays, ending with a 15-yard touchdown run by Nathan Sharrah.  Heeschen’s extra point kick made the score 20-7 with 5:20 to go in the first quarter.

The Mustangs then drove 64-yards in six plays, featuring a 20-yard scamper by Brock Geiman and an 11-yard pass from Geiman to Brady Thayer.  Robby Harbison scampered in for a 12-yard touchdown run and Slater’s extra point kick made the score 20-14 in favor of the Warriors with 3:10 left in the first quarter.  The two teams combined scored 34 points in 8 minutes and 50 seconds.

Miles Francis returned a Warriors punt for 28-yards to the Warriors 44-yard line.  The drive then included runs of 11, 13, 3, and 2-yards by Harbison, with a 12-yard run by Hartlaub.  Harbison scored on a 2-yard run and Slater’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 21-20 at the 10:59 mark of the second quarter.

The Warriors then drove 86-yards in nine plays, ending with Laudeman’s 60-yard touchdown run.  Jake Myers’ 2-point conversion pass to Tyler Lampe put the Warriors on top 28-21 with 7:05 to go in the first half.

The Mustangs stormed back with an 11 play 73-yard drive, featuring an 18-yard run by Hartlaub, a 14-yard pass from Geiman to Noah Staub, and a 9-yard pass to Francis.  Geiman scored on a 2-yard plunge and Slater’s extra point kick tied the score at 28 with two minutes left in the first half.

The Warrior then drove 64-yards in six plays, featuring runs of 15 and 11-yards by Elijah Jackson and runs of 14 and 4-yards by Laudeman.  Laudeman scored on a 3-yard run with 28 seconds left in the first half, putting the Warriors up 34-28 at the half.

The Mustangs went three and out to open the second half and the Warriors drove 74-yards in 14 plays.  Heeschen kicked a 33-yard field goal and the Warriors were up 37-28 at the 3:37 mark of the third quarter.

Jeff Green returned the Warriors kickoff 45-yards to the Warriors 46-yard line.  Six plays later, featuring a 23-yard run by Harbison, Geiman threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Hartlaub and the   Mustangs closed to within three points, 37-34.

The Warriors next drive was thwarted when Corbin Byers batted down a pass and Francis intercepted it for the Mustangs.  The Mustangs drove to the Warriors 10-yard line, only to turn the ball over on downs.  The Warriors then ended up punting and the Mustangs drove 36-yards in seven plays, ending with Hartlaub’s 5-yard touchdown run.  Slater’s extra point kick put the Mustangs on top 41-37 with 4:05 left in the game.

The Warriors then drove 75-yards in five plays, ending with Myers’ 46-yard touchdown pass to Wansel.  Heeschen’s extra point kick put the Warriors back on top 44-41 with 1:56 left in the game.

The Mustangs final drive ended when they had a 4th and 12 at their own 46 and Geiman’s pass to Brady Thayer netted 11-yards.  The turnover on downs enabled the Warriors to run out the clock.

Andrew Slater kicked off 7 times for 328-yards, with the longest going for 55-yards, and Brock Geiman punted 2 times for 63-yards (for an average of 31.5-yards) with the longest going for 35-yards.  Miles Francis returned 1 punt for 28-yards.  Drew Hartlaub returned 4 kickoffs for 140-yards (for an average of 35-yards), with the longest going for 91-yards and a touchdown, and Jeff Green returned 2 kickoffs for 45-yards (for an average of 22.5-yards), with the longest going for 30-yards, for the Mustangs.

Corbin Byers, with 9 tackles, a blocked field goal attempt, a caused fumble, and a pass defense, led the Mustang defense, followed by Ryan Krebs with 9 tackles, Bret Hertzog with 8 tackles, Seth Janney with 7 tackles (including one for a loss), Tyler Jachelski with 7 tackles and a pass defense, Hunter Palmer with 5 tackles, Skylar Bowman and Marcus Jones with 4 tackles each, Miles Francis with 3 tackles and an interception returned for 5-yards, Brady Thayer with 2 tackles and a pass defense, Chris Steckel with 2 tackles (including one for a loss) and a pass hurry, Mike Farace, Zach Hughes, Josh Martin, and Matt Smolko with 2 tackles each, Josh Zeroth with 1 tackle and a pass hurry, and Jeff Green, Matt Helwig, Tyler Fulmore, Carson Perry, and Andrew Slater with 1 tackle each.

Luke Baugher, Skylar Bowman, Corbin Byers, Scotty Dickmyer, Mike Farace, Miles Francis, Tyler Fulmore, Matt Helwig, Bret Hertzog, Tyler Jachelski, Marcus Jones, Seth Janney, Josh Martin, Matt Smolko, Chris Steckel, and Josh Zeroth manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions.

Zach Hughes, Ryan Krebs, Hunter Palmer, and Brady Thayer patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 186-yards rushing and 87-yards passing for a total of 273-yards of offense. Junior quarterback Brock Geiman completed 8 of 18 passes for the 87-yards and 1 touchdown, 2 for 41-yards to Noah Staub, 2 for 18-yards to Brady Thayer, 2 for 13-yards to Drew Hartlaub (including a 9-yard touchdown), 1 for 9-yards to Miles Francis, and 1 for 6-yards to Zach Hughes, for the Mustangs.  Robby Harbison led the Mustangs rushing attack with 17 carries for 96-yards (including touchdowns of 12 and 2-yards), followed by Hartlaub with 8 for 40 (including a 5-yard touchdown), Geiman with 6 for 27 (including a 2-yard touchdown), Hughes with 2 for 16-yards, and Francis with 2 carries for no yards.

Hartlaub returned a kickoff 91-yards for a touchdown, Andrew Slater kicked 5 extra points, Miles Francis intercepted a pass, Corbin Byers blocked a field goal attempt, defended a pass and caused a fumble, Tyler Jachelski and Brady Thayer each defended a pass, and Chris Steckel and Josh Zeroth each recorded pass hurry, for the Mustangs.

The Gettysburg Warriors rang up 295-yards rushing and 83-yards passing for a total of 378-yards gained.  Quarterback Jake Myers completed 4 of 10 passes for the 83-yards and 1 touchdown, 1 for 46-yards and a touchdown to Kobe Wansel, 1 for 22-yards to Nathan Sharrah, 1 for 13-yards to Tyler Lampe, and 1 for 2-yards to Lane Sherman, for the Warriors.  Wade Laudeman led the Warriors rushing attack with 9 carries for 122-yards (including touchdowns of 30, 60, and 3-yards), followed by Myers with 11 for 48, Lampe with 14 for 40, Elijah Jackson with 6 for 30, Sharrah with 3 for 23 (including a 15-yard touchdown), Sherman with 4 for 11-yards, and Mitchell Hoffman with 1 carry for 1-yard.

Wansel returned a kickoff 93-yards for a touchdown, Michael Heeschen kicked a 33-yard field goal and 3 extra points, and Myers completed a 2-point conversion pass to Lampe, 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 pre-game performance, presenting their 2014 field show “Nevermore,” based on “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe.  The show opened with the Overture from “Sweeney Todd” by Stephen Sondheim.  Mozart’s 25th Symphony provided the musical material for the first impact before melding into a minor treatment of the “Johanna” theme.  The madness continued with a return to the Overture that dissolved into a final solution.  The Gettysburg Warriors Marching Band performed a medley of tunes from “The Wizard of Oz” and Oz for their show entitled “The Wizard of Oz Meets Oz.”

The 27 member Mustangs Cheer Leading Squad (26 girls and a guy) and the Warriors Cheer Leading squad were both very impressive as they roused the faithful on both sides of the field.

The Mustangs of South Western are 0-1-0 overall and 0-0-0 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 Colts of Cedar Cliff.  Cedar Cliff opened the season with a 27-20 loss to the Comets of Penn Manor in a game played in Dublin, Ireland.  The Mustangs played their hearts out in the heartbreaking opening loss.  They are looking to resume their winning tradition and make this a memorable season.  GO MUSTANGS GO.