SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2014-7

By Bill Engelhardt

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Last Friday evening, October 3, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Lions of Red Lion and rode the passing arm of junior quarterback Brock Geiman to a 20-0 shut out victory.  The Mustangs won the game in all aspects, racking up 16 first downs to the Lions 9 and registering 359-yards of offense to the Lions 110-yards.

The Lions opened the game by going three and out and punting.  The Mustangs then drove 37-yards in a drive marred by two penalties for the Mustangs and 2 penalties against the Mustangs and punted.

The Lions then drove from their own 26-yard line to the Mustangs 13-yard line in thirteen plays, featuring an 11-yard pass from Dalton Grove to James Jackson and a 9-yard pass from Grove to Dillon Hildebrand and aided by penalties for5 and 15-yards against the Mustangs.  The drive ended when Ryan Krebs intercepted a 4th down pass at the Mustangs 2-yard line.

The Mustangs then drove 98-yards in eleven plays, featuring a 51-yard pass from Geiman to Miles Francis, a 30-yard pass from Geiman to Noah Staub, and a 10-yard pass from Geiman to Hunter Palmer.  The drive ended with Robby Harbison’s 1-yard touchdown plunge.  Geiman’s extra point kick put the Mustangs on top 7-0 at the 7:11 mark of the second quarter.

The Lions and the Mustangs exchanged punts. The Mustangs were attempting a punt and fumbled the snap so the Lions took over on the Mustangs 26-yard line.  However, four plays later the Lions turned the ball over on downs.

The Mustangs opened the second half in electrifying fashion.  They received the kickoff and had the ball at their own 18-yard line.  Geiman threw a pass to Hartlaub who took it in stride and the play went for 82-yards and a touchdown.  Geiman’s extra point kick upped the score to 14-0 at the 11:39 mark of the third quarter.

The Lions ended up punting and a Miles Francis returned it 27-yards to the Red Lion 25-yard line but the Mustangs ended up turning the ball over on downs.  The Lions got a first down on a 21-yard pass from Grove to Matthias Cabbell but ended up punting.

The Mustangs then drove 63-yards in six plays, ending with a picture perfect 38-yard touchdown pass from Geiman to Brady Thayer.  This closed out the scoring at 20-0 in favor of the Mustangs with 1:55 left in the third quarter.

The Lions drove 55-yards in twelve plays, only to have The Mustangs’ Tyler Jachelski recover a fumble at the Mustangs 13-yard line.  The Mustangs then drove to the Lions 26-yard line in twelve plays, only to turn the ball over on downs with seconds left in the game.

Brock Geiman kicked off 2 times for 83-yards, with the longest going for 50-yards, and punted 3 times for 226-yards (for an average of 38.7-yards) with the longest going for 50-yards.  Drew Hartlaub returned 1 kickoff for 8-yards and Miles Francis returned 1 punt for 27-yards for the Mustangs.

Gus Landis, with 8 tackles, led the Mustang defense, followed by Tyler Jachelski with 7 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass defense, and 1 pass hurry, Zach Hughes and Seth Janney with 6 tackles and 1 pass defense each, Tyler Fulmore with 5 tackles and 2 pass hurries, Matt Helwig with 5 tackles, Ryan Krebs with 4 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass defense, Josh Zeroth with 4 tackles and 1 pass defense, Luke Baugher with 3 tackles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defense, Bret Hetzog with 2 tackles and 1 pass defense, Hunter Palmer, Jacob Muir, and Chris Steckel with 2 tackles each, Corbin Byers, Andrew Feeser, and Drew Hartlaub with 1 tackle each, and Miles Francis with 1 pass defense.

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

Drew Hartlaub, Ryan Krebs, Hunter Palmer, Brady Thayer and Nate VanCampen patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 99-yards rushing and 260-yards passing for a total of 359-yards of offense. Junior quarterback Brock Geiman completed 9 of 12 passes for the 260-yards and 2 touchdowns, 2 for 88-yards to Drew Hartlaub (including an 82-yard touchdown), 2 for 75-yards to Miles Francis, 2 for 43-yards to Noah Staub, 1 for 38-yards and a touchdown to Brady Thayer, 1 for 10-yards to Hunter Palmer, and 1 for 6-yards to Corbin Byers, for the Mustangs.

Robby Harbison led the Mustangs rushing attack with 19 carries for 81-yards (including a 1-yard touchdown), followed by Francis with 7 carries for 21-yards, Josh Martin with 2 carries for 9-yards, Hartlaub with 7 carries for 3-yards, Bret Hertzog with 2 carries for 3-yards, Geiman with 6 carries for minus 8-yards, and a team loss of 10-yards.

Brock Geiman kicked 2 extra points, Ryan Krebs intercepted a pass and defended 2 passes, Tyler Jachelski recovered a fumble, defended pass, and recorded 1 pass hurry, Luke Baugher recovered a fumble, Tyler Fulmore recorded 2 pass hurries, and Miles Francis, Bret Hertzog, Zach Hughes, Seth Janney, and Josh Zeroth each defended a pass, for the Mustangs.

The Lions gained 53-yards rushing and 57-yards passing for a total of 110 yards gained.  Dalton Grove completed 8 of 20 passes for the 57-yards, 4 for 31-yards to Matthias Cabbell, 1 for 9-yards to James Jackson, 1 for 8-yards to Christian Castle, 1 for 5-yards to Dillon Hildebrand, and 1 for 4-yards to Derek Ross, for the Lions.

Kenny Holloway led the Lions rushing attack with 10 carries for 28-yards, followed by Antwan Jackson with 9 carries for 21-yards, Alex Keough with 3 carries for 3-yards, Sam Emig with 1 carry for 3-yards, and Grove with 2 carries for minus 2-yards.

The 66-member 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 post-game performance, presenting their 2014 field show “Nevermore,” based on “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, on Band Night.  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 ballad began with beautiful sonorities from the front ensemble.  Freshman trumpet soloist, John Dyson, introduced the ‘Johanna’ theme as the narrator’s thoughts turn to his lost love, Lenore.  The passion built to a climax as he longed to be reunited with her, but alas, they shall be together, nevermore.  The closer brought a return to the narrator’s earlier thoughts as he peers deep into the darkness.  The music reached an emotional culmination with the Mozart and Verdi Requiems, before the percussion section took over with a short feature.

The 108-member Red Lion Lions Marching Band gave a crowd-pleasing halftime performance of its show “Immortal,” featuring three movements: “Awakening,” “Midnight,” and “Sunrise.”  The award-winning band is in its 82nd year.

The 28 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad (27 girls and a guy) and the Lions squad were very impressive as they roused the faithful.

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

The Mustangs have a career record of 343-213-8.  The results of the 564 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .617 winning percentage and a .622 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs visit the Wildcats of Dallastown (4-1 overall, 2-0 league) at the Mustang Corral.  Dallastown is coming off of a 35-0 shut out victory over the Bobcats of Northeastern.  The Mustangs are looking to remain on the winning track.  GO MUSTANGS GO.