SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2015-9

By Bill Engelhardt

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Last Friday evening, October 23, the Mustangs of South Western visited the den of the Bearcats of William Penn (York High) and galloped and passed to a convincing 46-0 victory.  Senior quarterback Brock Geiman threw four touchdown passes and 14 runners galloped up and down the field for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs opened the game with a seven play 68-yard drive that ended with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Geiman to Jeff Green.  The extra point was missed and the Mustangs led 6-0 at the 10:27 mark of the first quarter.

The Bearcats went three and out and punted.  Miles Francis returned the punt 17-yards, setting the Mustangs up on the Bearcats 48-yard line.  Four plays later Geiman threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Green.  Wes Sneeringer’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 13-0 at the 7:16 mark of the first quarter.

Markeis Cash returned the kickoff 25-yards for the Bearcats but they went three and out and punted.  The Mustangs’ possession was short lived when Khalid Dorsey intercepted a pass and returned it 16-yards to the Mustangs 25-yard line.  Two penalties pushed the Bearcats back to the 46-yard line and they ended up turning the ball over on downs at the Mustangs 32-yard line.

The Mustangs drove 68-yards in ten plays, featuring a 17-yard run by Zack Hughes.  Geiman threw a beautiful 18-yard touchdown pass to Matt Smolko.  The extra point was missed and the Mustangs led 19-0 with 19 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Bearcats went three and out and punted again.  The Mustangs then drove 56-yards in 13 plays, featuring a 21-yard pass from Geiman to Zack Hughes, a 19-yard run by Geiman, and ending with Geiman’s 2-yard touchdown plunge.  Sneeringer’s extra point kick upped the score to 26-0 with 4:01 left in the second quarter.

On the next play from scrimmage, Carson Perry intercepted a Bearcats pass and returned it 37-yards for a Mustangs touchdown.  The extra point was missed and the Mustangs led 32-0 with 3:40 left in the second quarter.

Dorsey returned the kickoff 27-yards for the Bearcats but this drive was thwarted when Corbin Byers recorded three consecutive sacks for losses of 9, 10, and 6-yards.

The Bearcats opened the second half with a 30-yard kickoff return by Cash.  Two plays later Mike Farace recovered a fumble for the Mustangs.  Four plays later Geiman threw a 17-yard touchdown strike to Noah Staub.  Sneeringer’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 39-0 at the 9:41 mark of the third quarter.

The Mustangs substituted liberally for the rest of the game.

The Bearcats next drive included a 37-yard pass from Angel DeJesus to Nykam Beverly but ended when Noah Langenfeld intercepted a pass and returned it 13-yards for the Mustangs.  The Mustangs then drove 68-yards in twelve plays, featuring an 11-yard run by DeLunche Shaw.  Shaw ended the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run.  Sneeringer’s extra point kick made the final score 46-0 in favor of the Mustangs, with 10:04 left in the game.

Wes Sneeringer kicked off 8 times for 389-yards, for an average of 48.6-yards, with the longest going for 53-yards.  Miles Francis returned 4 punts for 25-yards, with the longest going for 17-yards, for the Mustangs.

Matt Smolko, with 7 tackles, led the Mustang defense, followed by Kaiden Gaylord with 6 tackles, Evan Raubenstine with 5 tackles and 1 pass defended, Corbin Byers with 4 tackles, 3 sacks for losses of 9, 10, and 6-yards, and 5 pass hurries, Skylar Bowman with 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass hurry, and 1 pass defended, Josh Zeroth with 4 tackles and 1 pass defended, Carson Perry with 3 tackles, an interception returned 37-yards for a touchdown, and 1 pass defended, Mike Farace with 3 tackles and a fumble recovery, Nate VanCampen, Quan Marshall, and Adrian White with 3 tackles each, Thaddeus Davis with 2 tackles and 1 pass hurry, Mike Johnson, Kurt Eichhorn, Jacob Muir, and Cole Stremmel, with 2 tackles each, Noah Langenfeld with 1 tackle and an interception returned for 13-yards, Justin Eline, Chris Ginevra, Chris Steckel, and Logan Toms with 1 tackle each, and Noah Staub with 1 pass defended.

Skylar Bowman, Corbin Byers, Bubba Carbaugh, Scotty Dickmyer, Mike Farace, Zach Hughes, Quan Marshall, Carson Perry, Evan Raubenstine, Austin Reusing, Matt Smolko, Chris Steckel, Logan Toms, and Josh Zeroth manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions.

Miles Francis, Brock Geiman, Jeff Green, Noah Langenfeld, Noah Staub, and Nate VanCampen patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 209-yards rushing and 143-yards passing for a total of 352-yards of offense. Senior quarterback Brock Geiman completed 9 of 15 passes for the 143-yards and 4 touchdowns, 2 for 52-yards to Jeff Green (including touchdowns of 24 and 28-yards), 2 for 28-yards to Noah Staub (including a 17-yard touchdown), 2 for 28-yards to Zack Hughes, 1 for 18-yards and a touchdown to Matt Smolko, 1 for 9-yards to Corbin Byers, and 1 for 8-yards to Mike Johnson, for the Mustangs.  Geiman has completed 69 of 138 passes for 1,103-yards and 14 touchdowns for the season.  Hughes led the Mustangs rushing attack with 4 carries for 39-yards, followed by Johnson with 4 for 26-yards, Geiman with 3 for 26-yards (including a 2-yard touchdown), Thaddeus Davis with 4 for 24-yards, Miles Francis with 4 for 23-yards, Delunche Shaw with 4 for 17 (including a 6-yard touchdown), Grayson Wingert with 4 for 17, Green with 2 for 13, Robby Harbison with 2 for 13, Wyatt Laudicina with 1 for 7-yards, Nigel Williams with 6 for 6-yards, Kyle Davis with 1 for 5-yards, Josh Higdon with 2 for minus 2-yards, Jacob Muir with 2 for minus 4-yards, and a team loss of 1-yard.  Carson Perry intercepted a pass and returned it 37-yards for a touchdown, Wes Sneeringer kicked 4 extra points, Noah Langenfeld intercepted a pass and returned it 13-yards, Mike Farace recovered a fumble, and Byers recorded 3 sacks, for losses of 9, 10, and 6-yards, and recorded 5 pass hurries, for the Mustangs.

The Bearcats gained 67-yards rushing and 73 yards passing for a total of 140 yards gained.  Quarterback Angel DeJesus completed 4 of 6 passes for 63-yards and quarterback Andrew Gibbs completed 3 of 9 passes for 10-yards, for the Bearcats.  Nykam Beverly caught 1 pass for 37-yards, Justin Colston caught 1 pass for 14-yards, Andrew Radzik caught 1 pass for 9-yards, Nyshaun Ritter caught 1 pass for 8-yards, Eric Mann caught 1 pass for 4-yards, and DeJesus caught 2 passes for 1-yard, for the Bearcats.  Khalid Dorsey led the Bearcats rushing attack with 5 carries for 32-yards, followed by DeJesus with 4 for 23-yards, Radzik with 5 for 6-yards, Beverly with 2 for 6-yards, Markeis Cash with 1 for 4-yards, Gibbs with 5 for minus 1-yard, and Durvel Wilson with 1 carry for minus 3-yards.  Dorsey intercepted a pass and returned it 16-yards for the Bearcats.

The 10-time Cavalcade of Bands, 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 2015 field show “What If,” a musical and visual depiction of the process of implementing a change and making a difference.  The music is based on Michael Kamen’s “The New Moon in the Old Moon’s Arms.”  The show began with the inception of the idea or change, represented with the theme played by trumpet soloist Veronica Hurst.  Further numbers reflected the encountering of obstacles and challenges standing in the way of goals and a moment of reflection on the purpose and nature of change.  The closer continued to build upon the hope of this change and reached a climax where the change was successful.  The show ended with the fleeting sounds of the musical theme played by trumpet soloist John Dyson.

The William Penn Bearcats Marching Band gave a crowd-pleasing post game performance.

The 24 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad and the Bearcats 14 member squad were very impressive as they roused the faithful.

The Mustangs of South Western are 6-2-0 overall and 4-1-0 in York Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

The Mustangs have a career record of 352-216-8.  The results of the 576 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .620 winning percentage and a .625 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs will host the Bobcats of Northeastern (7-1 overall, 4-1 league).  Northeastern is coming off of a 30-0 shut out victory over the Rockets of Spring Grove.  The Mustangs are looking to remain on the winning track.  GO MUSTANGS GO.