SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2007-11

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, November 2, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Squires of Delone Catholic at the Mustang Corral and recorded a convincing 17-10 victory over the playoff bound Squires to close out their regular season. Interceptions by Seth Barnes and Duane Rowlette loomed big, Barnes interception near the goal line as time ran out ended the Squires do or die attempt to tie the score.

The teams exchange possessions with no harm done to either throughout most of the first quarter. Brayden Daigle returned a Mustangs punt 23-yards to set the Squires up at the Mustangs 39-yard line. Joshua McNutt gained 18-yards on 2 runs, Kale gained 9-yards on a run and Dustin Reed gained 7-yards to put the Squires on the Mustangs 3-yard line as the first quarter ended. Kale lost 2-yards and then ran for a 5-yard touchdown and Miles Moore kicked the extra point to put the Squires up 7-0 at 11:12 in the second quarter. And that was the score at the end of the half.

Barnes returned the kickoff 34-yards to the 45 to start the second half for the Mustangs. Chris Helwig gained 10-yards, Barnes gained 7-yards, a penalty gained 15-yards, and Barnes scored on a nifty 22-yard run. Zac Kruger’s extra point kick tied the score at 7 at 10:12 in the second quarter.

The Squires next drive was interrupted when Rowlette intercepted a pass for the Mustangs at their 10-yard line. The Mustangs drove to the 25 and a penalty pushed them back. Eventually they punted and the Squires took over on the Mustangs 48-yard line. A 5 play drive, featuring a 28-yard pass from Noah Landi to Daigle, led to a 32-yard field goal by Miles Moore, putting the Squires up 10-7 at 1:32 in the third quarter.

Barnes returned the kickoff 31-yards to the 41-yard line for the Mustangs. A 10 play drive, featuring runs of 8, 7, and 7-yards by Barnes, 3 and 9-yards by Bingham, 3, 5 and 1-yards by Helwig, and 6-yards by David Sager, led to a 35-yard field goal by Kruger. That tied the score at 10 with 8:52 to go in the game. Andrew Sells recovered a Squires fumble on the kickoff and the Mustangs were set up on the Squires 37-yard line. Barnes gained 2-yards and a pass fell incomplete. Then Sager threw a beautiful 19-yard pass to Bingham. Helwig and Bingham picked up another 4-yards and Sager connected with Drew Sneeringer for a 16-yard touchdown pass. Kruger’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 17-10 with 6:22 to go in the game.

The Squires made it interesting as a poor punt gave them the ball at the Mustangs 33-yard line. One pass fell incomplete and Barnes’ interception for the Mustangs near the goal line as the clock ran out ended the game.

Duane Rowlette led the Mustangs with 10 tackles, followed by Josh Rummel with 8, Seth Barnes and John Bingham with 7 each, Zach Hagerman, Blair Messinger and Derek Supel with 6 each, Corwyn Gordon and Drew Sneeringer with 5 each, Chris Helwig, Travis Scott, Jake Myers, Andrew Sells, and Adam Day with 4 each, Chris McDonald with 3, Brandon Nicastro with 2, and Karl Maynor and Zac Scott with 1 tackle each. Hagerman, Rummel and Nicastro were each credited with a sack. Myers was credited with a pass hurry, Rowlette and Sneeringer were each credited with 2 pass defenses, Travis Scott had 1 pass defense, Barnes and Rowlette each intercepted a pass, and Andrew Sells recovered a fumble, for the Mustangs.

Seth Barnes returned 3 kickoffs for 79-yards, and John Bingham returned 1 punt for minus 4-yards for the Mustangs. Jake Myers punted 5 times for 136-yards, for a 27.2-yard average, with the longest going for 40-yards. Zak Kruger kicked off 4 times for 210-yards, including 1 touchback, for the Mustangs.

John Bingham, Adam Day, Jordan Gall, Corwyn Gordon, Daryl Grubb, Zach Hagerman, Chris Helwig, Chris McDonald, Blair Messinger, Josh Rummel, Zac Scott, Andrew Sells, Drew Sneeringer, and Derek Supel manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Seth Barnes, Karl Maynor, Cody Mundorff, Duane Rowlette, and Travis Scott patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The South Western Mustangs gained 156-yards rushing and 65-yards passing for 221-yards of offense. Seth Barnes led the Mustangs rushing attack with 88-yards (including a 22-yard touchdown), followed by Karl Maynor with 30-yards, Chris Helwig with 26-yards, John Bingham with 18-yards, Zac Scott with 17-yards, and Pete Kudla with 2-yards. The team lost 25-yards on a bad snap. Quarterback David Sager completed 6 passes for 65-yards and a touchdown, 2 for 37-yards to Drew Sneeringer (including a 16-yard touchdown), 1 for 18-yards to Bingham, 2 for 10-yards to Marty Kefauver, and 1 for no yards to Maynor, for the Mustangs. Zac Kruger kicked 2 extra points and a 35-yard field goal for the Mustangs.

The Delone Catholic Squires gained 200-yards rushing and 68-yards passing for a total of 268- yards of offense for the game. Michael Kale led the Squires rushing attack with 128-yards (including a 5-yard touchdown), followed by Dustin Reed with 61-yards, Joshua McNutt with 28-yards, Noah Landi with minus 2-yards, Christopher Burton with minus 7-yards, and Brayden Daigle with minus 8-yards. Quarterback Landi completed 2 passes for 68-yards, 1 for 40-yards to Charlie Hertz and 1 for 28-yards to Daigle, and threw 2 interceptions, for the Squires. Miles Moore kicked an extra point and a 32-yard field goal for the Squires.

Brayden Daigle returned a punt for 23-yards and Joshua McNutt returned one for no yards. McNutt returned a kickoff for 25-yards and Dustin Reed returned 2 kickoffs for 33-yards. Michael Kale punted 2 times for 71-yards, for a 35.5-yard average, with the longest going for 45-yards, and Daigle punted 1 time for 43-yards. Miles Moore kicked off 3 times for 155-yards, with the longest goimg for 55-yards, for the Squires.

The 100 member strong 9-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 show, entitled “City Symphonique: The Sights and Sounds of New York City.” The show featured opening themes depicting the “hustle and bustle” of the city, followed by “New York, New York,” “Wonderful Town,” “On Broadway,” and Lullaby on Broadway.” The Squires Marching Band entertained at half time with a rousing performance. The 21-member Mustangs Cheer Leading squad and the Mustang Mascot were very impressive as they roused the many faithful Mustangs fans among the spirited crowd. They are due a vote of thanks for a great job all season long. The Squires Cheer Leaders countered with a crowd rousing performance for their faithful fans.

The Mustangs of South Western ended their season at 3-7-0 overall and 1-5-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 169-71-1 (.704) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 310-189-8. The results of the 507 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .621 winning percentage and a .627 non-losing percentage.

I certainly cannot end the season without saying a very special thank you to Richard Lupro for faithfully providing the official Offensive, Special Teams and Scoring statistics for the Mustangs to me, and for inputting them, and the Defensive statistics, at the Max Preps web site each week. And a very special thank you also goes to longtime Mustangs line coach Chuck Seidenstricker for providing vital Defensive statistics to me, and to Dick Lupro, for input to the web site, after reviewing game films on very short notice.

The 2007 edition of the Mustangs of South Western gave their fans lots of excitement and thrills. Seth Barnes had 587-yards rushing on 91 carries, 210-yards receiving on 13 receptions, and 575-yards in kick returns, for a total of 1,372 all-purpose yards for the season, and led the team with 6 touchdowns for the Mustangs. The other rushing leaders were Pete Kudla with 74 carries for 387-yards, sophomore J. R. Mummert with 80 carries for 373-yards, and John Bingham with 47 carries for 154-yards.

David Sager completed 70 passes for 883-yards and 10 touchdowns. The reception leaders were Marty Kefauver with 16 catches for 213-yards, followed by Barnes with his 210-yards on 13 receptions, John Bingham with 188-yards on 14 receptions and Drew Sneeringer with 137-yards on 10 receptions.

John Bingham led the defense with 90 tackles, followed by Duane Rowlette with 81 and Drew Sneeringer with 69. Chris Helwig, Brandon Nicastro and Josh Rummel led the team in sacks with 3 each. Rowlette with 10 and Barnes with 7 led the team in pass defenses and Rowlette led the team with 6 interceptions, which he returned for 136-yards.

The 2007 Mustangs represented their school and league honorably, played hard, never gave up, and were within striking distance of winning several games that just didn’t go their way in the end. They have a great nucleus of returning players from the junior varsity and solid players coming up within the ranks. I can’t wait for next season to begin. Until then, GO MUSTANGS GO.

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2007-10

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Saturday evening, October 27, the Mustangs of South Western visited the den of the Bearcats of York (William Penn) and played them even up for a 14-14 tie at the half, but fell 41-14 as the Bearcats pulled away in the second half. The Bearcats clinched at least a share of the Division I title, and put themselves solidly in the class AAAA District Playoffs.

The Mustangs started off like a house on fire on the first play from scrimmage as Duane Rowlette intercepted a Bearcats pass by Malik Generett and returned it 65-yards for a touchdown. Zak Kruger’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 7-0 just 21 seconds into the game.

The Bearcats then kept the ball for 1 play before Karl Maynor recovered a fumble for the Mustangs, who then ripped off a 7-play drive that ended with a missed 44-yard field goal attempt. The Bearcats gained a yard on a run and then Jordan Davis connected with Robert Richardson on a 72-yard touchdown pass. Ethan Fair’s extra point kick tied the game at 7 at 7:01 in the first quarter.

The Mustangs went three and out and punted, the Bearcats turned the ball over on downs, the Mustangs punted again and the Bearcats attempted a punt but a bad snap gave the Mustangs the ball on the Bearcats 24-yard line. Three plays and a penalty later a 46-yard field goal attempt by the Mustangs was blocked. The Bearcats got the ball at midfield and Davis completed a 38-yard pass to Kevin Kearse, followed by Brandon Walker’s 12-yard touchdown run. Fair’s extra point kick put the Bearcats up 14-7 at 8:21 in the second quarter,

The Mustangs began a drive at their 35-yard line. David Sager completed a 39-yard pass to Chris Helwig; sophomore J. R. Mummert gained 3-yards on 2 carries, and Sager threw a 23-yard touchdown strike to John Bingham. Kruger’s extra point kick knotted the score at 14 with 6:32 to go in the half, and that was the score at the half. The Mustangs had gone toe to toe with the vaunted Bearcats and came out even.

The second half belonged to the Bearcats. Mike Kinard scored on a 46-yard run early in the third quarter and Davis connected with Robert Richardson on a 12-yard touchdown pass. The score was 28-14 going into the final quarter. Richardson intercepted a Mustangs pass and returned it 41-yards for a Bearcats touchdown with 9:23 to go in the game. That pretty much sealed the victory but Brandon Walker tacked on a 6-yard touchdown run with 2:03 to go to make the final score 41-14 after Fair’s 5th extra point kick.

Duane Rowlette and John Bingham led the Mustangs with 7 tackles each, followed by Drew Sneeringer with 6, Karl Maynor, Jordan Gall and Brandon Nicastro with 5 each, Andrew Sells, Corwyn Gordon, Derek Supel, and Josh Rummel with 4 each, Jake Myers, Zach Hagerman, Adam Day, and Blair Messinger with 3 each, Cody Mundorff, Chris Helwig, Travis Scott, and Chris McDonald with 2 each, and Tyrell McCleary and Zac Scott with 1 tackle each. Supel, Sneeringer and Nicastro were each credited with a sack. Rowlette was credited with 2 pass defenses, Mundorff and Maynor were each credited with a pass defense, Maynor recovered a fumble and Rowlette returned the interception for the 65-yard touchdown for the Mustangs.

Chris Helwig returned 2 kickoffs for 30-yards, Karl Maynor returned 2 for 28-yards, and John Bingham returned 1 for 8-yards for the Mustangs. Daryl Grubb punted 4 times for 94-yards, for a 23.5-yard average, and Jake Myers punted 2 times for 75-yards, for a 37.5-yard average. Zak Kruger kicked off 3 times for 137-yards, with the longest going for 53-yards, for the Mustangs.

John Bingham, Adam Day, Jordan Gall, Corwyn Gordon, Daryl Grubb, Zach Hagerman, Chris Helwig, Chris McDonald, Blair Messinger, Josh Rummel, Zac Scott, Andrew Sells, Drew Sneeringer, and Derek Supel manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Karl Maynor, Cody Mundorff, Duane Rowlette, and Travis Scott patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 102-yards rushing and 170-yards passing for 272-yards of offense. Zac Scott led the Mustangs rushing attack with 45-yards, followed by J. R. Mummert with 22-yards, Ryan Laughman with 15-yards, Mike Brant with 12-yards, John Bingham with 3-yards, and Chris Helwig and David Sager with minus 1-yard each. Quarterback Sager completed 16 passes for 170-yards and a touchdown, 4 for 64-yards to Bingham (including a 23-yard touchdown), 2 for 48-yards to Helwig, 4 for 38-yards to Drew Sneeringer, 2 for 7-yards to Zac Scott, 2 for 5-yards to Marty Kefauver, 1 for 4-yards to Duane Rowlette, and 1 for 4-yards to Karl Maynor, for the Mustangs. Rowlette returned the interception 65-yards for a touchdown and Maynor recovered a fumble for the Mustangs.

The William Penn Bearcats gained 141-yards rushing and 249 yards passing for 390-yards of offense. Mike Kinard led the Bearcats rushing attack with 87-yards (including a 46-yard touchdown), followed by Wilfredo Martinez and Brandon Walker (who had touchdown runs of 12 and 6-yards) with 25-yards each, Robert Richardson with 13-yards, Carl Barnes with 7-yards, Jordan Davis with 3-yards, and the team lost 19-yards on a bad snap on a punt attempt. Quarterback Davis completed 9 passes for 249-yards and 2 touchdowns, 2 for 84-yards to Richardson (for touchdowns of 72 and 12-yards), 3 for 82-yards to Malik Generett, 2 for 48-yards to Kevin Kearse, 1 for 28-yards to Joe Kennedy, and 1 for 7-yards to Barnes, for the Bearcats. Richardson also returned the interception 41-yards for a touchdown, Newt Miller intercepted a pass and returned it 27-yards, and Walker recovered a fumble for the Bearcats.

Mike Kinard returned 2 punts for 27-yards, with the longest going for 14-yards, and Robert Richardson returned 3 kickoffs for 55-yards, with the longest going for 28-yards, for the Bearcats. Jordan Davis punted 1 time for 25-yards, Malik Generett kicked off 6 times for 311-yards, including 1 touchback, for the Bearcats.

Meanwhile, back at the Mustang Corral, the 9-time Cavalcade of Bands Champions, Tournament of Bands Group IV Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion South Western Mustangs Marching Band hosted a Cavalcade of Bands Competition featuring 11 high school bands. As host, the Mustangs Marching Band performed their stirring show entitled “City Symphonique: The Sights and Sounds of New York City” in exhibition. Their Broadway show has already resulted in wins in 4 competitions this season, leading up to a competition in Red Lion and then the championships in Hershey. The show featured opening themes depicting the “hustle and bustle” of the city, followed by “New York, New York,” “Wonderful Town,” “On Broadway,” and “Lullaby on Broadway.” The Bearcats Marching Band entertained at half time with a great performance. The 21 Mustangs cheerleaders enthusiastically roused the faithful.

The Mustangs of South Western are 2-7-0 overall and 1-5-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 168-71-1 (.703) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 309-189-8. The results of the 506 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .621 winning percentage and a .627 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs close out their regular season by hosting the Squires of Delone Catholic in an interdivisional game at the Mustang Corral. The Squires are coming off of a 41-0 victory over the Spartans of York County Tech. From here it looks like the Mustangs are ready to end the season on a winning note. GO MUSTANGS GO.

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2006-9

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, October 19, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Colonials of New Oxford at the Mustang Corral and lost 18-14 in a thriller. Two botched snaps on punt attempts by the Mustangs gave the Colonials good field position and led to the first score by the Colonials. A fumble recovery mid way through the fourth quarter led to the Colonials game winning score, but the outcome wasn’t finally decided until the valiant Mustangs ended an 8 play 44-yard drive by turning the ball over on downs at the Colonials 25-yard line.

The Colonials drove 41-yards on the opening drive and punted. The Mustangs drove 30-yards to mid field and attempted to punt. A botched snap gave the Colonials the ball on the Mustangs 23-yard line. Brandon Markle scored on a 23-yard jaunt and Sean Patterson’s extra point kick put the Colonials up 7-0 at the 3:27 mark in the first quarter.

Seth Barnes returned the kickoff 33-yards for the Mustangs but a sack by Bobby Laughman forced the Mustangs to punt. The Colonials launched a 7 play 67-yard drive, featuring Tanner McNutt’s 29-yard run to start it off, that ended with a 25-yard field goal by Patterson, making the score 10-0 at 10:12 in the second quarter.

The Mustangs went three and out and punted and the Mustangs got the ball back when the Colonials turned the ball over on downs. The Mustangs punted again and got the ball right back when Barnes recovered a Colonials fumble at their 29-yard line. Barnes ripped off a 14-yard run to the 15, J. R. Mummert ripped off 8 more to the 7, Barnes lost a yard, and John Bingham scored on an 8-yard run. Zak Kruger’s extra point kick made it 10-7.

Erik Harris retuned the Mustangs kickoff 41-yards and the Colonials ended up missing on a 33-yard field goal attempt. That left the score 10-7 in favor of the Colonials at the half.

The Mustangs opened the second half with a 14 play 80-yard touchdown drive, featuring runs of 9, 4 and 8-yards by Barnes, runs of 7, 5, 8, 5, 8, and 4-yards by Mummert. On a field goal attempt, the wet snap was bobbled and holder David Sager alertly rolled left and threw a 10-yard touchdown strike to Drew Sneeringer. Kruger’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 14-10 at 5:29 in the third quarter.

The Colonials then turned the ball over on downs at the Mustangs 28-yard line and the Mustangs saw a pass for a first down nullified by a penalty. A botched snap on a punt attempt from the 24 gave the Colonials the ball at the Mustangs 18-yard line. The Colonials had a touchdown called back due to a penalty and then Duane Rowlette intercepted a pass at the goal line and returned it 59-yards to the Colonials 41-yard line for the Mustangs. The Mustangs ended up punting and the Colonials also ended up punting. A Mustangs fumble was recovered by the Colonials at the Mustangs 36-yard line. Ross Hall ran to the 24, Markle ran to the 21, Nick Rebert ran to the 11, and Hall sprinted into the end zone on an 11-yard jaunt. Brian Lawrence ran in for a 2-point conversion after the touchdown to give the Colonials an important 4-point lead and a final score of 18-14 with 5:32 left in the game.

The never say die Mustangs drove 44-yards in 8 plays, featuring passes of 14-yards to Barnes and 15-yards to Bingham from Sager, an 8-yard run by Bingham, a 4-yard run by Barnes, and a 3-yard run by Mummert. Two incomplete passes resulted in turning the ball over on Downs to the Colonials at their 25-yard line. It was only then that the game was decided and the Colonials were able to run out the clock.

Duane Rowlette led the Mustangs with 9 tackles, followed by Chris Helwig with 7, Jake Myers, Drew Sneeringer and Derek Supel with 6 each, Jordan Gall with 5, Seth Barnes, John Bingham, Blair Messinger, and Josh Rummel with 4 each, Andrew Sells with 3, Corwyn Gordon and Zach Hagerman with 2, and Mike Brant, Adam Day, Zak Kruger, Karl Maynor, Chris McDonald, Brandon Nicastro, and Zac Scott with 1 each. Helwig was credited with a sack, a pass defense and a pass hurry, Rowlette and Rummel each were credited with a pass defense, Seth Barnes recovered a fumble and Duane Rowlette intercepted the pass on the goal line that he returned for 59-yards for the Mustangs.

Seth Barnes returned 1 punt for minus 3-yards and 1 kickoff for 33-yards, and Nevan Sager returned a kickoff for 9-yards for the Mustangs. Zac Kruger kicked off 3 times for 140-yards, including 1 touchback. Daryl Grubb punted 4 times for 135-yards for a 33.75-yard average, with the longest going for 46-yards, for the Mustangs.

John Bingham, Adam Day, Jordan Gall, Corwyn Gordon, Daryl Grubb, Zach Hagerman, Chris Helwig, Chris McDonald, Blair Messinger, Josh Rummel, Zac Scott, Andrew Sells, Drew Sneeringer, Derek Supel and Wes Trostle manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Seth Barnes, Karl Maynor, Cody Mundorff, Duane Rowlette, and Travis Scott patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 148-yards rushing and 45-yards passing for 193-yards of offense. Sophomore J. R. Mummert led the Mustangs rushing attack with 20 carries for 81-yards, followed by Seth Barnes with 13 carries for 56-yards, John Bingham with carries 7 for 36-yards, David Sager with 4 carries for 2-yards, and the team lost 27-yards on 2 bad snaps. Quarterback Sager completed 4 passes for 45-yards and a touchdown, 2 for 20-yards to Barnes, 1 for 15-yards to Bingham, and 1 for a 10-yard touchdown to Drew Sneeringer, for the Mustangs. Seth Barnes has 499-yards rushing, 210-yards receiving, and 496-yards in kick returns, for a total of 1,205 all-purpose yards for the season for the Mustangs. Barnes leads the Mustangs in rushing yards, followed by Pete Kudla with 385-yards and Mummert with 351-yards. Sager has completed 44 passes for 615-yards for the season and Barnes leads the receivers with 13 catches for 210-yards, followed by Marty Kefauver with 12 for 198-yards and John Bingham with 9 for 106-yards.

The New Oxford Colonials gained 273-yards rushing and 29-yards passing for a total offense of 302-yards. Quarterback Ross Hall led the Colonials rushing attack with 16 carries for 98-yards (including the 11-yard touchdown), followed Tanner McNutt with 6 for 61-yards, Brandon Markle with 10 for 46-yards (including the 23-yard touchdown), Erik Harris with 5 for 44-yards, Nick Rebert with 4 for 19-yards, Jake Groft with 1 for 3-yards, and Ryan Luckenbaugh with 1 carry for 2-yards. Hall completed 2 passes for 29-yards, 1 for 19-yards to Luckenbaugh and 1 for 10-yards to Rebert, for the Colonials. Sean Patterson kicked off 4 times for 211-yards, including 2 touchbacks, kicked an extra point and kicked a 25-yard field goal for the Colonials. Erik Harris returned a punt for 8-yards and a kickoff for 41-yards for the Colonials. Harris also punted once for 39-yards and Jake Groft punted once for 32-yards for the Colonials.

On Band Night, the 100 member strong South Western Mustangs Marching Band was joined on the field by the 115 member Emory H. Markle Colt Marching Band for a stirring pre-game show entitled “Salute to Freedom.” The show featured “Taps,” “Amazing Grace,” and “America.” Unfortunately, the torrential downpour later prevented the Mustangs Marching Band and the Colonials Marching Band from performing their award winning post game and half time shows. But it didn’t stop the 21 member Mustangs Cheer Leading Squad, or the Colonials Cheer Leaders, from stirring up the crowd as they performed admirably in the rain.

The Mustangs of South Western are 2-6-0 overall and 1-3-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 168-70-1 (.706) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 309-188-8. The results of the 505 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .622 winning percentage and a .628 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs continue league play and travel to the den of the Bearcats of York (William Penn). The Bearcats (7-1 overall, 4-0 league) are coming off of a 39-21 victory over the Lions of Red Lion. From here it looks like the Mustangs will step up to the plate and take another shot at resuming their winning ways. GO MUSTANGS GO.

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2007-8

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, October 12, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Panthers of Central York at the Mustang Corral and were defeated 42-13. L’Mar Calhoun and Joe Munchel each intercepted a pass and James English, Calhoun and Munchel each recovered a fumble for the Panthers, as turnovers dominated the game.

The Mustangs opened the game by going three and out and the Panthers launched a 4 play 62-yard drive, featuring a 35-yard run by Tly Schildt, that ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by Schildt. Alex Kelly kicked the extra point and the score was 7-0 in favor of the Panthers at the 8:34 mark in the first quarter.

The Mustangs and the Panthers then exchanged punts and the Mustangs started at their 9-yard line. James English recovered a Mustangs fumble and returned it 12-yards for a touchdown. Kelly’s extra point kick upped the score to 14-0 at the 3:53 point in the first quarter.

The Mustangs and the Panthers again exchanged punts and the Mustangs went from the Central York 49-yard line to the 41 on a pass from David Sager to Cody Mundorff. The first quarter came to an end and on the next play L’Mar Calhoun recovered a Mustangs fumble for the Panthers at their 36-yard line. A ten-play drive, featuring a 21-yard run by Ryan Wolf and a 22-yard run by T. J. Shaffer, ended with 1-yard touchdown plunge by Shaffer. The score was 20-0 at the 7:31 point of the second quarter.

The Mustangs drove from their 16-yard line to the 45, featuring a 5-yard pass to John Bingham and a 13-yard pass to Marty Kefauver from David Sager. Then Calhoun intercepted a Sager pass for the Panthers to end that drive. The Panthers ended up punting and the Mustangs were pinned at the 3-yard line. The Panthers recorded a safety when David Abror tackled Seth Barnes in the end zone, and the score went to 22-0 at the 2:30 point in the second quarter. The Panthers took the Mustangs kickoff to the Mustangs 45-yard line and a 4 play drive, featuring a 27-yard pass from Brandon Workinger to Parrish Fells, led to a 19-yard touchdown pass from Workinger to Nick Petry, upping the score to 28-0 at the 1:11 mark.

The Mustangs launched a 7 play 37-yard drive, featuring a 16-yard run by J. R. Mummert and a 9-yard pass from Sager to Drew Sneeringer. Joe Munchel intercepted a long Sager pass and the first half came to an end.

The Panthers opened the second half with a 4 play 80-yard drive, featuring a 20-yard run by Fells, and a 60-yard touchdown pass from Workinger to Ryan Wolf. Kelly’s extra point kick upped the score to 35-0 at the 10:03 point in the third quarter.

Karl Maynor returned the kickoff 72-yards for the Mustangs, but they turned the ball over on downs at the Panthers 21-yard line. An Andrew Sells sack of Workinger for the Mustangs forced a Panthers punt but Munchel recovered a Mustangs fumble for the Panthers. Shortly thereafter Fells ripped off a 43-yard touchdown jaunt and Kelly’s extra point kick upped the score to 42-0 at the 1:44 point in the third quarter.

Seth Barnes returned the Panthers kickoff 85-yards for a Mustangs touchdown at 1:26 in the third quarter, averting a shutout, and the score was 42-6. After a Panthers punt, the Mustangs launched a 7 play 47-yard touchdown drive, featuring a 7-yard run by Zac Scott, 2 and 4-yard runs by Mummert, and a 38-yard touchdown pass from Sager to Marty Kefauver. Zac Kruger’s extra point kick made the final score 42-13 in favor of the Panthers with 6 minutes to go in the game.

John Bingham led the Mustangs with 15 tackles, followed by Drew Sneeringer with 10 tackles. Then followed Duane Rowlette with 6, Adam Day, Corwyn Gordon, Josh Rummel and Andrew Sells with 5 each, Zach Hagerman, Brandon Nicastro and Derek Supel with 4 each, Jordan Gall and Blair Messinger with 3 each, Seth Barnes, Chris Helwig and Zac Scott with 2 each, and Dan Laird, Karl Maynor and Jake Myers with 1 tackle each. Sells had a sack, Barnes was credited with 2 pass defenses, and Duane Rowlette and Karl Maynor were each credited with a pass defense for the Mustangs.

Seth Barnes returned 1 punt for 5-yards and 4 kickoffs for 130-yards, with the longest going for 85-yards. Karl Maynor returned a kickoff for 72-yards and Chris Helwig returned a kickoff for 22-yards. Zac Kruger kicked off 4 times for 197-yards, including 1 touchback. Daryl Grubb punted 3 times for 109-yards for a 36.3-yard average, with the longest going for 37-yards, for the Mustangs.

John Bingham, Adam Day, Jordan Gall, Corwyn Gordon, Daryl Grubb, Zach Hagerman, Chris Helwig, Dan Laird, Blair Messinger, Josh Rummel, Zac Scott, Andrew Sells, Drew Sneeringer, Derek Supel and Wes Trostle manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Seth Barnes, Karl Maynor, Cody Mundorff, Duane Rowlette, and Travis Scott patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 58-yards rushing and 93-yards passing for 151-yards of offense. Seth Barnes led the Mustangs rushing attack with 28-yards, followed by J. R. Mummert with 22-yards, John Bingham with 7-yards, Zac Scott with 7-yards, and David Sager with minus 6-yards. Quarterback Sager completed 8 passes for 93-yards and a touchdown, 3 for 64-yards to Marty Kefauver (including his 38-yard touchdown), 1 for 9-yards to Drew Sneeringer, 1 for 8-yards to Cody Mundorff, 1 for 5-yards to Barnes, 1 for 5-yards to Bingham, and 1 for 2-yards to Chris Helwig, for the Mustangs. Seth Barnes has 443-yards rushing, 190-yards receiving, and 446-yards in kick returns, for a total of 1,099 all-purpose yards for the season for the Mustangs. Barnes leads the Mustangs in rushing yards and Marty Kefauver leads in receiving yards with 198.

The Central York Panthers gained 225-yards rushing and 151-yards passing for a total offense of 376-yards. Parrish Fells led the Panthers rushing attack with 89-yards (including his 43-yard touchdown), followed by Tly Schildt with 80-yards (including his 10-yard touchdown), T. J. Shaffer with 33-yards (including his 1-yard touchdown), Ryan Wolf with 21-yards, Aaron Plymire with 3-yards, Charles Anderson with 0-yards, and Brandon Workinger with minus 1-yard. Quarterback Workinger completed 9 passes for the 151-yards and 2 touchdowns, 2 for 90-yards to Wolf (including his 60-yard touchdown), 2 for 23-yards to Fells, 3 for 20-yards to Liggins, 1 for the 19-yard touchdown to Nick Petry, and 1 for minus 1-yard to Kyle Baublitz, for the Lions.

L’Mar Calhoun returned a kickoff for minus 2-yards and he returned 2 punts for 17-yards, with the longest going for 13-yards, for the Panthers. D. J. Harrison returned a kickoff for 21-yards and Blaine Liggins returned a kickoff for 20-yards for the Panthers. Alex Kelly punted 5 times for 200-yards, for a 40-yard average, and he kicked off 7 times for 368-yards, with the longest going for 58-yards, for the Panthers.

The 9-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 show, entitled “City Symphonique: The Sights and Sounds of New York City.” The show featured opening themes depicting the “hustle and bustle” of the city, followed by “New York, New York,” “Wonderful Town,” “On Broadway,” and Lullaby on Broadway.” The Panthers Marching Band entertained at half time with a rousing performance. The Mustangs cheerleaders enthusiastically roused the faithful, especially in the third quarter when the JV and Junior high squads swelled the varsity ranks from 21 to 45 cheerleaders.

The Mustangs of South Western are 2-5-0 overall and 1-2-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 168-69-1 (.709) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 309-187-8. The results of the 504 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .623 winning percentage and a .629 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs continue league play and host the Colonials of New Oxford, 3-4 overall, 0-3 YAIAA Division I. The Colonials are coming off of a 29-27 loss to the Lions of Red Lion. From here it looks like the Mustangs again have their work cut out for them but look to register another win in the Division. GO MUSTANGS GO.

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2007-7

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, October 5, the Mustangs of South Western visited the Lions of Red Lion and were shutout 30-0. Quarterback Ethan Becker was the star of the game as he rushed for 221-yards and scored touchdowns on runs of 57 and 42-yards for the Lions. Brett Fishel added another 178-yards and touchdowns of 17 and 15-yards to seal the win.

The Lions opened the game with an impressive 4 play drive that covered 75-yards but ended with Blair Messinger recovering a Brett Fishel fumble for the Mustangs at their own 13-yard line. Six plays brought the Mustangs out to the 35-yard line, featuring runs of 9-yards by Pete Kudla and 6-yards by John Bingham, where they were forced to punt.

The Lions went 80-yards in 2 plays, runs of 23 and 57-yards by Becker, to go up 6-0 at 5:38 in the first quarter. The Lions never looked back.

The Mustangs gained 16-yards in 4 plays, featuring a 13-yard pass from quarterback David Sager to Pete Kudla, and punted. Joe Ross returned the punt 68-yards to the Mustangs 17-yard line. Fishel scored his first touchdown on the next play and he caught a 2-point conversion pass from Becker to make the score 14-0 at 3:42 in the first quarter.

The Mustangs went three and out and the Lions launched a 25-yard drive on 14 plays to the Mustangs 28-yard line. Two sacks, by Jordan Gall and Brandon Nicastro, for the Mustangs cost the Lions 18-yards and they eventually turned the ball over on downs. The Mustangs soon punted and Chris Liggitt returned it to the Mustangs 42-yard line. Becker’s 42-yard scamper on the next play, followed by his extra point kick, put the Lions up 21-0 at 5:22 in the second quarter. A sack of Becker for a 7-yard loss by the Mustangs John Bingham was the featured play in the remaining time of the first half.

The Mustangs gained 18-yards in 4 plays and punted to open the second half. The Lions then drove 38-yards on 4 plays, featuring Becker’s 40-yard scamper. Then Todd Maciejewski coffin corner punted to the Mustangs 1-yard line and John Bingham slipped and fell in the end zone to give the Lions a safety and a 23-0 lead at 7:40 in the third quarter. The Mustangs kicked to the Lions 33-yard line and Fishel ripped off a 52-yard run to the Mustangs 15-yard line. Fishel followed that with a 15-yard touchdown run and Becker’s extra point kick upped the score to 30-0 at 6:53 in the third quarter.

The never say die Mustangs held on and traded possessions. Keith Dahlheimer intercepted a pass for the Lions and Drew Sneeringer recovered a fumble for the Mustangs. Sophomore J. R. Mummert ripped off runs of 44 and 26-yards for the Mustangs in an attempt to avoid the shutout and the clock ended their drive and the game.

Duane Rowlette, Zac Scott, and Drew Sneeringer led the Mustangs defense with 9 tackles each, followed by John Bingham and Andrew Sells with 8 each, Jordan Gall, Jake Myers, and Travis Scott with 6 each, Brandon Nicastro, Josh Rummel and Derek Supel with 5 each, Seth Barnes and Chris Helwig with 4 each, Adam Day with 3, Bryan Bosley, Pete Kudla, Karl Maynor, Tyrell McCleary, and Blair Messinger with 2 each, and Corwyn Gordon, Daryl Grubb, and Zach Hagerman with 1 tackle each. Messinger and Sneeringer each recovered a fumble and Bingham, Gall and Nicastro each recorded a sack for the Mustangs. Barnes, Gordon and Travis Scott were each credited with a pass defense and Sneeringer and Supel were each credited with a pass hurry for the Mustangs.

John Bingham returned a punt for 8-yards. Seth Barnes returned 2 kickoffs for 24-yards, with the longest going for 22-yards, Levi Sager returned 1 for 18-yards, Chris Helwig returned 1 for 11-yards, and Karl Maynor returned 1 for a yard for the Mustangs. Zac Kruger kicked off 2 times, each for 55-yards, and Daryl Grubb punted 7 times for 241-yards, for a 34.4-yard average, with the longest going for 45-yards, for the Mustangs.

John Bingham, Bryan Bosley, Adam Day, Jordan Gall, Robbie Gonzalez, Corwyn Gordon, Daryl Grubb, Zach Hagerman, Chris Helwig, Blair Messinger, Josh Rummel, Zac Scott, Andrew Sells, Drew Sneeringer, and Derek Supel manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Seth Barnes, Karl Maynor, Cody Mundorff, Duane Rowlette, and Travis Scott patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 151-yards rushing and 30-yards passing for 181-yards of offense. J. R. Mummert led the Mustangs rushing attack with 82-yards, including runs of 44 and 26-yards with the clock winding down in an attempt to avoid the shutout, followed by Pete Kudla with 38-yards, Seth Barnes with 17-yards, John Bingham with 9-yards, Karl Maynor with 4-yards, and David Sager with 1-yard. Quarterback Sager completed 3 passes for 30-yards, 2 for 19-yards to Kudla and 1 for 11-yards to Scott Raubenstine, for the Mustangs. Seth Barnes has 415-yards rushing, 185-yards receiving, and 331-yards in kick returns, for a total of 931 all-purpose yards for the season for the Mustangs.

The Red Lion Lions gained 451-yards rushing and 38-yards passing for a total offense of 489-yards. Quarterback Ethan Becker led the Lions rushing attack with 221-yards (including his touchdowns of 57 and 42-yards, followed by Brett Fishel with 178-yards (including his touchdowns of 17 and 15-yards), Jake Hagan with 42-yards, and Joe Ross with 10-yards. Becker completed 5 passes for 38-yards, 3 for 18-yards to Ross, 1 for 14-yards to Todd Maciejewski, and 1 for 6-yards to Taylor Dolan, for the Lions. Fishel also caught a 2-point conversion pass from Becker for the Lions.

The 9-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 pregame show, entitled “City Symphonique: The Sights and Sounds of New York City.” The show featured opening themes depicting the “hustle and bustle” of the city, followed by “New York, New York,” “Wonderful Town,” “On Broadway,” and Lullaby on Broadway.” The Rockets Marching Band (The Blue Crew) entertained at half time with a rousing performance.

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

Don Seidenstricker has a 168-68-1 (.712) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 309-186-8. The results of the 503 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 continue league play and host the Panthers of Central York, 4-2 overall, 1-1 YAIAA Division I. The Panthers are coming off of a 36-7 win over the hands of the Eagles of Exeter Township. From here it looks like the Mustangs will have their work cut out for them but look to get back on the winning track. GO MUSTANGS GO.

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2007-6

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, September 28, the Mustangs of South Western hosted the Rockets of Spring Grove at the Mustang Corral and galloped to an impressive 22-7 victory. Pete Kudla, Seth Barnes and John Bingham led the hard charging Mustangs.

After the Rockets went 3 and out and punted, the Mustangs went 43-yards in two plays to score. Kudla gained 6-yards, Bingham gained 36-yards before prematurely dropping the ball at the one yard line and alert tackle Corwyn Gordon scored the touchdown by picking up the loose ball and carrying it the final yard. Zac Kruger’s extra point kick gave the Mustangs a 7-0 lead at 9:36 in the first quarter.

Andrew Sells then recovered a Rockets fumble at their 30-yard line for the Mustangs. Coty Slothour immediately returned the favor by intercepting a Mustangs pass in the end zone for the Rockets. The Rockets went three and out and punted and the Mustangs drove 16-yards to the Rockets 30-yard line, where a 47-yard field goal attempt by Kruger was blocked by Purnell Richardson for the Rockets.

The Rockets again went three and out and punted and John Bingham returned the kick for a touchdown but it was called back due to a penalty. The Mustangs ended up punting to the Rockets 1-yard line and Derek Supel quickly recorded a safety, putting the Mustangs up 9-0 at 3:03 in the first quarter.

Chris Helwig returned the ensuing Rockets kick 14-yards to the Rockets 47-yard line. Ten plays later, after a drive featuring runs of 12, 1, 2 and 8-yards by Pete Kudla, Kudla scored on a 5-yard scamper and the lead was upped to 15-0 at 10:44 in the second quarter. The Rockets punted again from deep in their own territory shortly thereafter and the Mustangs needed only three plays, a lateral pass from David Sager to Marty Kefauver lost 2-yards, a run by J. R. Mummert picked up 2-yards and a 25-yard touchdown pass from Sager to Drew Sneeringer, to score. Kruger’s extra point kick put the Mustangs up 22-0 at 7:17 in the second quarter.

The Rockets finally put together a 61-yard twelve play drive, featuring a 12-yard run by Joey Rudd, a 16-yard pitch play to Matt Duncan and a 7-yard run by Duncan, that ended with quarterback Ian Smith sneaking in from the 1-yard line. Cody Baker’s extra point kick made the score 22-7 in favor of the Mustangs with 2:18 left in the half. Another unsuccessful 47-yard field goal attempt by the Mustangs brought the half to a close.

The Rockets excited the crowd when Everett Kerrison recovered an onside kick at the Mustangs 39-yard line to start the second half. On a 4th and 13, the Rockets pulled off a fake punt and Caleb Burns sprinted to the 23-yard line. The Rockets then turned the ball over on downs. The rest of the game was a see-saw battle, as reflected by the fact that Duane Rowlette intercepted a Rockets pass for the Mustangs and Coty Slothour immediately picked one off for the Rockets for his second interception of the game.

John Bingham and Adam Day led the Mustangs with 8 tackles each, followed by Zach Hagerman with 7, Duane Rowlette and Andrew Sells with 6 each, Jordan Gall and Drew Sneeringer with 5 each, Chris Helwig, Karl Maynor, Blair Messinger and Derek Supel with 4 each, Bryan Bosley with 3, Seth Barnes, Corwyn Gordon, Chris McDonald and Zac Scott with 2 each, and Jake Myers and David Sager with 1 tackle each. Bingham and Barnes each were credited with 2 pass defenses, while Day was credited with 2 pass hurries for the Mustangs. Rowlette and Maynor were each credited with a pass defense, and McDonald, Supel and Sneeringer were each credited with a pass hurry. Supel recorded a safety, Rowlette intercepted a pass and Sells recovered a fumble for the Mustangs.

John Bingham returned 2 punts for 65-yards, with the longest going for 50-yards, Seth Barnes returned a punt for 17-yards, and Chris Helwig returned a punt for 14-yards. Helwig also returned a kickoff for 21-yards and Drew Sneeringer returned a kickoff for 9-yards for the Mustangs. Zak Kruger kicked off 4 times for 208-yards, including a touchback. Daryl Grubb punted 3 times for 117-yards, for a 39-yard average, with the longest going for 49-yards.

John Bingham, Bryan Bosley, Adam Day, Jordan Gall, Corwyn Gordon, Daryl Grubb, Zach Hagerman, Chris Helwig, Chris McDonald, Blair Messinger, Josh Rummel, Zac Scott, Andrew Sells, Drew Sneeringer, and Derek Supel manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Seth Barnes, Karl Maynor, Cody Mundorff and Duane Rowlette patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs gained 194-yards rushing and 33-yards passing for 227-yards of offense. Pete Kudla led the rushing attack with 22 carries for 114-yards (including a 5-yard touchdown), followed by Seth Barnes with 15 carries for 49-yards, John Bingham with 5 carries for 43-yards, J. R. Mummert with 4 carries for with 6-yards, and David Sager with 2 carries for 3-yards. Quarterback Sager completed 4 passes for 33-yards and a touchdown, 1 for a 25-yard touchdown to Drew Sneeringer, 2 for 10-yards to John Bingham, and 1 for minus 2-yards to Marty Kefauver, for the Mustangs. Seth Barnes has 398-yards rushing, 185-yards receiving, and 307-yards in kick returns, for a total of 890 all-purpose yards for the season for the Mustangs.

The Spring Grove Rockets gained 110-yards rushing and 4-yards passing for a total offense of 114-yards. Caleb Burns led the Rockets rushing attack with 4 carries for 50-yards, followed by Matt Duncan with 11 for 31, Joey Rudd with 8 for 28, Cory Baker with 2 for 4, Purnell Richardson with 1 for minus 1, and quarterback Ian Smith with 8 for minus 2-yards (including a 1-yard touchdown). Smith completed 2 passes, 1 to Baker for 4-yards and 1 to Duncan for no yards for the Rockets.

The 9-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 pregame show, entitled “City Symphonique: The Sights and Sounds of New York City.” The show featured opening themes depicting the “hustle and bustle” of the city, followed by “New York, New York,” “Wonderful Town,” “On Broadway,” and Lullaby on Broadway.” The Rockets Marching Band (The Blue Crew) entertained at half time with a rousing performance.

The Mustangs of South Western are 2-3-0 overall and 1-1-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 168-67-1 (.715) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 309-185-8. The results of the 502 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .626 winning percentage and a .632 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs continue league play and visit the Lions of Red Lion. The Lions are coming off of a 28-10 loss to the Panthers of Central York. From here it looks like the Mustangs are primed to gallop along on the winning track. GO MUSTANGS GO.

SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2007-5

By Bill Engelhardt
________

Last Friday evening, September 21, the Mustangs of South Western traveled to the den of the Wildcats of Dallastown and were edged 20-17 in a thriller that saw the Wildcats break a 17-17 tie with a 18-yard Trent Bear field goal with one second left on the clock. Junior running back Kole Kraut’s 142-yards and 2 touchdowns rushing made the difference in a close hard fought contest.

The Wildcats opened the game with a 24-yard drive, featuring a 19-yard pass from quarterback Kevin Frisby to Andre Le, but turned the ball over to the Mustangs on downs at their 40-yard line. The Mustangs drove to the Wildcats 45-yard line, featuring a 10-yard pass from quarterback David Sager to Seth Barnes, but Andre Le tipped a pass and Tyler Imhoff intercepted for the Wildcats and returned it 23-yards to the Mustangs 47-yard line. Frisby gained 5-yards to the 42 and Kole Kraut scored on a 42-yard touchdown jaunt. Trent Bear added the extra point and the Wildcats were up 7-0 at the 4:43 point in the first quarter.

Karl Maynor returned the kickoff 64-yards to the Wildcats 27-yard line for the Mustangs. Justin Zelger recovered a fumble for the Wildcats to end that threat. The Wildcats ended up punting to the Mustangs 25-yard line. Seth Barnes then raced 75-yards for a touchdown for the Mustangs as he broke into the secondary and left everyone in the dust. Zac Kruger’s extra point kick tied the game at 7 at 2:14 in the first quarter.

The Wildcats punted to the Mustangs on their next possession and the Mustangs drove from their 30-yard line to the Wildcats 16, featuring an 11-yard pass to Barnes and a 29-yard run by sophomore J. R. Mummert. Kruger then kicked a 33-yard field goal at 9:51 in the second quarter to give the Mustangs a 10-7 lead.

Each team then punted twice and then the Mustangs next possession resulted in Chris Hunt blocking a punt and Justin McGowan recovered it for the Wildcats at the Mustangs 17-yard line. Frisby ran to the 15 and, after 2 incomplete passes; Trent Bear kicked a 32-yard field goal to tie the score at 10 with 48 seconds left in the first half.

The Mustangs punted on their opening possession of the second half and the Wildcats launched an 11 play 77-yard drive, featuring runs of 13, 10, 14 yards by Frisby. Kraut scored on a 4-yard run and Bear added the extra point to put the Wildcats up 17-10 with 4:53 left in the third quarter.

The Mustangs then launched a 10 play 76-yard drive, featuring a 12-yard pass to Barnes, a 16-yard run by Barnes and runs of 20, 2, 3, 4, and 3-yards by Mummert, and ending with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Mummert. Kruger’s extra point kick tied the score at 17 with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.

The teams exchanged punts in the fourth quarter until the Wildcats started a drive at their own 5-yard line. A 15 play drive, featuring a 14-yard pass to Eric Shoff and runs of 2, 3, 15, 13, 6, 15, 6, 6, and 1-yards by Kraut, got the Wildcats to the 1-yard line of the Mustangs. Trent Bear then kicked his second field goal, an 18 yarder, to give the Wildcats the 20-17 win.

The never say die Mustangs put on a razzle-dazzle play on the kickoff that resulted in a lateral to Seth Barnes and his 20+ yard jaunt that ended the game as he was pushed out of bounds.

John Bingham led the Mustangs with 13 tackles, followed by Duane Rowlette with 12, Zac Scott with 10, Zach Hagerman with 9, Andrew Sells and Derek Supel with 8 each, Drew Sneeringer with 7, Seth Barnes with 6, Blair Messinger with 5, Bryan Bosley and Adam Day with 4 each, Corwyn Gordon with 3, Chris McDonald with 2, and Jordan Gall, Tyrell McCleary, Jake Myers, and Josh Rummel with 1 tackle each. Duane Rowlette, Karl Maynor, Zac Scott and Zach Hagerman each were credited with a pass defense and Andrew Sells had a pass hurry for the Mustangs.

Karl Maynor returned 2 kickoffs for 78-yards, with the longest going for 64-yards, Seth Barnes returned 2 kickoffs for 62-yards, with the longest going for 34-yards, and Nevan Sager returned a kickoff for 12-yards for the Mustangs. Daryl Grubb punted 3 times for 115-yards, with the longest going for 42-yards, and Zac Kruger kicked off 4 times for 194-yards, with the longest going for 58-yards, for the Mustangs.

John Bingham, Bryan Bosley, Adam Day, Jordan Gall, Corwyn Gordon, Daryl Grubb, Zach Hagerman, Chris Helwig, Chris McDonald, Blair Messinger, Josh Rummel, Zac Scott, Andrew Sells, Drew Sneeringer, and Derek Supel manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions. Seth Barnes, Karl Maynor, Cody Mundorff and Duane Rowlette patrolled the secondary.

The Mustangs gained 215-yards rushing and 41-yards passing for 256-yards of offense. Seth Barnes led the rushing attack with 6 carries for 111-yards (including a 75-yard touchdown), followed by J. R. Mummert with 17 for with 86 (including a 1-yard touchdown), John Bingham with 4 for 10, Pete Kudla with 3 for 9-yards, and David Sager with 2 for minus 1-yard. Quarterback Sager completed 5 passes for 42-yards, 4 for 33-yards to Barnes and 1 for 8-yards to Marty Kefauver. Zak Kruger kicked a 33-yard field goal for the Mustangs. Seth Barnes has 349-yards rushing, 185-yards receiving, and 290-yards in kick returns, for a total of 824 all-purpose yards for the season for the Mustangs.

The Wildcats gained 269-yards rushing and 40-yards passing for 309-yards of offense. Kole Kraut led the rushing attack with 20 carries for 142-yards (including touchdowns of 42 and 4-yards), followed by Kevin Frisby with 11 for 71, Matt Rae with 6 for 25, Stephen Rodriguez with 8 for 22, and Andre Le with 2 for 9-yards. Frisby completed 2 passes for 32-yards and Chris Hunt completed 1 for 8-yards for the Wildcats. Le caught 1 for 19-yards, Eric Shoff caught 1 for 13-yards, and Frisby caught 1 for 8-yards. Trent Bear kicked field goals of 32 and 18-yards for the Wildcats.

The 9-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 show, entitled “City Symphonique: The Sights and Sounds of New York City.” The show featured opening themes depicting the “hustle and bustle” of the city, followed by “New York, New York,” “Wonderful Town,” “On Broadway,” and Lullaby on Broadway.” The Dallastown Wildcats Marching Band put on an exhilarating pre-game show. The 21 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad, and the Wildcats Cheer Leaders roused the faithful during this exciting game.

The Mustangs of South Western are 1-3-0 overall and 0-1-0 in York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

Don Seidenstricker has a 167-67-1 (.714) record as coach of the Mustangs, who have a career record of 308-185-8. The results of the 501 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .625 winning percentage and a .631 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs continue league play and host the Rockets of Spring Grove. The Rockets are coming off of a 30-14 win over the Lions of Red Lion. From here it looks like the Mustangs will pick themselves up and resume their winning ways. GO MUSTANGS GO.