2005 Year in Review

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Mustangs Dominant In Opener

The Morrison Mustangs started their Campaign for Champaign on Friday night with a dominating performance against the Ottawa Marquette Crusaders. The Mustangs controlled the line of scrimmage and never let the Crusaders have a chance while rolling to a 50-8 romp in their season opener. Morrison rolled up 395 yards on the ground and another 42 through the air while gaining 29 first downs.

The 'Stangs set the tone right away by forcing a quick punt and marching down field. After three carries by Nick Vandermyde, Nate McBride broke a tackle and headed for pay dirt with a 31-yard touchdown scamper on his first varsity carry to put the Mustangs ahead less than five minutes into the game. The two-point conversion failed and the score stood at 6-0. Morrison suffocated the Crusaders on defense and consistently had three or more defenders around the ball. The Mustangs again ruled the trenches on their second drive which resulted in a 12-yard touchdown run by Sammy Biggs. The crucial play on the drive came on a third and long conversion pass from Mitch Stoemer to Chuck Cady for 17 yards and a first down. Following several penalties. Stoermer converted the two-point conversion on a pass to Nathan Neighbour to make it 14-0.
Once again the locals put down the clamps on defense and forced a quick Crusader possession. Vandermyde broke one up the middle for twenty yards to bring the quarter to a close, but the Mustangs would score on the first play of the second quarter when Stoermer found Biggs in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown strike. Ryan Schisler converted the two-point conversion on a pass to Biggs to make it 22-0. Marquette was unable to start a drive and the 'Stangs were back on offense before much time had run off the clock. Biggs took the first play from scrimmage around end for 10 yards and Vandermyde carried for another 20 yards to set the Mustangs up deep in Crusader territory. Two plays later McBride broke loose again, this time it was a 37-yard touchdown run to put Morrison up 28-0 after the two-point conversion failed.
Marquette used two long passes to get into the end zone on their possession. A twenty-yard pass from Blake Cottingham to Jake Lambert set the Crusaders up at the Morrison 31-yard line with a first down. Three plays later Cottingham connected wtih Levi Reeder for a touchdown. A botched extra-point snap led to a converted two-point conversion to cut it to 28-8. Not to be outdone, the Mustangs quickly drove the field and punched one in before halftime. Biggs started the drive with a 34-yard run that put the Mustangs in the red zone once again. A nine-yard run by Schisler kept the drive alive for Vandermyde to run it in from three yards out with just :25 remaining in the half. Vandermyde converted the two-point conversion to make it 36-8 as the teams headed to the locker room.
Morrison gave Marquette a glimmer of hope when Biggs fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, and the offense sputtered through the third quarter with another two turnovers on interceptions, but the defense held tight and created a turnover of their own on an interception by Brent Beveroth. As the final quarter opened, the score had not changed.
Morrison finally began clicking on offense after the pick by Beveroth set them up with good field position. A pair of six-yard runs by Alan VanRiet, a six-yard run by Roman Fernandez and a seven-yard run by Nathan Neighbour pur the ball inside the Crusader five-yard line. Greg Frickenstein carried it in from there to score the first Mustang points of the second half. The two-point conversion failed and the score stood at 42-8. Morrison forced a turnover on downs to get the ball back with just over six minutes remaining. Once again controlling the ground, the Mustangs quickly drove the field. Neighbour rolled off a ten and a fifteen-yard run as well as a pair of five yarders. while VanRiet ran for eleven yards on two carries. Fernandez capped the drive with a 17-yard run off-tackle to add another six points to the Mustang lead. Neighbour converted the two-point conversion and the score stood at 50-8. With the "murder-clock rule" in effect, the last 2:10 ran off quickly and the game ended with the final of 50-8.
Mitch Stoermer was 3-5 passing fro 37 yards and a touchdown and Ryan Schisler was 1-2 for seven yards. Nick Vandermyde caught one pass for 7 yards, Sammy Biggs caught one pass for 13 yards and a touchdown, Greg Frickenstein caught one pass for five yards, and Chuck Cady had one reception for 17 yards.
Nick Vandermyde was the leading rusher with 92 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown, Nate McBride ran for 88 yards on five carries and two touchdowns, Sammy Biggs carried seven times for 77 yards and a toucdown, Roman Fernandez carried four times for 31 yards and a touchdown, Nathan Neighbour ran for 53 yards on seven carries, Alan VanRiet tallied 23 yards on four carries, Greg Frickenstein had five carries for 18 yards and a touchdown, Ryan Schisler ran for times for six yards, and Brent Beveroth ran two times for seven yards.
The Mustangs (1-0) will next be in action on Friday night, September 2, when they host the Riverdale Rams (0-1) at 7:30 p.m.

by larryg
2005-08-28 14:08:29