2005 Year in Review

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Mustangs Fly Over Falcons

The Morrison Mustangs ruled the roost on Friday night. Following a long bus ride down to Varna, the Mustangs dominated the River Valley Falcons to the tune of a 53-8 rout. The night was highlighted by the debut of junior place-kicker Jorge Hernandez. Morrison seemed to struggle offensively at times but still ran for 279 yards while throwing for another 109. The Mustang defense dominated the front line once again and held the Falcons to only 84 yards and four first downs.

The Mustangs started the game with a bang by forcing a fumble on the Falcons' first play from scrimmage, which was jumped on by Nick Vandermyde to give the 'Stangs possession. Sammy Biggs kept the drive alive on third down with an 11-yard sweep to put the ball inside the red zone. Vandermyde ran twice to put the ball at the five before Biggs ran it in to give the Mustangs the lead. Hernandez split the uprights with the extra-point attempt the score was 7-0.
Morrison quickly forced a punt on the next defensive possession and on the return, Sammy Biggs turned the corner and broke away for a long touchdown but it would be called back by a holding penalty. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't get any momentum going and were forced to punt for the first time this season. Once again the Falcons were forced to punt and this time the Mustangs took full advantage. McBride and Vandermyde set the Mustangs up with third and short before Schisler rolled to his right with great protection, and found Austin Rickels wide open down field who then raced to the end zone untouched for a 59-yard touchdown pass. The extra-point was good by Hernandez and the Mustangs led 14-0 with 2:27 left in the first quarter.
In less than a minute, the Mustangs would increase their lead without the offense taking the field. On second down, Biggs intercepted a pass by the Falcons' Joe Feazel and took it back 42 yards for a touchdown. Biggs was ushered down the sideline by a number of Mustang blockers who helped him thread his way through the Falcons. Hernandez' extra point attempt was blocked and the score was 20-0.
Morrison would wait until early in the second quarter to strike again. The Mustangs waited no time in scoring on the drive with Biggs carrying twice for a gain of 22 yards and a first down. From there, Nate McBride rolled around end and ran 20 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown. The Mustangs were unable to convert the PAT and the score held at 26-0.
The Falcons failed to pick up a first down on their drive and gave the ball back to the Mustangs. In danger of losing the ball on downs, Mitch Stoermer connected with McBride on a quick screen for a gain of eight yards and a first down. Two plays later, McBride followed guards Dustin Vandermyde and Daniel Deter around end for a gain of 35 yards to set the Mustangs up deep in Falcon territory. From there Schisler again rolled out and found Rickels in the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown pass. Hernandez pushed the extra-pointer left and the score stood at 32-0. Morrison would get the ball back before the half but would be unable to score.
Morrison opened the second half by fumbling the ball away on the initial play from scrimmage to give the Falcons the ball near midfield. However, the defense buckled down and got the ball back quickly. It would take the locals just five plays to drive 56 yards. On the second play, Biggs patiently followed the guards around end on a sweep for a gain of 24 yards. Two plays later, Schisler scrambled left on a naked bootleg for a gain of 17 yards. On the next play, Vandermyde took it offtackle for a 13-yard touchdown run. Hernandez added the extra point and it was 39-0.
The Mustangs tagteamed the Falcons on defense on their next drive forcing a punt. Twelve different Mustangs recorded a tackle in the third quarter with Dustin Vandermyde leading the team as the only person with two tackles in the quarter. Morrison's second unit took over on offense during the next drive with Greg Frickenstein bullying his way for nine yards offtackle on the first play. Two plays later, Roman "Tank" Fernandez carried for 11 yards and a first down. The next three plays gained no yards but on fourth down, Brent Beveroth fought his way for a gain of 11 and a first down at the one. From there Frickenstein took it in for the touchdown. Hernandez once again added the extra point and the murder clock rule took effect with the score at 46-0. The lone misstep of the Mustangs came on the ensuing kickoff, when Zach Coletrain broke through the Mustang coverage for a 68 yard return down the Morrison 15 as the third quarter came to a close. The Falcons would punch it in on the first play of the fourth quarter as Jarrod Holler ran it in from 11 yards out. Holler added the two-point conversion to make it 46-8.
The Mustangs answered quickly on the next possession. Brent Beveroth ran for nine yards before Nathan Neighbour picked up the first down with a five-yard run. Three plays later Tank maneuvered his way through the Falcon defense and rolled 31 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. Hernandez added the extra point to make it 53-8. River Valley started to drive and picked up three first downs before the Mustangs stopped the drive and forced the turnover on downs. Rustin Lindsey dropped to a knee three times to run out the clock and bring the game to a close.
As the final seconds ran off the clock, the Mustangs turned their attention to next week's showdown with the Amboy Clippers, who came from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat the Fulton Steamers on the home turf by the score of 20-14.
Ryan Schisler was 2-4 passing for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those passes were completed to Austin Rickels. Mitch Stoermer was 4-5 passing for 42 yards. Sammy Biggs caught two passes for 22 yards and Nate McBride caught two passes for 20 yards.
Sammy Biggs and Nate McBride led the rushing attack with 64 yards and a touchdown each. Roman Fernandez gained 50 yards on four carries and a touchdown, Nick Vandermyde ran 12 times for 38 yards and a touchdown, Brent Beveroth gained 20 yards on three carries, Ryan Schisler ran once for 17 yards, Greg Frickenstein had three carries for 10 yards and a touchdown, Mitch Stoermer ran once for a gain of nine, Nathan Neighbour ran twice for five yards, and Alan VanRiet ran once for zero yards.
Jorge Hernandez was 5-8 on extra point attempts in his debut for the Mustangs.
Roman Fernandez led the defense with 10 tackles followed by Dustin Vandermyde and Greg Frickenstein with seven tackles each, Nate McBride with six tackles, Austin Rickels with five tackles, Nick Vandermyde with four tackles, Brent Beveroth, Kenny Benson, Nathan Neighbour, Adam Rumfelt, and Daniel Deter with three tackles, Mitch Stoermer, Alan VanRiet, Chris Scott, and Charles Bull with two tackles, and Sammy Biggs with one tackle. Biggs also recorded one interception which was returned 42 yards for a touchdown.
The Mustangs (3-0) will next be in action on Friday night, September 16, when they travel to Amboy (2-1) to take on the Clippers at 7:30 p.m.

by rustinl
2005-09-10 18:51:54