2005 Year in Review

Back to Sports: Football Listing | Back to Year in Review Index

Mustangs Fall Short

In the scorebook, the Bureau Valley Storm defeated the Mustangs on Friday night. However, the game was a case of the Mustangs beating the Mustangs. Morrison fell into a 15-0 hole less than six minutes into the game on several crucial mistakes. The Mustangs battled back to within 15-12 before the Storm scored again to make the score 22-12 at halftime. The Mustangs broke the opening kick of the second half and used the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 22-20. The Storm would clamp down from there with both teams going back and forth throughout the second half with the Storm prevailing by the same score of 22-20.

The Mustangs came up fired up and ready to go and quickly got a hand up in the contest by forcing and recovering a fumble on the first play from scrimmage by the Storm. After Sammy Biggs recovered the fumble, the Mustangs were unable to move the ball and fumbled the ball back to the Storm on the third play. Bureau Valley took full advantage as on the second play, Garrett Barnas rolled left, ducked and weaved his way through at least four tackles before running 82 yards ushered by a convoy of blockers that gave the Storm the lead. Yun Liu added the extra point for the Storm to make it 7-0.
Disaster struck on the ensuing kickoff for the Mustangs. After the ball bounced in front of him, Biggs allowed the ball to roll into the end zone for what appeared to be a touchback. After a short commotion, the Storm tackled Biggs in the end zone for a safety with the ruling being that the ball had touched Biggs' foot on its way past. The safety made the score 9-0 with the Storm getting the ball right back.
Bureau Valley then proceeded to put together a drive that resulted in a five-yard touchdown run by Josh Wilkenson. The extra-point attempt was stopped leaving the Mustangs down 15-0 just 5:51 into the game. Showing their heart, Morrison bounced back with a response. Nick Vandermyde and Biggs combined to set the Mustangs up with third and two when Schisler connected with Biggs for a 14-yard pass and first down. Vandermyde ran for four yards before Schisler threw up a jumpball that Biggs went up and took it away from the B.V. defender for a 27-yard gain. The third time was a charm for Nate McBride, after two unproductive runs, McBride broke loose down the left side line for 24 yards and a Mustang touchdown. Jorge Hernandez' extra point was blocked leaving the score at 15-6.
Bureau Valley started to drive on their next possession and worked the ball deep into Mustang territory before Nick and Dustin Vandermyde trapped the elusive Barnas in the backfield for a 16-yard loss to end the quarter. The Storm were called for holding two plays later and forced a third and 27. With Barnas back to pass, Schisler stepped in front of the ball and returned the ball 11 yards for his fourth interception of the season.
With the momentum back in their corner, the Msutangs started to drive again. Just two plays in, however, the drive looked to be dead. Schisler rolled right looking unsuccessfully for an open receiver before he stopped and through back across the field to Biggs who turned the play into a 31-yard gain and a first down. Schisler then picked up a first down on a pair of runs that moved the ball 14 more yards. McBride picked up the next first with an eight-yard run that moved the ball down to the B.V. ten-yard line. Three plays later, the Mustangs faced fourth and seven. Schisler rolled left looking to pass before tucking the ball and heading up field. Schisler got to about the two-yard line before the ball popped loose. Fortunately for the Mustangs, Dustin Vandermyde was there and picked the ball up and dove across the goal line for the touchdown. The extra-point attempt was unsuccessful and the score stood at 15-12.
The Storm rolled downfield on their next drive aided by 37 yards worth of penalties against the Mustangs. Two of those were personal foul calls in crucial situations. With the sudden penalty outburst, the game quickly turned ugly and looked as if the second half would be all out war. The Storm used all of the penalties to their advantage and punched the ball into the end zone on a two-yard run by Barnas with just over fourteen seconds remaining in the half. Liu's extra point was good making the lead 22-12. Morrison set themselves up for a score right before the end of the half on a 32-yard scamper by Vandermyde that put the ball in Storm territory. Schisler was hit as he threw the ball on the last play and the half ran out with the Mustangs trailing by ten.
The 'Stangs came out with confidence and a bad attitude in the second half and looked to take it back at the Storm from the get-go. The first punch of the second half was thrown by the Mustangs as Nate McBride took the opening kickoff 90 yards right up the middle for a touchdown thanks to perfect blocking by the return squad. Vandermyde converted the two-point conversion to cut the score down to 22-20 and swing the momentum back to the Mustangs' corner. With B.V. on their heels and the rowdy Morrison crowd helping to turn the tide, the Mustang defense went out on the field hungry. Three plays later, the offense trotted back onto the field after the punt. Unfortunately, the Mustangs couldn't get anything going as Schisler's pass was intercepted by Dan Braasch at midfield to slow the Mustangs temporarily.
Morrison's defense was able to contain Barnas on the ensuing drive and forced a punt. Unfortuantely, the Mustangs were also unable to put together a drive and punted the ball back to B.V. The punt ended the third quarter and sent the Mustangs into the final twelve minutes of battle trailing by two. The Storm went three and out on their drive and punted the ball over to Morrison. Unfortunately, the local gridders were unable to sustain a drive and were driven back before punting.
Barnas found Eli Vencent on the first play to set the Storm up across midfield. Nick Vandermyde stepped up on the next play; coming on the blitz, Vandermyde stripped the ball from Barnas and recovered the fumble to give the Mustangs possession. Once again, the Mustangs were unable to get any offensive movement and were forced to punt with just under six minutes left. From there, the Storm were able to put together a couple first downs and run out the clock with Barnas taking a knee on the final two plays to seal the deal on a 22-20 defeat for the 'Stangs.
The Mustangs should we commended for not giving up and playing their hearts out after being down 15 points, on the road to the fifth-ranked team in class 3A. Morrison showed even in defeat, that they are a force to be reckoned with and are capable of handling big games on the road.
Nick Vandermyde led the Morrison rushing attack with 64 yards on 11 carries. Nate McBride gained 33 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. Ryan Schisler ran for 27 yards on nine carries, and Sammy Biggs was held to 23 yards on 11 yards. Schisler was 3-9 passing with all three passes complete to Biggs for 72 yards.
Zach Harridge spearheaded the Morrison defense with 12 tackles followed by Brent Beveroth with eight tackles, Austin Rickels and Nick Vandermyde with seven tackles, Sammy Biggs, Chris Scott, and Dustin Vandermyde with five tackles, Greg Frickenstein with three tackles, Kenny Benson with two tackles, and Nate McBride, Chuck Cady, Nathan Neighbour, Ryan Schisler, and Neal Mahoney with one tackle. Biggs and Vandermyde each recovered fumbles while Schisler recorded his fourth interception of the season.
The Mustangs (4-1) will next be in action on Friday night, September 2, when they return home to host the Erie-Prophetstown Panthers (1-4) at 7:30 p.m.

by rustinl
2005-09-25 17:43:12