Mustangs Fight with Huge Fan Base at Home Opener

   
Our Mount Vernon Mustang Varsity Football Team opened their season on Friday, August 21 against Crawford County, dropping a closely fought contest, 34-21. The final score, however, doesn’t tell the whole story.
The atmosphere around this team is electric as evident by the largest home crowd in years. Fans showed up and made their presence known! The excitement started prior to kickoff, as the Mustangs and the crowd took part in the first ever Mustang Walk. Fans created a human tunnel and cheered the team as they made their way onto the field. It was a thrilling start to the game and the excitement carried over onto the playing field, as our Mustangs jumped to an early 14-0 lead.
Mount Vernon’s first score occurred on a well designed 28 yard touchdown pass from QB Jacob Cavender to WR Marquez Bembry. Cavender put the ball in the perfect spot and Bembry went up high and outmuscled the defender for the ball. After a perfect snap by Jake Munoz and a successful kick by Devon Morris, the score was 7-0 Mustangs! On the ensuing kickoff, Coach Dabbs and his staff called a brilliant onside kick that was perfectly executed by Moritz Dohmeier. Coleson Logue made a fantastic play and wrestled the ball away from several Crawford County players, giving the Mustangs great field position. Mount Vernon took advantage and drove to the Crawford County 8 yard line. From there, Ahmir Lee bulldozed his way in for a TD, making it 14-0 Mustangs.
Crawford County fought hard and battled their way back to make the score 14-13 for MVPS at the end of the first half. On the opening kickoff of the second half, freshman John Watson, who was solid in the return game all afternoon, provided the home team with great field position, as he battled his way to the 50 yard line. Unfortunately, after a stalled drive, the visitors connected on a 65 yard swing pass to take a 21-14 lead.
Our Mustangs continued to battle. The defense, which was led by Marquez Bembry (4 sacks and 4 tackles for loss) and Allan Harris (14 tackles) held strong on the next Crawford possession, giving the ball back to the Mustang offense. After a 30 yard pass from Cavender to Bembry, the Mustangs were in great position to tie the game. After a couple short gains which brought the team to the visitors’ 4 yard line, Cavender found Bembry in the end zone to tie the game at 21.
On the ensuing Crawford possession, the Mustang defense forced a crucial 3rd and long, but unfortunately, the visitors scored on a 70 yard broken play, making it 27-21. After our offense went 3 and out on the next possession, the visitors drove all the way down to the MVPS 2 yard line, but on 4th and goal and the game’s outcome still very much in doubt, our defense held STRONG and forced a turnover on downs, giving the Mustang offense one more chance from deep in our own territory. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, it wasn’t meant to be, as the drive stalled and Crawford added another late touchdown, making the final 34-21.
Although the outcome was not what the home fans had hoped for, there is much to be excited about. The team played at a higher level than in recent memory and the atmosphere was fantastic. The new coaching staff has the boys prepared and ready to play and their hard work is showing off. Coach Dabbs has already put this game behind him and is looking forward to next Friday, when our Mustangs host Hebron Christian at 4:30 p.m. – fans, prepare for a WHITE OUT!
“Our goal this week is to focus on us and how we as a team can continue to improve,” said Dabbs. “Our players need to continue to work to be good, consistent practice players with good habits which will lead to being able to compete with confidence, which will lead to victory on the field.”