Mustangs Move Into Playoffs with Big Win Over WPCC
By Greg Hansen
October 25, 2009
Mustangs Move Into Playoffs with Big Win Over WPCC
The Stanton Mustangs traveled to West Point to face the Bluejays of
Central Catholic, hoping to seal their 8th straight winning season
and playoff berth in the process. The Mustangs accomplished both
goals with a convincing 28-7 victory that saw the defense shine
once again, holding a potent offense to 146 total yards, including
20 yards rushing. The Mustangs improved their record to 5-3 and
tied for second in the district. "After our slow start, the defense
rose tall again for us", said Coach Hansen. "Three interceptions
against such a good quarterback was big." The Mustangs defensive
front harassed and hurried WPCC's QB all night, sacking him twice,
rushing him on numerous other occassions forcing off target throws
and recording 5 tackles for loss on Bluejay runningbacks. The
Mustangs offense combined their traditional Double Wing offense
with the "new look" Spread Shotgun Spin offense for the second
week. While the Mustangs rushed for 305 yards and only passed for 9
yards, the potential for alot more passing yards is there if
dropped balls can be limited.
The West Point Bluejays started the game with a sustained drive on
their first possession, traveling sixty yards on 9 plays and
scoring on a 6 yard pass play. The key play was on a 4th down and
13 that was successfully converted on a 16 yard pass play. "Those
are tough to take; opponents will only convert 1 or 2 out of 10
those situations", said Defensive Coordinator Dave Stoddard. The
Mustangs defense held the Bluejays to 86 yards and 4 more first
downs the rest of the night. The Mustangs first score came off a
nice drive that saw Stanton travel 68 yards on 8 plays, capped by a
Senior Paul Cheyney 6 yard run and a Sophomore Spencer Nickolite 3
yard, two point conversion run to take the lead 8-7. The Mustangs
then struck quickly on their next drive on a Senior Tate Erbst 65
yard run. The trap play saw very good blocking by the Mustangs
offensive line including; Junior Jacob Bohac, Senior Mark Tomka,
Senior Nelson Vollbrecht, Junior Bryant Borgmann, and Junior Brian
Qualls. Erbst powered through a hole, and out ran the Bluejay
secondary on the run. Nickolite found Sophomore Michael Eberly on
the two point conversion pass and the Stangs led 16-7. The Mustangs
then shut down WPCC's offense again and threatened again just
before half, but an interception in the endzone ended the drive.
The second was more of the same as the Mustangs defense continued
to give the Bluejay offense fits. Nickolite extended the lead for
the Mustangs as he intercepted a pass from his linebacker position
and bolted 36 yards for the score. The two point conversion failed,
leaving the score 22-7. A key moment in the second half was when
Cheyney intercepted a Bluejay pass on the Mustangs 22 yardline,
killing yet another drive for WPCC. The Mustangs then put together
another clock-chewing drive that was successfully capped by a 6
yard touchdown pass from Nickolite to Freshman Jeb Nordby, which
ended the scoring at 28-7. The key play on the drive saw Nickolite
bootleg around the right end, 43 yards, putting the Stangs in
business at the Bluejay 6 yardline. The Mustangs ended any hopes of
a miracle comeback by the Bluejays on the ensuing kickoff as
Sophomore Blake Heppner squibbed kicked the ball, careening it off
a WPCC lineman. Nordby was quick on the recovery, giving the ball
back to the Stanton offense. From there, the Mustangs converted a
couple of first downs and milked the clock to end the game. "It was
a satisfying win", said Hansen. "The kids played hard and that's
about all you can ask of them." The Mustangs are the #9 seed in the
West bracket of the playoffs. They will travel to Creighton to face
the #8 seed. "Creighton is a hard-nosed, run based team that plays
great defense. We will have to put together our best game of the
season to move on in the playoffs."
Greg Hansen
Stanton High School
Secondary Phys. Ed./Weight Training
Head Football
Asst. Activities Director
