The Mount Vernon varsity football team didn’t simply win their game at Tipton last Friday. They won it big.
The Mustangs traveled to Tipton to take on the 0-2 Tigers, and headed back home with a 49-0 victory and a record improved to 2-1.
The team hit Tipton early, and hit them often, with Trenton Pitlik again chipping in for a host of touchdowns, beginning with a 30-yard run just 27 seconds into the game. Ben Crock provided the point after kick, as he would do four more times in the contest, and the Mustangs were up 7-0.
With 5:52 left in the first quarter, Owen Brase carried the ball five yards into the end zone, and following another Crock kick through the uprights, Mount Vernon was up 14-0.
After a brief Tiger campaign on the field, the Mustangs were back on offense, and with 3:03 to go in the first, Pitlik scored his second touchdown of the game, and Crock’s kick was again good, giving the team a 21-0 lead over the home team.
What followed was a lot of trading possessions back and forth until deep into the second quarter, when Pitlik traveled 18 yards for another Mustang touchdown. Crock did what he does, kicking yet another field goal for the team, and giving them a 28-0 edge with just 1:21 to go before halftime.
The third quarter opened in a familiar fashion, with Pitlik again scoring a touchdown (this one after recovering a fumble), and followed by another of Crock’s signature point after kicks. Only 21 seconds into the quarter, the Mustangs now led 35-0.
With 4:07 to go in the third, Pitlik again scored with a two-yard jaunt into the end zone, this time with Caleb Dausener providing the point after. Mount Vernon now had a commanding 42-0 lead.
Nearly an entire quarter passed before the Mustangs would score again, and for the final time in the game.
Sophomore Jackson Hird had a 16-yard run to cross the goal line for the last Mount Vernon touchdown, with Dausener once again splitting the uprights for a 49-0 final score with 3:46 remaining on the clock.
Mustangs head coach Lance Pedersen credited the big win as a response of sorts to the team’s 41-27 loss the week before to Solon.
“The question always is, how do you respond to a tough loss the previous week?” Pedersen said.
“I think the answer is usually stated in the first quarter. Our kids came out, and they were hungry. They came ready for business, they came ready to do the work,” he said, adding that they were not about to overlook any team’s winning potential.
“We came out on fire, and we did some really good things,” said Pedersen.
Next, the Mustangs turn their focus to a home game Friday night against Center Point-Urbana.
“They have always played us tough. We’re looking forward to a great crowd, and we’re looking great forward to a great night of football, and we can work to defend our home field,” Pedersen said.
Mount Vernon football squad tame Tigers 49-0
Trent Bowman
September 16, 2021