The Mount Vernon varsity football season came to an end Friday, Oct. 22, despite an overwhelming 52-12 win against the visiting Vinton-Shellsburg Vikings.
Trenton Pitlik scored early and often for the Mustangs, charting his first seven points with an 18-yard touchdown run with 2:29 remaining in the first quarter. A point-after kick from Ben Crock was on the mark, and Mount Vernon ended the period with a 7-0 lead.
Pitlik scored again early in the second quarter with an 87-yard sprint to the end zone, with another successful kick from Ben Crock following it. With 11:33 to play in the half, the Mustangs were now up 14-0.
It was once again Pitlik to score next, with 7:15 left in the quarter, when he carried the ball another 81 yards to his home away from home. Crock was good for another point-after kick, and the Mustangs led 21-0.
With just 29 seconds remaining in the half, Pitlik chalked up another touchdown for Mount Vernon, this time traveling 12 yards to cross the goal line. Crock came through with another on-target point-after kick, and the Mustangs took a 28-0 lead.
The home team would find a way to score a few more before heading into halftime, with a 34-yard field goal from Crock as the final seconds of the half ticked off the clock. The Mustangs had a 31-0 edge going into the half.
A familiar sight opened the third quarter, when a kickoff from the Vikings landed in the hands of Pitlik at the 15 yard line, and he returned the ball 85 yards to the endzone for yet another touchdown. Caleb Dausener tacked on a point-after kick, and with 11:45 left in the third, the Mustangs were now up 38-0.
Pitlik, in his final game as a Mustang, found another way to score points four minutes later, with a one-yard pass to Leo Appleton in the endzone. Dausener contributed another point-after, and the score was now 45-0.
It was once more Trenton Pitlik to score the next touchdown, with a 42-yard run across the goal line for one last time, with 2:51 remaining in the third quarter. Dausener split the uprights once more, and Mount Vernon was now up 52-0.
The Vikings scored the last two touchdowns of the game, the first of which was the very next play, with Benett Rickels returning the kickoff for 83 yards.
With about four minutes left in the game, the Vikings scored again, providing the game its final score of 52-12.
Mount Vernon’s season drew to a close with a record of 6-3 due to the ratings percentage index (RPI), which is used in Iowa to determine the playoff berths that are up for grabs. The index is used for high school football keeping in mind a school’s record, the record of their opponents, and the records of their opponents’ opponents. The Mustangs narrowly missed the playoffs by placing 18th overall. The top 16 teams advance.
Mount Vernon football’s season comes to end
October 28, 2021
Margaret Stevens | Staff photos
Mount Vernon defensive players, including Brad Vislisel (70), help the referees correctly call a fumble recovered by the Mustangs in their game Friday, Oct. 22, with Vinton-Shellsburg.
