A new era of Mustang football began Friday, Aug. 30 in Monticello. And, no surprise, it looked a lot like the last one.
Coach Brad Meester got his first win and the Mustangs rolled, 44-6.
“I thought it was a good start for us,” Meester said.
The former NFL offensive lineman was really happy with the way the Mustangs controlled the line of scrimmage, and how they got the running game going early and often.
Senior running back Cooper Hird led the way with 81 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. Junior Caysen Curran added 50 rushing yards, and sophomore Jakob Yock had 36.
“He did a tremendous job for us,” Meester said of Hird. “When the hole is there, he hits it running downhill. But he’s really shifty, too.”
Last season, with Joey Rhomberg at quarterback, the Mustangs may have been viewed as a passing team. And while they certainly aired it out Friday, Meester wants to shift away from that perception.
“We are a run-first team,” he said. “When the weather gets crazy, you have to run the ball. It was promising how we established the run.”
The aforementioned passing game is now in the hands of junior Kellen Haverback, who was 10-of-17 passing for 219 yards.
“Kellen did a tremendous job back there and hit some big passes downfield,” Meester said.
Meester said that Haverback had plenty of time to throw thanks to the offensive line. That group includes Nova Lane, Kael Riniker, Aaron Bellamy, Ethan Wood and Joe Briesemeister.
“The line really dominated on both sides of the ball,” Meester said.
Junior Jase Jaspers led the receivers with three catches for 112 yards. Watson Krob had two catches for 82 yards, and Ethan Wood had four grabs for 25 yards.
But what really tilted the game Friday was the defensive turnovers. Briesemeister and Jaspers each had an inter- ception in the first half.
“That changes the game,” Meester said. “Our D-line got a lot of pressure and got after their quarterback.”
Mount Vernon had nine sacks. Riniker had 2.5, Wood and Jaxon Anderson each had two, and Lane had 1.5. Caleb Keegan added another. The Panthers finished with just three rushing yards, and 83 through the air. Monticello (0-1) didn’t score until the fourth quarter.
Mount Vernon led 7-0 after one quarter, thanks to a 4-yard TD run by Haverback, then really turned it on in the second quarter. Hird had three rushing touchdowns (2, 16, and 3 yards) and Haverback connected with Krob on a 73-yard bomb.
“Early on we had a couple series where we couldn’t finish drives,” Meester said. “In the second quarter, we were able to put some things together.”
The running clock was ticking for the entire second half. Curran added a 1-yard TD to make it 44-0.
“The second half flies by with the running clock,” Meester said. “We got a lot of guys in, and they did a nice job.”
Mount Vernon opens its second home season at the Mar- tha Parsons Activities Complex on Friday, Sept. 6, against Union Community. The Knights beat Aplington-Parkers- burg 14-0 in Week 1.