No. 4 Mount Vernon beat Washington 42-21 on Friday, Oct. 18 at Case Field. It was … a lot.

The Mustangs passed the ball all over the field, but the Demons ended up with five interceptions.

Coach Brad Meester said those turnovers were not cause for undue concern.

“We took some shots down the field and just missed them,” Meester said. “And one was a fluke. And part of it was poor execution late.”

Starting quarterback Kellen Haverback did throw for 271 yards on 17-of-23 passing. All before halftime. Jase Jaspers led the way with six catches for 101 yards and two scores.

Cole Thurn and Michael Ryan each also caught scoring passes. Ryan, a junior, had a 54-yard gain to open the game offensively for the Mustangs but was tackled short of the end zone.

“I got hawked,” Ryan said. “I got chased down.”

So, when his number got called again one play later, he appreciated it.

“I think they might’ve felt bad for me being so slow,” Ryan said.

Ryan also made one of the sickest defensive plays of the year for Mount Vernon, coming up with a one-handed interception while falling to the turf.

“That might be something that can hit ESPN or something,” Meester said. “That was the craziest catch I’ve ever seen. That was a one-handed stab. Unbelievable. You don’t see those very often.”

(Check out the replay on X by @PastorGlaza if you want to see for yourself.)

“It was a slippery field; I was kind of slipping,” Ryan said. “I just saw the ball, went up for it. I surprised myself that I caught it. It was awesome.”

Already up 21-0 after one quarter, the Mustangs opened the second quarter with a 5-play scoring drive. It was capped off with a rushing TD by senior Kael Riniker.

That’s 225-pound defensive lineman, Kael Riniker. The always enjoyable big-man touchdown.

“We’ve been working on it in practice for a few weeks,” Riniker said. “It ended up working out really well for us.”

“We’ve always had stuff like that in the past, so we brought it back a little bit,” Meester said. “(Kael) was chomping to get one in there. Kael did a nice job.”

After Washington junior Kael Williams scored on a 98-yard interception return late in the second quarter, the Mustangs responded with two quick scores in the final minute before half.

Haverback capped a 6-play, 53-yard drive with a one-yard sneak to make it 35-7. Then, after getting the ball back with nine seconds left, Haverback connected with Cole Thurn on a 40-yard Hail Mary to make it 42-7 at intermission.

At halftime, Mount Vernon had 314 offensive yards and 14 first downs compared to 38 yards and six first downs for Washington.

The Demons were able to rack up both yards and points in the second half, mainly against the JV Mustangs.

“Obviously it was a different feeling in the second half,” Meester said. “But I felt we came out and did what we need to do right away. We talked about starting fast and that group came out and executed really well to start the game.”

The coach didn’t want the team to get too hung up on giving up points and yards in the second half.

“We didn’t finish how we wanted to, but we executed in the first half,” Ryan said.

After all, the win did clinch a Class 3A, District 4 title for the Mustangs. Mount Vernon (7-1, 3-0) can earn that title outright Friday at home against Keokuk (3-5, 1-3).

“We are one step closer to the playoffs and a state championship,” Riniker said. “We were disappointed in how we f inished. It is a sucky feeling. But I think we’re good now. We’ve got our energy back.”