Mt. Vernon vs. Camanche Recap + Players of the Game

High school football is back, baby. And boy does it feel good. With PrepRedzoneIA covering Week 1 games around the state, I was lucky enough to catch the live-stream of Mount Vernon vs. Camanche battle it out on Central College’s field on this hot and exciting Friday night. In what turned out to be a hard-fought battle for both sides, the Mount Vernon Mustangs ended up prevailing 28-14 over the Camanche Indians. However, both teams showed out and it was a fun and well-played ball-game from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. Look below for a more detailed recount of the ball game, as well as to check out some of my standout players from tonight. Thanks for reading! To begin, Mount Vernon had a very impressive live-stream service through Youtube, and I very much enjoyed the play-by-play commenters humor and passion for the Mustangs as well as for high school football. They were very excited when Mount Vernon started off the scoring by marching down the field early in the first quarter led by 5’10, 185 lb. QB [player_tooltip player_id="23905" first="Brady" last="Ketchum"]. Without throwing a single incomplete pass for the drive, MV was able to nickel and dime down the field before RB Trenton Pitlik (5’11, 190) hammered his way into the end zone from a few yards out to put the Mustangs up 6-0 early in the first. After the ensuing PAT, MV kicked the ball back to Camanche. The Indians unfortunately fumbled on their 30-yard line early in the drive, and the Mustangs recovered. However, the Indians defense held strong and the two teams traded drives before Camanche took over near their 40-yard line with 3:34 remaining in the first period. Camanche’s QB/WR Jordan Lawrence (5’11, 165) used his athleticism and mobility to get outside the pocket and find Indians RB Cade Everson (5’11, 200)for a 20-yard gain. Lawrence followed it up by taking off after another scramble, and took the ball down to the 18 of MV. Everson got the Indians down to the 1 with a couple impressive runs up the middle of MV’s defense, and finished off the drive with a hard-nosed run into the endzone despite a strong tackle attempt by MV’s Jake Coon (5’7, 150).With the score 7-7, Camanche kicked the ball off, stopped MV’s offense, and regained possession as the first quarter ended. END OF 1: 7-7 Camanche got off to a hot start in the 2nd as Lawrence made a couple of nice completions on some hitches before launching a deep ball that WR Zach Erwin (6’6, 190) absolutely mossed over a Mustang defender, bringing the Indians down to the 29 of MT. Vernon. The Mustangs held strong however, and with the help of some Ryan Naeve (5’11, 200) tackling, forced Camanche to attempt a 31-yard FG that fell short. This is Pitlik took over, and his strong running style and knack for finishing runs hard led to more than a few consecutive carries, bring MV deep into Indian territory. With 4:32 left in the half Mount Vernon found themselves facing a tough 3rd and 3 from the Camanche 25, and Pitlik took over and got the first down despite taking a couple big hits by Camanche’s Zayne Feller (6’4, 220) and Eric Kinkaid (5’8, 170). A big sack by Logan Waltz of Camanche brought up a long 3rd and 15 for MV with 2:50 left in the half, and sadly that is when my stream cut out and I was not able to watch the end of the first half. I missed some action too, as when I finally got back in prior to the 2nd half KO it was 21-7 Mt. Vernon! From what I gathered from the announcers, Collin Swantz of MV made an interception after the Mustangs scored and then caught a TD reception to get the Mustangs to 21. Really wish I could have seen it, I bet it was sweet. END OF 2: 21-7 Mount Vernon The second half began with a squib kick by MV that an up back of the Indians returned to almost the 50-yard line, setting them up well to start the half. Everson started to really tote the rock, and he made some big runs to get down to the 26 of MV, trucking and running over would-be Mustang tacklers run after run. It was really fun to watch, and it looked like Camanche was gaining steam. However, a read option was fumbled and MV recovered the ball at their own 27, halting the promising Indian drive in its tracks. The Camanche defense held tough again though, led by Tucker Dickherber (5’9, 170)and the all-around stud Everson, who made a beautiful PBU on what would have been a big gain for MV to halt the drive and force a punt. Everson returned the short punt by MV, and took off with a great return that brought him down to the 24 of MV, setting them up for success once again. The end of that punt return featured Everson once again smacking the snot out of someone to end the run, and I was hyped watching from home. A big sack by Pitlik brought up a long 3rd down of 15, but a screen from Camanche QB Mike Delzell (6’1, 185) to Lawrence took the Indians to only a 4th and 1 after some nifty moves by Lawrence led to a big gain. Everson picked up the big 4th down conversion, and followed it up with another tough run to get Camanche down to the 7, where Lawrence found Kinkaid for the score to make it 21-14 MV with 6:01 left in the third. The Mustangs ensuing drive was stopped, and with the Indians driving once again Collin Swantz made a huge play and picked off a Camanche pass to turn the ball back to MV. However, big Logan Waltz made another big sack for Camanche to halt the drive. They couldn’t capitalize however, and as the 3rd quarter ended Mt. Vernon found themselves with the ball. END OF 3: 21-14 Mount Vernon The fourth began with MV and Camanche both sputtering out on offensive drives, but with 10:18 left in the game Mt. Vernon took over at their 41 after a solid punt return by Jake Coon (5’7, 140). RB Tyler Panos (5’10, 155) - a very shifty back with good speed - then took over the drive. Big chunks of yardage were eaten up by Panos as MV marched down the field with runs of 10, 7, 4ish, and 15 yards. However, Camanche held out and forced a 3rd and 13 for MV, who got a nice catch by Trevor Ellison (6’1, 170) to set up a 4th and 1. Pitlik followed it up with a strong run to get the first, and later finished off the drive with another smashing run into the end zone to make it 28-14 Mt. Vernon with 5:10 left in the game. Camanche couldn’t put a complete drive together in the final 5 minutes, and Mt. Vernon ended up running out the clock with some strong runs from Pitlik and Panos. The game ended with a Mustang win 28-14 over the Camanche Indians. Look below for my players of the game! <ol> <li>Cade Everson (Camanche) 5’11, 200 lbs. Great frame, heckuva RB with good burst and ton of lower-body strength. Was all over the field on offense and defense for the Indians. Favorite trait of his was his toughness and just how aggressively he ran the football.</li> <li>Trenton Pitlik (Mt. Vernon) 5’11, 185 lbs. Another impressive RB, Pitlik made big plays for the Mustangs all game from drive-lengthening runs, big-time tackles, and even great blocking pickups in pass-pro. Only a junior as well.</li> <li>Collin Swantz (Mt. Vernon) 5’8, 150 lbs. Made the biggest plays of the game on both offense and defense for the Mustangs. Instinctual and hard-nosed player not scared of contact.</li> <li>Logan Waltz (Camanche) 6’1, 210 lbs. The best pass-rusher of the game made two huge sacks for Camanche in really important moments for their defense. Good frame to add on weight as well.</li> </ol>