Monster 1st drive comes up empty, but Mount Vernon still rolls to 50-6 win over Independence

MOUNT VERNON — It was the mother of all drives to start a football game. It really was, and really was impressive.

Mount Vernon watched the opening kickoff of its Class 3A state playoff first-rounder against Independence sail into the end zone for a touchback. The Mustangs took over possession of the ball at their own 20.

A whopping 19 offensive plays ensued, with a couple more not started or started and called back because of penalties. An equally whopping 10 minutes and 22 seconds went off the clock, as Mount Vernon played an expert game of keep away.

The only bad thing here?

This killer drive for MV took up almost the entire first quarter but only went 76 yards. And for no points.

A fourth-and-3 pass from the Independence 4 went incomplete for MV, and Indee took over, finally, still in a scoreless game.

“We had some good stuff going in the first drive,” said Mount Vernon quarterback Joey Rhomberg after the 50-6 win. “But we’ve got to finish that off. We struggled with that early in the year, but we really worked on it and got better ... That one, I’ll put the blame on me. I’m just happy that our guys kept battling.”

“Yeah, it gave us some confidence,” MV wide receiver-defensive back Evan Brase said. “We weren’t able to finish the drive, obviously, but we were able to move the ball.”

Mount Vernon’s defense produced a three-and-out from Independence on its first offensive possession, forcing a punt that was short and set up MV back deep in Indee terrirtory. Rhomberg eventually pushed over from the 1 on a quarterback sneak for the first of his five touchdowns in this game.

A blocked punt then went for a Mustangs TD: Tyler Williams with the actual block and teammate Kael Riniker picking it up and running it to the end zone 15 yards. Mount Vernon went on to pile up 29 points and a 29-0 lead by halftime.

Ballgame over.

“I was really proud of our team effort,” said Rhomberg, who ran for two touchdowns and was 18-for-24 passing for 214 yards and three TDs. “Offensively, defensively, we just really played well. Special teams made some big plays, too, so I’m just really proud of our guys. Our coaches set us up for success.”

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“That first drive, it took the wind out of them,” said Mount Vernon Coach Lance Pedersen. “A 22, 23-play drive there, but we couldn’t put it in, turned it over at the 4-yard line. But our defense did a great job and held them. Next thing you know we have a blocked punt for touchdown after that, we get the ball back at, like our 23, start flipping the field on them. We had short fields for us on offense all night, and just a really good football game for us.”

Brase caught eight Rhomberg passes for 101 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Wide receiver Jase Jaspers had five catches for 80 yards.

Rhomberg’s other TD pass was a 1-yarder to back Jackson Hird late in the third quarter. Cooper Hird’s 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth was Mount Vernon’s seventh and final touchdown.

Trey Weber had a 15-yard touchdown run for Independence (7-3).

Now it’s a much-anticipated 3A quarterfinal matchup next Friday night for Mount Vernon (9-1) and third-ranked Williamsburg (9-1) at Williamsburg. Seems a little early for two of the top four teams in the class to be meeting, but it is what it is.

“We’re excited. Hey, we’re in the final eight,” Pedersen said. “You’re in the final eight, and everybody is good. So we’re excited that we get a chance to play again next week. I know my coaching staff will have the guys ready to play.”

“Williamsburg is a very good team, has some really good athletes, are really well coached,” Rhomberg said. “But our coaches are going to set us up for success. Our guys are going to battle to the end, so I’m really excited about that game.”

Mount Vernon 50, Independence 6

(At Mount Vernon)

Independence 0 0 6 0-6

Mount Vernon 0 29 14 7-50

Team Statistics

First Downs - Mount Vernon 18, Independence 8. Rushes-Yards - Independence 25-100, Mount Vernon 32-136. Passing (Completions-Attempts-Interceptions-Yards) - Independence 8-18-1-51, Mount Vernon 18-24-1-214. Total Yards - Independence 151, Mount Vernon 350. Punts-Average - Independence 5-16.4, Mount Vernon 0-0. Penalties-Yards - Independence 3-15, Mount Vernon 6-40. Fumbles-Lost - Independence 0-0, Mount Vernon 0-0.

Individual Statistics

Rushing - Indee: Trey Weber 11-51, Brady Kurt 2-40, E.J. Miller 10-19, Brady McDonald 1-1, Team 1-(minus) 1. Mount Vernon: Jackson Hird 19-66, Joey Rhomberg 6-45, Cooper Hird 5-28, Team 2-(minus) 3.

Passing - Indee: E.J. Miller 8-17-1-51, Christopher Meyer 0-1-1-0. Mount Vernon: Joey Rhomberg 23-39-1-214.

Receiving - Indee: Brady McDonald 3-23, Brady Kurt 2-19, Bryce Christian 1-14, Josh Beatty 1-3, Trey Weber 1-(minus) 2. Mount Vernon: Evan Brase 8-101, Jase Jaspers 5-80, Jackson Hird 4-25, Ethan Wood 1-8.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com