Mount Vernon wins the ground battle, tops Benton Community in a matchup of 2-0 teams

MOUNT VERNON — A pair of top-five defenses lived up to their reputation. A couple of big breaks and a little versatility made the difference.

Class 3A second-ranked Mount Vernon outlasted Benton Community in a battle of unbeatens, 19-7, Friday night at Mount Vernon.

“That’s a very good football team,” Mount Vernon Coach Lance Pedersen said of Benton Community. “I think they’re probably underrated.”

The Mustangs (3-0) came into the night third in Class 3A, giving up 3.0 points per game. The Bobcats came in tied for fourth at 3.5 points per game. In a game where yards were tough to come by, a couple of big Benton Community mistakes bookended the first half, allowing the Mustangs to seize control.

The first Benton Community (2-1) snap got away from quarterback Owen Tjelmeland and Cole Thorn emerged with the ball in the end zone to put Mount Vernon up 7-0 with 10:39 left in the first.

The Bobcats found early success running the football. Carson Bruns ripped off a 17-yard run to the Mount Vernon 3. On his 11th carry of the first quarter, Bruns scored from 2 yards out to tie the game.

Mount Vernon eventually caught on to the one-dimensional Bobcat rushing attack. Meanwhile, the pass-happy Mustangs found success on the ground. Facing fourth-and-1 at the Bobcats 49, quarterback Joey Rhomberg pitched left to Jackson Hird who broke loose for 39 yards

Rhomberg found Ethan Wood alone in the end zone from 4 yards out for a 13-7 lead.

With time running out in the half, Benton Community lined up to punt from its own 48. Nova Lane broke through the line, blocking the kick. The Mustangs took over at the Benton Community 30 with 1:12 left in the half.

On fourth-and-4 from the 15, Rhomberg threw a perfect strike to Evan Brase as the Mustangs reached the locker room with a 19-7 lead.

“It’s huge,” Pedersen said. “Just really proud of my coaching staff to have the right play call for that and our players for going out and executing it.”

The Mustangs entered the night averaging 251 yards per game through the air. They salted the game away on the ground in the second half, with 98 yards rushing.

“It was 100 percent the line,” Hird said. “I take no credit. It was beautiful. Every play there was a hole you could fit a semi-truck through.”

Mount Vernon’s opening drive after the break took eight minutes off the clock, gaining 84 yards on 14 plays. The drive stalled out at the Benton 3.

The Bobcats moved it to the Mount Vernon 34 with 5:17 to play, but Tjelmeland’s fourth-down pass sailed incomplete. Consistent positive yardage from Hird ran the clock out.

Hird finished with 146 yards on 25 carries.

“We took a running football team and slowed them down,” Pedersen said. “We dominated the run game in the second half. It was very important for us to be able to accomplish that. We took the clock out of the game for us.

“We did a nice job up front and I thought our running game was excellent.”

The Mustangs host Highway 1 rivals Solon next week.

Mount Vernon 19, Benton Community 7

Benton 7 0 0 0 — 7

Mount Vernon 7 12 0 0 — 19

MV — Cole Thurn fumble recovery (Bennett Harp kick).

B — Carson Bruns 2 run (Elijah Kupka kick).

MV — Ethan Wood 4 pass from Joey Rhomberg (pass failed).

MV — Evan Brase 15 pass from Rhomberg (pass failed).

B, MV

Rushes-Yards 37-90, 33-171

Comp-Att-Int 5-10-0, 9-16-0

Pass Yards 55, 95

Total Yards 145, 266

Penalties-Yards 3-35, 5-35

Fumbles-Lost 2-1, 0-0

Punts-Avg 5-32.4, 4-32.5

Rushing — Benton: Owen Tjelmeland 11-minus-10, Carson Bruns 24-93, Easton Pfiffner 1-6, Brenden Heying 1-1. Mount Vernon: Jackson Hird 25-146, Joey Rhomberg 6-18, Jase Jaspers 2-7.

Passing — Benton: Tjelmeland 5-10-55-0. Mount Vernon: Rhomberg 9-16-95-0.

Receiving — Benton: Pfiffner 5-55. Mount Vernon: Ethan Wood 2-22, Miles Francois 1-7, Hird 4-29, Evan Brase 1-15, Jaspers 1-18.