Mount Vernon football back on right path

MOUNT VERNON - Forget about Solon. Forget last week's mistakes, mental errors, special team's mishaps.

Forget all of it.

The Mount Vernon Mustangs are back.

Mount Vernon bounced back from a 19-0 loss to Solon on Aug. 25, with a 24-21 come-from-behind victory over West Delaware last Friday.

'We started the season off with two (Class) 3A teams ranked in the top 10 in the state, it was a terrible schedule for us,” said head coach Lance Pedersen.

While the Mustangs did not look strong on opening night versus Solon, they showed significant growth in their win over the Hawks.

'Every mistake we made against Solon was fixable,” Pedersen said. 'Our teams here at Mount Vernon have such great character, they could have given up so many times this week and last but refused to do so.”

The Mustangs trailed, 24-16, in the fourth quarter before quarterback Drew Adams connected with receiver Matt Gearhart for a long touchdown pass to put Mount Vernon up 24-21 after converting a two-point attempt.

Gearhart had a coming-out party. He caught three passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns.

'We didn't let last week's loss define us,” Gearhart said. 'We came back this week, fought hard and were able to come away with the win.”

Many players were looking to have a better performance against West Delaware. Adams, who had a rough night against Solon, came back strong with 250 yards passing and two touchdowns. Some other notable performers were running back/middle linebacker Colden Clark, who rushed for 142 yards and a score, along with nine tackles on defense. Junior back Paul Ryan rushed for 66 yards, senior receiver Cale Snedden had 51 yards receiving and junior defensive back Mitchell Louwagie had 6.5 tackles and a tackle for loss.

Mount Vernon travels to Camanche tonight to face a team that has had two blowout losses against Bellevue and Monticello. While Camanche doesn't seem to pose much of a threat to a talented Mount Vernon roster, the Mustangs won't be taking the lightly.

'Camanche is the next game on our schedule, and that makes it the biggest game on our schedule,” said senior lineman John Butz.

The Mustangs look forward for another opportunity to continue to get better, work hard and compete. Kickoff tonight at Camanche is 7:30.