MOUNT VERNON — Yellow Jacket Stadium proved to be just another field for the Mount Vernon High School football team on Friday night. Playing on their home field for the first time this season, the Yellow Jackets couldn’t muster any magic as they fell to the Wooster Generals, 28-14.
“It was a good game for us; we played a good game,” said Wooster coach Mike McCreary. “We had some big plays, which we showed we have the ability to do. We got better at running the ball and ran the clock off. We did a good job. You’ve got to give them some credit. They didn’t give up.”
The game had its ups and downs, but the Jackets didn’t give in. After a tough first quarter that saw both teams battle it out, Wooster got a few breaks in the second. The end result was three touchdowns in less than 2 1/2 minutes and a 21-0 lead. The lead held going into halftime and throughout the third quarter.
“We had mental mistakes and we got beat on three plays,” said Mount Vernon coach Gary Keller. “Those three plays cost us 21 points. I’ve got to give credit to Wooster. They did their job in executing and we didn’t execute. Our kids were playing with a lot more intensity this week, and we were flying to the football. We were doing a lot, but we gave those three plays up and that was the difference in the game.”
Two interceptions thrown by quarterback Brian Hoar led to Wooster’s first two scores. Matt Kopina picked off the first pass with 37 seconds to go in the first quarter. Six plays later, Generals quarterback Nick Allen hit Duke Price on a fade route, and Price took it 66 yards for the score. Another interception on the next drive led to one-play score by Wooster. Allen again hit Price on a fade route to the opposite side of the field for a 42-yard touchdown, quickly making it a 14-0 ball game.
Mount Vernon took over only 13 seconds after its last interception, but this drive only lasted two plays. A fumble gave the ball back to Wooster, and two plays later, Allen hit Andrew Mahler with a 21-yard scoring pass.
“We knew they were playing up and we had run some deeper routes,” McCreary said. “We have a lot of speed and sometimes, because we are so oriented toward the trip side, they fall asleep on the back side. On the back side, you can’t fall asleep. Our quarterback made some nice throws and we got into some one-on-one coverage.
“It helps to take advantage of the momentum. We did that and our defense really set things up too. We forced them to play on their end.”
It wasn’t until late that the Jackets got on the board. Cody Green replaced Hoar at quarterback for Mount Vernon, and proceeded to lead his team to its first score with 1:09 left in the game. Green hooked up with Dakota Anderson on a 21-yard touchdown pass play, and Corey Sheller’s kick got the Jackets on the board. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Mount Vernon recovered an onside kick.
Starting at the Mount Vernon 46-yard line, Green led his team to the end zone once again in the closing minute. Green capped a five-play drive with a 31-yard run to the end zone to cut the lead to 28-14. Jordan Brooks, who rushed for 118 yards on 15 carries, had a key 23-yard run to help keep the drive alive.
Mount Vernon went for the onside kick once again with 28.6 seconds remaining, and the gamble paid off as the Jackets came away with the football. Green struggled to find open receivers this time around as Wooster changed its coverage. Mount Vernon was forced to go four-and-out to end the game.
“I think our kids continued to try, but their coach pulled his No. 1 kids; that was obvious,” said Keller. “That gave us a little bit of a lift. I’m not pulling punches. I don’t feel good about that in particular, but I feel good we didn’t give up. We have to do that against the No. 1s. We can’t wait and then kick it in gear.”
One of the bright spots for Mount Vernon was its running game, which amassed 189 yards on the ground. In addition to Brooks, who had several big runs, both Green and Hoar had some success running the ball.
“We started off really nice; we had some really nice runs, but we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit with some penalties,” said Keller. “We never seemed like we got our offense in gear until later in the game.
“Jordan had a nice night. I was pretty happy. We have to build on the good things.”
The Jackets will try to build on what worked as they prepare for Mansfield Madison. The Rams come to town on Friday night for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
