Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — What starts well doesn’t always end well as the Mount Vernon High School football team found out Friday night.

The Yellow Jackets intercepted a Watkins Memorial pass on its first drive and scored a field goal to open scoring in the game. The Warriors answered with three straight touchdowns en route to a 24-3 Ohio Capital Conference Capital Division victory.

“I was hoping we would win this game, and I was hoping our program was moving forward,” said Mount Vernon coach Gary Keller. “It is disappointing in the sense that we didn’t do that. We did do some nice things that I am pretty happy with, but on the same token, we did some dumb things too that hurt us. We did get the interception right off, and I thought we were playing solid defense.

“We weren’t able to generate any kind of offense tonight, and I don’t know why. We just weren’t able to do it. They pretty much did what they wanted to. In all of the phases, I don’t think we played particularly well, although we did do some nice things as I mentioned.”

Matt Boucher did exactly what Keller wanted his team to do — jump ahead with a takeaway. Boucher intercepted a Clayton Nixon pass and set the Jackets (1-7, 1-3 OCC) up around midfield. A 35-yard pass from Brian Hoar to Alex Anderson quickly put Mount Vernon into the red zone, but the Jackets couldn’t capitalize and were forced to kick it. Corey Sheller drilled a 22-yard field goal with 6:20 left in the first quarter to put Mount Vernon up, 3-0.

Things stayed that way until midway through the second quarter. Watkins Memorial (3-5, 1-3 OCC) eventually wore the Mount Vernon defense down, capping a scoring drive with a 13-yard touchdown run by Matt Truex. The extra-point attempt was good, making it a 7-3 game. Then, just over three minutes later, the Warriors struck again.

This time, backup quarterback Mike Shroyer, playing at tailback, took the handoff and then threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Arnett, who was streaking down the sideline. Another kick gave the Warriors a 14-3 lead with 4:08 to play. Mount Vernon threatened as the half wound down, but a fumble at the 30-yard line ended the drive, and both team went into the locker room.

Watkins Memorial got the ball to start the third quarter, and it seemed determined to run over the Jackets. Play after play, the Warriors successfully picked up yardage. The 4:13 drive ended with Truex taking the football in from 3 yards out. Mount Vernon had the ball for just two possessions in the quarter, and both ended with punts.

While the Jacket offense struggled to find any momentum, the defense stepped up its play. Mount Vernon held Watkins Memorial repeatedly, including late in the game. The Warriors had the ball inside the 5-yard line and were forced to kick a field goal.

“We tried to switch personnel up and tried to get a little bigger so that we could get more help on their sweep,” said Keller of the second-half adjustments. “That might have helped from a personnel standpoint. The thing that really hurt us in the second half was that they came out off a long punt return and took it down and scored. That hurt us right off.”

The Jackets’ offensive struggles — only 124 yards on 37 plays — simply played into the Warriors’ hands.

“For Mount Vernon football to be productive, we’ve got to be productive on offense, we’ve got to be productive on defense and we’ve got to be productive on special teams,” said Keller. “We are not strong enough on either side of the ball to do things by ourselves. If we are going to win as a team, we are going to lose as a team. That’s the kind of attitude we have to have. It is critical that both the offense and defense are playing well as well as our special teams if we are going to expect victory.”

The Jackets have two games remaining in their regular season. On Friday, they host Big Walnut, and then on Oct. 24, they travel to New Albany. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.

“Neither game will be an easy game so we have to try and go out and play better each and every week,” Keller said. “If we can do that, we can be proud of ourselves and not feel like we left something out on the field. When we play hard, play solid football and give it everything we’ve got, that’s all we can do. That’s why I keep pressing these kids for more.”