Mustangs dominate Mount Pleasant
MOUNT PLEASANT – The toughest part of Laurel Highlands’ convincing 30-6 win at Mount Pleasant Friday night might be deciding which was more dominating, the Mustangs’ offense or their defense. Suffice to say, coach Scott Knee’s team was on top of its game and it moved ever closer to clinching a WPIAL Class AAA playoff berth out of the Keystone Conference. The Mustangs, 3-5 overall and 3-2 in conference games, wake up this morning locked in a three-way tie for second place with the vanquished Vikings and cross-town rival Uniontown.
What better way to head into the annual grudge match against the Red Raiders than with a playoff berth hanging in the balance?
“It’s such a huge rivalry game for us anyway,” Laurel Highlands running back Corey Nesser said. “To have a playoff berth on the line will make it that much better.”
While the Red Raiders clinched a playoff berth Friday night, the Mustangs likely will be in a win or stay home mode come Friday night at the Mustang Corral.
“Our backs are still against the wall, but we put them there,” Knee said. “It’s always such a big game. I’m hoping we can win it this time.”
Winning came easy Friday night for the Mustangs. Everything they tried seemed to work. The Mustangs amassed 326 yards of offense and limited Mount Pleasant to 167, all on the ground.
Leading the offense was Nesser, who ran for 174 yards on 18 carries and scored touchdowns on runs of 2 and 31 yards. Quarterback Andre Ramsey and wide receiver Ken Riddell also had a fine evening. Ramsey completed six of 13 passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns, both to Riddell on plays covering 16 and 10 yards.
Not to be outdone, the LH defense really flexed its muscle. With senior tackle J.T. Stefanik and Riddell leading the way, LH limited the Vikings to three first downs and no passing yards. Considering that Mount Pleasant amassed 120 yards on two runs, which accounted for 67 percent of its first downs, the Mustangs held the Vikings to 47 yards on their other 36 plays.
Stefanik played like a man possessed and it couldn’t have come at a better time for Knee and the Mustangs. He came up with the first of two LH interceptions (the other was by Josh Taylor) and had at least three tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including a stop on a fourth-and-one play in the third quarter.
“He dominated tonight, didn’t he,” Knee said. “If he plays like that, he can dominate, he can take over a game. I’m really proud of the kid. It’s been a tough season for him.”
Yet, it was Riddell who dominated early on. He stopped Mount Pleasant quarterback Jeff Marker for a 1-yard loss on the second play of the game, then recovered a Mount Pleasant fumble on the next play. After Tim Hirsch ran for five yards, Ramsey passed to Riddell for a 16-yard touchdown and the Mustangs led, 6-0.
The Vikings didn’t trail for long, however, as Ryan Giles returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards to the Mustangs 3-yard line. Mike Lingenfield scored two plays later to tie the score, 6-6, with 8:40 still to play in the first quarter.
LH went to the ground and Hirsch capped a 60-yard drive with a 1-yard TD plunge that gave the Mustangs the lead for good, 12-6, with 5:32 still to play in the first. The Mustangs ran six times for 52 yards on the eight-play drive.
Taylor’s interception left the Mustangs at their own 3-yard line, but they embarked on a 97-yard drive, which Nesser capped with a 3-yard run 5:57 before halftime to push the LH advantage to 18-6.
The Mustangs blocked a punt with 54 seconds remaining in the half and put another TD on the board as time expired, with Ramsey hitting Riddell through a dense fog from 10 yards away.
“I don’t even know how Kenny could have seen that ball,” Knee said.
Nonetheless, he saw well enough to send the Mustangs to the locker room with a 24-6 lead. Nesser capped the scoring with a 31-yard jaunt midway through the third quarter.
“There was just a little crack that I got through and there was nobody out there after that,” Nesser said. “But all of our skill people are good. Our wide receivers don’t drop a ball and Andre is a very accurate passer. You know, I ran for some yards tonight, but that’s a real credit to our offensive line. Without them, we don’t go anywhere.”
“We knew coming in that they had athletes,” Mount Pleasant coach Mark Lyons said. “Athletes win football games. This was a strange game. I don’t know if there was a point where this game got away from us. I think it was more like we never took a hold of the game. We were always with our backs to the wall.”
Which is just how Knee wanted it to be.
“I’m a big believer in pre-game warm-ups being a good indicator,” Knee said. “And you know I saw something in their eyes tonight. I had a feeling we could bust loose tonight and do some good things. We were very crisp in warm-ups and it carried over into the game.”