MOUNT VERNON – In a game that was sloppy at times, Mount Vernon hung tough with visiting Wooster and nearly pulled an upset.
In the end, however, the Yellow Jackets lost a penalty-riddled 33-23 Ohio Cardinal Conference football battle at Yellow Jackets Stadium on Friday evening.
For all their shortcomings, the Generals had 321 total yards, including 220 on the ground. Quarterback Owen Roach had 134 of those rushing yards along with 7-for-15 passing for 220 yards.
Senior running back A.J. Keen (24 carries for 148 yards) ran for a pair of touchdowns for Mount Vernon, including one that knotted the game at 13.
“We went into this week with a week off and extra time,” Mount Vernon coach Mike Keen said. “We fought through tonight and we found our rhythm. We should be good for next week.”
The Generals (4-0, 4-0), despite being penalized 13 times for 137 yards, got a pair of early scores after Mount Vernon quarterback Britten Long tossed a 19-yard touchdown to Gavin Moyer.
“We challenged our kids to continue to fight for each other,” Kerr said. “I think we saw that tonight. These kids laid it all on the line tonight, and I’m so proud of each and every one of them.”
It was in the fourth quarter that the Mount Vernon defense took advantage, when Wooster had the ball deep in their own territory. The Jackets gang-tackled Roach twice, driving him back inside his own 5-yard line. Then on fourth down, Mount Vernon caught a break. Wooster punter Andrew Rader (two FGs) was standing in his own end zone, awaiting the ball. The snap from center sailed over his head and out of the end zone for an automatic safety.
Those two very important points cut the Wooster lead to 30-23. Suddenly, the Jackets were within a single score and had the ball on the ensuing kickoff to attempt to tie or take the lead.
“We kept challenging the kids, ‘Believe, believe, it’s not over!'” Kerr said. “Then, when that ball sailed out and we were down by only one score, I said, ‘Holy smoke, we’re right where I told them we would be!' Obviously, we would have liked to have that enjoyment (after the game); but man, it was fun there for a minute. It was really fun and I’m just proud of these guys.”
Despite winning, Wooster knows they have to find a way to clean up the mistakes.
“It was very sloppy,” Generals' coach Doug Haas said. “I think the penalties will tell you that. We made some big plays, but we lost any type of consistency, because of the penalties.”
