MOUNT VERNON – A halftime break was all the Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets needed to earn their second win of the season.
Evan Owens rushed for 92 yards in the third quarter, setting up a pair of touchdowns and carrying the Jackets to a 21-13 Homecoming victory over winless Mansfield Madison on Friday.
“All week, the message has been that we have to finish the job,” Mount Vernon coach Mike Kerr said. “That was the big message I had before the game and at half. They finished the job tonight.”
Owens finished with 171 yards overall on 27 carries. But it was his 10 carries in the third quarter that made the difference Friday. With Mount Vernon trailing, 10-7, Owens’ first carry in the second half was 16 yards up the middle like a bulldozer. Mount Vernon (2-6, 1-4 Ohio Cardinal Conference) rode the wave created by Owens’ force through the Rams’ defensive line, giving him the ball for four straight plays. Joel Hubbard carried the final 16 yards on a quarterback draw to give Mount Vernon a 14-10 lead.
On their next drive, the Jackets gave Owens the ball for six straight plays, earning three first downs and bringing the ball to the 8-yard line. Jonny Askew took an end around to score the game’s final touchdown.
“That wasn’t the plan going in. Evan Owens is a great running back, but teams have been stacking the box all year to stop him, and we thought that would happen tonight,” Kerr said. “We decided if we could get him the ball, we could get rolling.
“We’d love to have a (run-pass) balance, but if we can get rolling like that, we’ll take that.”
Madison (0-6, 0-4) had arguably its best offense of the season in its first drive, going 82 yards on 10 plays and scoring on an Isaac Brooks 44-yard scramble following a Cameron Kuhn screen pass. When Travis Jamieson kicked a 35-yard field goal late in the second quarter, it marked just the second time the Rams scored double-digits; last week, Madison scored late in a blowout loss to Marion Harding.
The Rams moved the ball inconsistently after their first drive. They had no plays longer than 10 yards and were tackled for loss four times.
Mount Vernon evened the score late in the first quarter on a 58-yard drive ending with Hubbard’s first touchdown run.
Hubbard finished the game with 49 yards on seven carries. He attempted six passes, completing one for 12 yards.
Jamieson later hit a 33-yard field goal to draw the Rams to within a score, 21-13.
“It is joy. It is relief. It is pride in these kids for all they’ve done,” Kerr said. “There are many emotions right now. We had adversity, like we’d had all year, and there’s just no quit in them.”
Mount Vernon’s final home game is this Friday against Mansfield Senior. The Jackets wrap up the regular season the following Friday at undefeated West Holmes.
