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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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No. 8 Mustangs sour Panthers’ homecoming
Mount Vernon tops Mt. Pleasant to open 3A District 4 play
MT. PLEASANT — Mt. Pleasant faced one of its toughest tests of the season on Friday night as the Panthers hosted Class 3A No. 8 Mount Vernon.
The 2022 state runners-up scored early and often on their way to 76-14 3A District 4 victory over the Panthers on their homecoming.
Mount Vernon showed why its one of the top teams in the state just two plays into the game.
The Mustangs scored 20 seconds in on the second play from scrimmage as First-Team All-State quarterback Joey Rhomberg hit Jase Jaspers for a 53-yard touchdown.
As quick as they were on offense, the same held true on the defensive end as the Mustangs notched a pick six on the Panthers first possession of the night making it a quick 14-0 ballgame just over a minute in.
That was just the beginning of what was a scoring onslaught by Mount Vernon, as the Mustangs went on to score 35 points in the first quarter alone.
The Mustangs’ defense was stout to say the least, as they made it tough on Panther quarterback Payton Walker and were equally strong in the secondary as they hardly ever let the Panthers across the 50, which turned into great field position.
The Mount Vernon secondary flew around the field on the evening, amassing five interceptions.
Mount Vernon went on to score three more times in the opening frame, one on the ground, once through the air and another off a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone.
Through the second quarter, the Mustangs kept their foot on the gas.
Another interception led to another Rhomberg touchdown to make it 41-0 with 10:39 left in the second quarter.
Mt. Pleasant finally got some momentum on its first drive of the second quarter.
Panther sophomore Kellen Kohorst got Mt. Pleasant going with a big run to move the sticks, but the Mount Vernon defense made some plays as well.
The Mustangs burst through the hole on the next play and sacked quarterback Cooper Coleman for a loss of about 10. On the following down, the Mustangs picked off another Panther pass and on their first play after the turnover, the Mustangs rushed it in from 22 yards out to push their lead to 48-0 with 7:21 to go in the second.
Before the end of the half, Mount Vernon tacked on two more scores off another pick six and a 35-yard touchdown pass to make it 62-0 at the break.
Despite the large deficit, Mt. Pleasant never gave up.
The Panthers found the end zone with just over three minutes to go in the third quarter as Walker hit Payson Coleman for a 76 yard touchdown. Coleman was able to stay poised on the outside as the Mustang defender was draped all over him.
After the Mustangs grabbed their third pick-six of the night, Walker was able to get it going on the ground marching the Panthers across the 50.
The Walker-Coleman connection stayed true as they connected for a 30 yard touchdown for the final score of the night.
With the loss, Mt. Pleasant falls to 0-5 on the season and 0-1 in district 4 play.
The Panthers will head to Washington (1-4) on Friday for a matchup with the Demons.
