Mustangs run wild
Published 7:58 pm Saturday, September 17, 2005
By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - "This was not the Niles football team that's played all year, I don't know what happened," Niles varsity football coach Dave Janicki said after the Vikings 48-21 loss to Portage Central Friday night.
This was the first win for the Mustangs, who are now 1-3 overall.
A favorite heading into the Big 16 match-up, Niles, now 2-2 overall, let the game slip away early in the first quarter when Mustang junior Jared Sherrod opened up the scoring 1:19 into the game with a 45-yard touchdown to put Portage on the board, 7-0.
Almost six minutes later, Sherrod struck again, scoring a 51-yard touchdown at the 5:13 mark to give the Mustangs a 13-0 lead.
It wasn't until the second quarter when senior Lyle Watson scored a touchdown to put Niles on the board with a one-yard run.
Blaise Nsengiyumua added an extra point to the score, which stood 13-7 with 10:11 left to play in the first half.
Xavier Bond entered the game for Portage Central with 6:14 on the clock and 12 seconds later he was in the end zone for another Mustang touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Jeremy Trinkle.
A two-point conversion by Sherrod gave the Mustangs a 21-7 advantage over the Vikings.
On Niles' next possession, the Vikings started out on the right foot when quarterback Jake Messner completed a 29-yard pass to Nick Etzcorn, putting the Vikings on the 41-yard line.
After 11 plays on Niles' end and two first downs, the Vikings landed on the one-yard line, where Watson drove in for a touchdown with 40 seconds on the clock.
Nsengiyuma's extra point was good, bringing the Vikes within seven points of a tie, 21-14, as time wound down in the first half.
Watson had 22 carries, 80 yards rushing in the first half, while Mason Stephenson had eight carries for 21 yards and Ben Brandstatter had four carries for 17 yards.
Sherrod had 143 rushing yards in the first half for the Mustangs.
The Vikings had a total of 147 yards rushing, while Portage Central had 190.
Niles had possession entering the third quarter, but couldn't pull off a tying touchdown before putting the ball back in the hands of Portage Central.
Watson's 47-yard kick forced the Mustangs to the 28-yard line, but a face mask penalty on Niles' end allowed Portage to gain five yards on the next play.
The Vikings quickly regained control of the ball, but again struggled to make a break-through play and saw the ball go right back in Portage Central's possession.
With 3:28 on the clock, Sherrod scored the first touchdown of the second half when he ran the ball 30-yards to add six more points to the score. The extra point was good, giving the Mustangs a 28-14 lead.
Niles again had problems detaining the very quick Sherrod and watched him run in a 50-yard touchdown three minutes later to extend the Mustangs lead to 35-14.
The Vikings suffered a 10-yard loss on their next possession, when two penalties in a row from a substitution infraction pushed Niles down the field with seven seconds left in the third.
Portage Central opened the fourth quarter with the ball and after seven plays, it had another touchdown, this time from junior DeAngelo Yureck, who scored on a five-yard run with 8:18 left in the game to bring the score to 42-14.
Just when most thought it couldn't get any worse, the Mustangs struck one last time with a 49-yard touchdown from Jaron DeShazor. The extra point was no good, but the damage had been done as Portage Central had a 48-14 lead with under six minutes to play.
Stephenson hit paydirt one last time for Niles with 2:03 left to play on an eight-yard run, but the Vikings couldn't catch up to the 27 point lead the Mustangs held.
Offensively, Watson ended the night with 26 carries for 97 yards. Stephenson had 19 carries for 87 yards. The Vikes had 280 total rushing yards on the night.
Defensively, Alex Zanders had nine tackles for Niles, Brandstatter had five and Jake Groves had four.
Portage Central's Sherrod had a total of 306 yards, while his team had a total of 475 rushing yards.
The Vikings will travel to Benton Harbor next Friday. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.