The Mustangs’ Justin
Angermeier keyed the
offensive attack.

By CALEB PARDICK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. — It’s fitting that Mercer’s Justin Angermeier plays for a team nicknamed the Mustangs.

Friday night, he was a workhorse.

Angermeier racked up 217 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns to lead the visiting Mustangs to a 24-0 win over West Middlesex in a key District 10 Region 1-A contest.

Mercer’s first two possessions gave a glimpse of what was to come. After Angermeier broke loose for a 44-yard run down the right sideline on the game’s first play from scrimmage, the Mustangs kept the ball on the ground, running four more times to set up first-and-goal at the West Middlesex 10-yard line. Angermeier finished off the drive two plays later, reaching the end zone from 7 yards out gave the Mustangs an early 7-0 lead.

After forcing a three-and-out on West Middlesex’s first possession, Mercer went back to its bread and butter, running the ball 10 times on an 11-play, six-minute drive that was capped off by Angermeier’s second touchdown of the game, which came on a 6-yard run.

The Mustangs maintained control of the game all night, as Herbie Hennegan’s 21-yard field goal with just over four minutes to play in the first half pushed the lead to 17-0. Mike Peters, who rushed for 53 yards on 16 carries and caught two passes for 26 yards, scored on a 16-yard run with about seven minutes left in the fourth to round out the scoring.

Grinding it out

Angermeier, who had five carries of 20 yards or longer, said he could see the Big Reds’ defense start to wear down after Mercer had jumped ahead by 14 points.

“They were still coming hard, but when they get frustrated like that, they tend to overpursue, and I was just able to make some cuts off their mistakes,” the 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior said. “We were definitely more pumped up tonight because they destroyed us last year. Our scheme was to just try to keep their offense off the field as much as we could, and that’s what we did.”

Mercer coach Pat McClearn said the team’s plan to stick with the run paid off in a big way.

“We have backs that run hard, so if we can grind on people a little bit, that’s what we’re going to do,” McClearn said. “Justin’s performed for us all year, and he’s the type of kid who would take 20 more carries if he had to.”

Though Mercer’s ground game was clicking, sophomore quarterback Andrew Erdos was efficient as well, completing four of his eight pass attempts for 49 yards. Three of his four completions came on third down to move the chains for the Mustangs (4-1, 3-0).

The only drawback of the night for Mercer, McClearn said, was the team’s 13 penalties, which totaled 105 yards.

“One thing I’m not happy with was that we had too many pre-snap penalties, and that’s going to kill us if we keep it up,” said McClearn, whose team committed seven false starts.

Frustration sets in

West Middlesex coach Jason McElhaney said that while his defense had no answer for Angermeier, he was pleased with how the unit was able to keep the game within reach.

“Having them run on us like that is frustrating, but I thought from about midway through the second quarter through the start of the fourth, we played a lot better,” he said. “But that’s what their offense is designed for, to get three or four yards a pop and just keep the other offense off the field and drain the clock, and they did a good job at it.”

The West Middlesex offense was unable to get anything going, as the team gained only 47 total yards and picked up just six first downs.

The best scoring opportunity for the Big Reds (2-3, 1-2) came and went late in the first quarter when quarterback Jon Jancso fumbled on the Mercer 18-yard line.

“When your offense is off the field for such long stretches, it’s hard to get in a rhythm,” McElhaney said.

“We have a young core of offensive skill guys, and those are the growing pains that come with it.”