By Ben McGuire

Football is finally back. And for the Mount Vernon Mustangs this season brings forth new opportunity to achieve the goal of winning a state title.

The Mustangs went 9-3 last season, and have qualified for state in each of the past two seasons. “We had a lot of guys have a breakout season last year,” said head coach Lance Pedersen. The Mustangs’  success last year was fueled by a crop of outstanding upperclassmen. The Mustangs lost a very talented class of seniors that included University of Iowa lineman Tristan Wirfs, as well as two 1,000-yard rushers in Sam Moore and Jack Cochrane.

While last year’s team will be hard to replace, Coach Pedersen is confident in his team’s ability put aside last year and focus on the future. “It’s always about ‘what are you gonna do this year?’” said Pedersen. “We’re looking for consistency, and looking for those guys who stepped up last year to maintain that level of success and achieve more.”

Although Mount Vernon did lose a some star performers, they have a handful of impact starters returning on both sides of the ball. These players include: quarterback Drew Adams, wide receiver Cale Snedden, lineman John Butz, Zach, Perry, Cody Connolly and Coy Martin, defensive backs Blake Booth Tyler Elliot, and Paul Ryan, and linebacker Colden Clark. “We have a lot of skilled guys coming back,” said Adams. “Obviously we’re going to lose a lot of guys but that happens every year on a football team. That’s the exciting part, we get what new faces are gonna step up and make an impact,” said Adams.

The Mustangs’ veteran signal caller is going into his third year as starter. And with that he has the opportunity to break a record most QB’s can only dream of touching. Adams is 2,302 yards away from becoming the all-time passing yards leader in the state of Iowa. “We threw him into the fire right away his freshman year down in Mediapolis, and from that game on he’s worked extremely hard in the offseason and continued to get better,” said Pedersen. “He’s developed his skills, he’s got good feet, he throws a great deep ball. He just needs to continue work hard on learning how to read defenses along with his receivers, and keep heading in the right direction.”

While the passing yards crown would be an honor for any quarterback, Adams knows he can’t do it alone. Team success is his first priority. “When people see that number next to my name, they think ‘Drew Adams,’ but there’s so much that goes into it,” said Adams. “Coach gave a chance my freshman year and I haven’t looked back. I’ve had great lineman, a lot of those guys are playing in college now. It’s receivers and running backs also; it was never just me.”

The Mustangs got their first taste of real competition last week when they scrimmaged West Branch back on Aug. 18. “We learned a lot from the scrimmage,” said receiver Cale Snedden. “Our biggest takeaway was just focusing on the little things, like taking the right step to get a block, or coming hard off the ball every time as a receiver. We’re still getting our chemistry down, but we’ll be ready for Friday,” said Snedden.

On Friday the Mustangs take on their rival the Solon Spartans in home matchup at Cornell College Field. This rivalry has special meaning for all players, but even greater meaning for those seniors who are trying to end their career on top. Mount Vernon has not beaten Solon in fourteen years, this record weighs heavy on the players as well as the community. “Solon is always big target on our schedule,” said lineman Preston Schultz. “And means even more with us not having beat them in so long.” This game is something more than just teams or schools, it’s playing for town pride.

Cale Snedden knows the significance of when these towns clash. “It would be something special because we haven’t beat them in 14 years and it would be a great way start off our senior season,” he said. “We want to restart the tradition of this rivalry; we have a chance to start a buzz and excite the town of Mount Vernon.” A chance that surely won’t be wasted, the Mustangs square off against Solon Friday night. This is looking to be one we won’t soon forget.