Mustangs spoil the debut of Jays' coach
SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — Central Columbia's bird cage had a sign saying, "This isn't our first rodeo."
It may not have been for the fans, but for Ky Seesholtz it was. The young first-year coach couldn't tame the Mustangs in an exciting build-up to his inaugural game with his alma mater, a 27-7 loss.
He had a great chance to capture the momentum late in the first half. With the running game getting shut down, the connection between QB Josiah Hosler and receiver Eli Geedy was heating up as the duo connected on a 46-yard post route touchdown to cut the deficit in half, 14-7.
The crowd and the defense got right back into the game, as the Jays forced a pair of fumbles on the Mustangs' ensuing drive — the latter getting pounced on by the Central.
Hosler again found Geedy, who made a nice one-handed snag, on a slant route, for 25 yards to get the Jays to the Mustangs' 3-yard line. The drive stalled out as Seesholtz's inexperience came up in that moment, not calling a timeout and rushing the offense to make a play. Hosler forced his throw and, in turn, got intercepted by Landon Hartman.
"I think that's a little inexperience on my part. That falls on me," Seesholtz said. "I just wasn't reading the situation correctly, and that's something I'll learn from and in the future have a better idea of when to use our timeouts like that."
With the running game held to just over a yard per carry, finishing with 31 yards on 27 carries, Central turned to its passing game. Hosler didn't disappoint. He hit his targets when he had time in the pocket, and even when it collapsed or he had to buy himself some time, Hosler made good throws on the run.
He finished with nine completions for 183 yards — 132 of those to Geedy on five receptions. Hosler's numbers could have been higher as the ball hit a number of the receivers in the hands, but got jarred loose at the last second.
"Josiah's an athletic kid and able to get out of the pocket. If he doesn't see anything, he's going to be able to run the ball — he's smart enough to be able to do that," Seesholtz said. "He was a great leader today on the field, commanding everyone, and I'm proud of him from that standpoint. He made a lot of great throws and made plays for us today. He kept us in the game."
The Blue Jays never got any closer to the Mustangs, as Midd-West opened the second half with a nine-play, 64-yard drive. Keaton Kreider's 1-yard QB keeper capped it off. Five of the plays occurred in Central territory, a theme for much of the evening.
The Mustangs, who rushed to the line to snap the ball all game, executed 34 plays in Blue Jays' territory, including five series. They came away with two touchdowns — a 20-yard rush by Hartman to finish the contest's scoring in the fourth and a 17-yard burst by Kyle Shupp to get things started in the opening frame.
Shupp came away with a game-high 111 yards on 19 carries. He also had a five-yard score in the second quarter to account for all of Midd-West's first-half scoring.
Regardless of the quick snaps and little field to work with, Seesholtz is pleased with the fight he saw the defense give all game.
"I think a few times, we over-pursued a little bit and the cutback was there, but the defensive line did a really good job tonight," Seesholtz said. "We just need a little bit more reading and filling, but Maddex [Dietterick], Demir [Wood], Logan [Miller], and Dom [Keller] did well tonight. It was their first time playing varsity tonight."
Geedy also had an interception in the first quarter, a redemption of sorts as it came two snaps after he fumbled the ball.
Despite the rodeo going faster than Seesholtz expected on Friday, he's still excited about the idea of learning and growing as the season progresses.
"This game is on me. I wasn't prepared enough," Seesholtz said. "I have a great staff around me, and I'm going to look at this as a growing experience. This game can go so fast, but I'll grow with this group and learn to get better."
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