Football Preview: Mount Vernon Mustangs vs. Wesleyan Wolves
Mount Vernon hasn't had much luck against Wesleyan recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Mount Vernon Mustangs will venture away from home to take on the Wesleyan Wolves at 7:30 p.m.
Mount Vernon will head out to face Wesleyan after giving up their first home loss of the season on Saturday. Mount Vernon was beaten by Fellowship Christian 56-28. The Mustangs were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-14.
Despite the defeat, Mount Vernon got top-tier performance from Bristan Derocher, who threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns while completing 82.1% of his passes, and also rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries. Ethan Pajot was Derocher's top target, picking up 144 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Even though they lost, Mount Vernon was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 226 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 193 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Wesleyan). They blew past Mount Pisgah Christian, posting a 52-7 win at home. The result was nothing new for the Wolves, who have now won four matchups by 21 points or more so far this season.
A big part of Wesleyan's victory came down to the chemistry between Ben Brown and his top target Carter Hayes. Brown threw for 252 yards and five touchdowns on only 14 passes while Hayes picked up 145 receiving yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, Hayes is now averaging an impressive 100.8 receiving yards per game. Ryley Webb got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Mount Vernon's loss dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Wesleyan, their win was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-1.
The upcoming match will be a clash of competing strengths. Mount Vernon has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 218.4 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Wesleyan has preferred to attack from the air: they average 285 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Mount Vernon came out on top in a nail-biter against Wesleyan in their previous matchup back in August of 2023, sneaking past 23-21. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Brown, who threw for 153 yards and three touchdowns while completing 73.9% of his passes. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Mount Vernon still be able to contain Brown? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
