Unity Payson Football
Mustang focus on playoff push after loss to Trojans
By: Tim Klobe
Hopes of a conference championship ended for the Unity-Payson Mustangs on Friday, September 23, after their 34-0 loss to the Triopia Trojans.
The Trojans took an early 14-0 lead on two touchdown runs by Derek Schone in the first quarter, while the Mustangs struggled to move the ball effectively.
Triopia’s defense continued to stymie the Mustangs’ offensive attack throughout the game. However, U-P’s defense managed to slow down the Trojan’s rushing game, but not enough to prevent a scoring drive in each quarter.
Jacob Miller and Kyle Vandermaiden combined for 92 yards rushing in the loss.
U-P moves to 0-2 in the Western Illinois Valley Conference’s North Division and 3-2 overall. They travel to Jacksonville-ISD on Saturday, October 1 in Week 6. Kickoff is 2 p.m.
Mustang mistakes lead to loss against Rockets
By: Tim Klobe
JACKSONVILLE – In the end, ball control issues sealed the fate of the Unity-Payson Mustangs on Saturday, September 17. Five turnovers led to a 44-21 loss at the hands of the Jacksonville-Routt Rockets.
Things got moving in the right direction for the Mustangs early in the first half. U-P scored on the opening drive of the game and held a 21-14 lead early in the second quarter, highlighted by an 82-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Wittler to Drew Miller.
Trailing 24-21 at the half, the Mustangs’ defense forced the Rockets to punt on the opening drive of the second half. Mistakes prevented U-P from taking advantage of their strong start. A fumble on Routt’s 27-yard line led to a 72-yard scoring drive by the Rockets, and Routt never looked back.
Jacob Miller finished with 112 rushing yards, while Kyle Vandermaiden added two rushing touchdowns for the Mustangs.
Unity-Payson falls to 0-1 in the Western Illinois Valley Conference’s North Division and 3-1 overall. They face the Triopia Trojans in Week 5 at home for Homecoming.
By Karl Asbury
9/13
A Thank You From Adam Falloon - Activities Director - Head Football Coach Clopton Schools
Just wanted to compliment your players coaches and fans for their hospitality... The fans were very classy and clapped for our kids as we were walking off the field telling them great job and thanks for coming....I have never seen that before and that was great... It says alot about your school, community, coaches etc... It was a very exciting game for everyone congrats to your football boys on a hard fought victory and good luck the rest of the season. Thanks again Adam Falloon Activities Director Head Football Coach Clopton Schools
Mustangs win shootout with thrilling overtime finish
The game that almost did not happen for the Unity-Payson Mustangs (3-0) turned into the most exciting game of the past few seasons. In a thrilling overtime finish, the Mustangs knocked off the Clopton-Elsberry (Mo.) IndianHawks (2-1), 55-49.
From the start, the Mustangs’ and IndianHawks’ offenses controlled the field. The first quarter saw a combined 42 points, highlighted by a 39-yard rushing touchdown by U-P’s Kyle Vandermaiden and a 73-yard touchdown pass from C-E’s Scott Kroeger.
“Both offenses were tremendous in the first quarter,” Unity-Payson head coach Karl Asbury said.
The Mustangs trailed 41-28 at halftime after struggling to stop the IndianHawks explosive spread offense. However, U-P made the necessary adjustments in the break to hold Clopton-Elsberry to only eight points in the second half. Unity-Payson jumped to a 49-41 lead in the 3rd quarter thanks to a couple of scores on both sides of the ball by Vandermaiden.
With 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter, the IndianHawks’ Charles Fraction scored a rushing touchdown, and Kroeger tied the game with a 2-point conversion run. The rest of the 4th quarter neither team’s offense could effectively move the ball, leaving the score 49-49 at the end of regulation.
The Mustangs won the toss in overtime and elected to play defense first. On C-E’s next four downs, the U-P defense stonewalled the IndianHawks keeping them out of the end zone. Given four downs to score the winning points, U-P’s Jacob Miller needed only one play to secure the victory. Miller rushed it in from 10 yards out on the Mustangs first play from scrimmage, giving Unity-Payson a 55-49 overtime win.
“This win says a lot about the character of this team. To battle adversity like they did in this game, really shows how far they have come in 4 years,” Asbury said.
Vandermaiden finished with 349 rushing yards on just 18 carries with four total TDs, three rushing and a 29-yard fumble return TD. Miller scored four TDs on 19 carries for 129 yards. Mustang quarterback, Aaron Wittler, ran eight times for 51 yards, including a 56-yard TD.
Unity-Payson hits the road in Week Four to kick-off WIVC North play against Jacksonville-Routt on Saturday, September 17. Game-time is 7 p.m.
9/7/11
The Mustangs came out on top Friday in their home opener 48-13. The offense was paced again by Jacob Miller and Kyle Vandermaiden with each going over the century mark. The Mustangs accrued over 400 yards of total offense, for the second week in a row. Defensively, they were led by Lane Davis, Chris Sherwood, and Reed Bentzinger. Davis had 11 tackles, Sherwood had 9 tackles, and Bentzinger had 20 tackles. Aaron Wittler brought the crowd to life with his 80 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The football team looks forward to seeing you this Friday when they play Clopton/Ellsberry at home.
8/31/11
The last time the Unity-Payson football team shut out their opponent was 2006. Last Friday night, they achieved that task by shutting out North Greene 40-0. The defense played well limiting the Spartans to negative 1 yard of rushing and only 40 total yards for the game. The defense was highlighted by T. J. Klitz's 4 sacks. Scott Beck was the leading tackler of the game. The offense was explosive but still has some areas to improve on. The first play of the game, Kyle Vandermaiden raced 50 yards for a touchdown. He ended the game carrying the ball 7 times, gaining 162 yards. Jacob Miller gained 171 yards while Aaron Wittler had 73 yards on the ground.
The Mustangs will have their home opener on September 2nd versus Calhoun.
By: Tim Klobe
Hopes of a conference championship ended for the Unity-Payson Mustangs on Friday, September 23, after their 34-0 loss to the Triopia Trojans.
The Trojans took an early 14-0 lead on two touchdown runs by Derek Schone in the first quarter, while the Mustangs struggled to move the ball effectively.
Triopia’s defense continued to stymie the Mustangs’ offensive attack throughout the game. However, U-P’s defense managed to slow down the Trojan’s rushing game, but not enough to prevent a scoring drive in each quarter.
Jacob Miller and Kyle Vandermaiden combined for 92 yards rushing in the loss.
U-P moves to 0-2 in the Western Illinois Valley Conference’s North Division and 3-2 overall. They travel to Jacksonville-ISD on Saturday, October 1 in Week 6. Kickoff is 2 p.m.
Mustang mistakes lead to loss against Rockets
By: Tim Klobe
JACKSONVILLE – In the end, ball control issues sealed the fate of the Unity-Payson Mustangs on Saturday, September 17. Five turnovers led to a 44-21 loss at the hands of the Jacksonville-Routt Rockets.
Things got moving in the right direction for the Mustangs early in the first half. U-P scored on the opening drive of the game and held a 21-14 lead early in the second quarter, highlighted by an 82-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Wittler to Drew Miller.
Trailing 24-21 at the half, the Mustangs’ defense forced the Rockets to punt on the opening drive of the second half. Mistakes prevented U-P from taking advantage of their strong start. A fumble on Routt’s 27-yard line led to a 72-yard scoring drive by the Rockets, and Routt never looked back.
Jacob Miller finished with 112 rushing yards, while Kyle Vandermaiden added two rushing touchdowns for the Mustangs.
Unity-Payson falls to 0-1 in the Western Illinois Valley Conference’s North Division and 3-1 overall. They face the Triopia Trojans in Week 5 at home for Homecoming.
By Karl Asbury
9/13
A Thank You From Adam Falloon - Activities Director - Head Football Coach Clopton Schools
Just wanted to compliment your players coaches and fans for their hospitality... The fans were very classy and clapped for our kids as we were walking off the field telling them great job and thanks for coming....I have never seen that before and that was great... It says alot about your school, community, coaches etc... It was a very exciting game for everyone congrats to your football boys on a hard fought victory and good luck the rest of the season. Thanks again Adam Falloon Activities Director Head Football Coach Clopton Schools
Mustangs win shootout with thrilling overtime finish
The game that almost did not happen for the Unity-Payson Mustangs (3-0) turned into the most exciting game of the past few seasons. In a thrilling overtime finish, the Mustangs knocked off the Clopton-Elsberry (Mo.) IndianHawks (2-1), 55-49.
From the start, the Mustangs’ and IndianHawks’ offenses controlled the field. The first quarter saw a combined 42 points, highlighted by a 39-yard rushing touchdown by U-P’s Kyle Vandermaiden and a 73-yard touchdown pass from C-E’s Scott Kroeger.
“Both offenses were tremendous in the first quarter,” Unity-Payson head coach Karl Asbury said.
The Mustangs trailed 41-28 at halftime after struggling to stop the IndianHawks explosive spread offense. However, U-P made the necessary adjustments in the break to hold Clopton-Elsberry to only eight points in the second half. Unity-Payson jumped to a 49-41 lead in the 3rd quarter thanks to a couple of scores on both sides of the ball by Vandermaiden.
With 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter, the IndianHawks’ Charles Fraction scored a rushing touchdown, and Kroeger tied the game with a 2-point conversion run. The rest of the 4th quarter neither team’s offense could effectively move the ball, leaving the score 49-49 at the end of regulation.
The Mustangs won the toss in overtime and elected to play defense first. On C-E’s next four downs, the U-P defense stonewalled the IndianHawks keeping them out of the end zone. Given four downs to score the winning points, U-P’s Jacob Miller needed only one play to secure the victory. Miller rushed it in from 10 yards out on the Mustangs first play from scrimmage, giving Unity-Payson a 55-49 overtime win.
“This win says a lot about the character of this team. To battle adversity like they did in this game, really shows how far they have come in 4 years,” Asbury said.
Vandermaiden finished with 349 rushing yards on just 18 carries with four total TDs, three rushing and a 29-yard fumble return TD. Miller scored four TDs on 19 carries for 129 yards. Mustang quarterback, Aaron Wittler, ran eight times for 51 yards, including a 56-yard TD.
Unity-Payson hits the road in Week Four to kick-off WIVC North play against Jacksonville-Routt on Saturday, September 17. Game-time is 7 p.m.
9/7/11
The Mustangs came out on top Friday in their home opener 48-13. The offense was paced again by Jacob Miller and Kyle Vandermaiden with each going over the century mark. The Mustangs accrued over 400 yards of total offense, for the second week in a row. Defensively, they were led by Lane Davis, Chris Sherwood, and Reed Bentzinger. Davis had 11 tackles, Sherwood had 9 tackles, and Bentzinger had 20 tackles. Aaron Wittler brought the crowd to life with his 80 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The football team looks forward to seeing you this Friday when they play Clopton/Ellsberry at home.
8/31/11
The last time the Unity-Payson football team shut out their opponent was 2006. Last Friday night, they achieved that task by shutting out North Greene 40-0. The defense played well limiting the Spartans to negative 1 yard of rushing and only 40 total yards for the game. The defense was highlighted by T. J. Klitz's 4 sacks. Scott Beck was the leading tackler of the game. The offense was explosive but still has some areas to improve on. The first play of the game, Kyle Vandermaiden raced 50 yards for a touchdown. He ended the game carrying the ball 7 times, gaining 162 yards. Jacob Miller gained 171 yards while Aaron Wittler had 73 yards on the ground.
The Mustangs will have their home opener on September 2nd versus Calhoun.
