Wildcat Pride: MBFranchise's Big East CAS Dynasty

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Nevada’s Pistol Out of Ammunition as Mechanicsburg Triumphs

Nev (0-1) 0 7 0 0 7

Mech (1-0) 14 3 14 14 45

Mechanicsburg senior cornerback Julius McNamara welcomes Nevada junior quarterback Colin Kaepernick to Memorial Stadium.

Mechanicsburg’s 2009 season started off on a high note as the Wildcats defeated the Nevada Wolfpack 45-7 in front of the home crowd. The Mechanicsburg run game was dominant early, as senior A-Back Matt McIntyre continually found room on Nevada’s flanks. The Wildcats jumped out early and the Wolfpack were never really in the game. Mechanicsburg mixed the run and pass late in the game, when senior quarterback JJ Rivera connected with junior A-Back Marcus Townsend on an option pass. This early season success has the Wildcat faithful predicting great things for their team this season.

Mechanicsburg junior A-Back Marcus Townsend celebrates after beating two Nevada defenders to the pylon during a third quarter touchdown reception from senior quarterback JJ Rivera.

Key Stat: 391. Nevada ran the ball 29 times for 60 yards and 1 touchdown. Mechanicsburg rushed 48 times for 391 yards and 4 scores.

Game Ball: Matt McIntyre. It isn’t often your third string running back rushes for over 100 yards. With limited touches, McIntyre made sure to make them count. The senior rushed 7 times for 159 yards and 1 touchdown, averaging an astonishing 22.7 yards per carry.

Senior A-Back Matt McIntyre leaves defenders in his wake during a 55-yard first quarter carry.

Coach’s Quote: “Super-Duper!”

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Mechanicsburg Grounds Air Force

AFA (1-1) 14 7 0 7 28
Mech (2-0) 7 21 14 0 42

Junior punter Isaac McMahan gets things started at Memorial Stadium


Given their similar approach to offense, perhaps it comes as no surprise that Mechanicsburg and Air Force lit up the scoreboard in the first half. Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson was on fire early, connecting with wide receiver Kyle Halderman to give the Falcons the early lead. The Wildcats showed their resiliency, however, and had taken a 28-21 lead by halftime. The second half saw the Wildcats’ combined flexbone, ace, and I-formation running attack wear down the Falcons. Once the running game was established, the Wildcats looked to the air, where they got big games from senior quarterback JJ Rivera and junior wide receiver David Peoples.

Air Force junior quarterback Tim Jefferson put the Falcons up early as he connected with junior wide receiver Kyle Halderman, who beat sophomore cornerback Booker Shelby for a first quarter touchdown.

Key Stat: 402. Air Force was moderately successful on the ground, accumulating 131 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Mechanicsburg, however, racked up 402 yards and 4 scores on 55 carries.

Game Ball: David Peoples. The Junior Wide Receiver hauled in 7 receptions for 134 yards and 1 touchdown in the Wildcats’ win.

Senior quarterback JJ Rivera looks downfield to a wide-open junior wide receiver David Peoples en route to Mechanicsburg’s second touchdown of the day.

Coach’s quote: “I look good. Everyone! Come see how good I look!”

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Defense Dominates as Wildcats Down Midshipmen 24-14

Navy (0-3) 0 0 0 14 14


Mech (3-0) 14 0 7 3 24






Junior strong safety Darren Ervin set the tone for the day on the first play from scrimmage, intercepting Navy freshman quarterback Tyler Lynch and retuning the pick for a touchdown.

Navy freshman quarterback Tyler Lynch, starting his first collegiate game for the injured Ricky Dobbs, had his work cut out for him. And the Mechanicsburg Wildcat defense did not take it easy on him. Disrupting the Middies’ rhythm the entire game, the Wildcat defense played its best game this season in less than ideal conditions. It was a good thing they did too, since the Mechanicsburg offense struggled for the first time this year. Their ground attack halted, Mechanicsburg was happy the defense set the tone early, as junior strong safety Darren Ervin intercepted the first play of the game and returned it for a touchdown. The Mechanicsburg defense did not give up any points until the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. Next week sees the Wildcats round out their academy tour against the Army Black Knights.

Mechanicsburg sophomore linebacker Markell Bryan celebrates a second quarter sack of Navy freshman quarterback Tyler Lynch. Bryan was in the Midshipmen backfield time and again on Saturday.

Key Stat: 14. Mechanicsburg totaled 14 tackles for loss against the Navy offense. Sophomore linebacker Markell Bryan led the way with 5, while senior cornerback Julius McNamara and senior linebacker Tommy Porter each had 3.

Game Ball: Julius McNamara. The senior cornerback was all over the field, registering 5 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and an interception in sloppy conditions.

Mechanicsburg senior cornerback Julius McNamara sets his sights on Navy freshman quarterback Tyler Lynch…

…and delivers a punishing blow. It was one of McNamara’s two sacks during the game.

Coach’s Thoughts: “Whammy!”

[kobe360x]

2-0!

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More Rain, More Defense as Wildcats Defeat Black Knights

Mech (4-0) 7 10 6 7 30


Army (0-4) 0 0 0 7 7









Wildcat sophomore tight end Thomas Strickland leaps over an Army defender en route to his first receiving touchdown of the season.

The rains made the going sloppy, but the Mechanicsburg Wildcats showed up to play anyway, completing the sweep of the service academies with a win over Army. While it wasn’t always easy, Mechanicsburg nonetheless came out on top. Starting senior quarterback JJ Rivera was injured in the second quarter, leading many to assume the Wildcats would turn to a conservative offensive gameplan. However, this was not to be. Sophomore quarterback Lawrence Shaw, on his first play of the game, threw his first career touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Thomas Strickland. The Wildcat defense never let the Black Knights back into the game, and Mechanicsburg enters conference play undefeated at 4-0.

Mechanicsburg sophomore linebacker Markell Bryan skies for a one-handed interception deep in the endzone to preserve the early Wildcat lead.

Key Stat: 233. Army’s offense could only muster 233 yards against a stingy Wildcat defense. The Black Knights threw for 108 yards and rushed for 125.

Game Ball: Ricky Kemp. The freshman A-Back proved to be too much for Army to handle. Kemp rushed 20 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns, including a memorable score where he ran over three Black Knights at the goal line.

Mechanicsburg freshman A-Back Ricky Kemp powers through three Black Knights for a second quarter touchdown.

Coach’s Thought: “I’m Brian Fantana.”

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Townsend’s Last-Minute TD Saves Wildcats



USF (4-1) (0-1) 7 7 7 6 27


Mech (5-0) (1-0) 3 7 14 7 31

Mechanicsburg junior A-Back Marcus Townsend scores the winning touchdown with less than 20 seconds remaining.

Booker Shelby didn’t know how important his hustle would be. The sophomore cornerback chased down USF wide receiver AJ Love from behind as time expired in the first half, preventing a USF touchdown. USF continued fighting, however, an held a 27-24 lead with less than 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Mechanicsburg senior quarterback JJ Rivera led the Wildcats on the winning touchdown driver, including two fourth down conversions, capped off when junior A-Back Marcus Townsend scored a 5-yard touchdown run with less than 20 seconds left to give the Wildcats the win.

Mechanicsburg sophomore cornerback Booker Shelby makes a touchdown-saving tackle on USF wide receiver AJ Love as time expired in the first half.

Key Stat: 146. USF junior wide receiver AJ Love caught 9 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Game Ball: JJ Rivera. The senior quarterback had his best passing game of the season, and lead his team on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive when his team needed it most. Rivera threw for 239 yards and 2 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 15 yards and adding valuable senior leadership and moxie to the Wildcat attack.

Mechanicsburg senior quarterback JJ Rivera celebrates his second quarter touchdown pass in front of the Mount Mechanicsburg fans.

Coach’s Thoughts: “I don’t know how to put this but I’m kind of a big deal.”

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West Virginia Offense is Devine during Fight for the MountainCat Trophy

WVU (5-1) (1-0) 14 14 10 7 45


Mech (5-1) (1-1) 10 0 14 0 24

Senior wide receiver Anthony Ryan’s early touchdown kept the Wildcats close in the first quarter.

Clear skies greeted the West Virginia Mountaineers and Mechanicsburg Wildcats in their annual Fight for the MountainCat Trophy rivalry game. The offenses didn’t disappoint and by halftime the Mountaineers led 28-10. Mechanicsburg responded with 14 points in the third quarter, but West Virginia running back Noel Devine proved to be too much for the Wildcat defense. The MountainCat trophy will spend the year in Morgantown, and Mechanicsburg’s mascot Harry the Wildcat Trapper cannot attend next season’s game.

Mechanicsburg senior defensive tackle Matt Shaffer caused one of the few negative plays for the Mountaineer offense.

Key Stat: 453. West Virginia junior running back Noel Devine had 276 rushing yards on 34 attempts (8.1 avg) and 4 touchdowns. He also added 5 receptions for 145 yards for an average of 29 yards. For good measure, he also added a 27-yard kick return and a 5-yard punt return.

Game Ball: Noel Devine. He was unstoppable.

WVU running back Noel Devine had wide lanes to run through all day en route to 453 total yards.

Coach’s Quote: “I’m not even mad, I’m just impressed.”

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First Half Season Report Card

Offense: B+

JJ Rivera leads the passing attack, with 60 completions on 104 attempts for 828 yards, 8 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

The Wildcats possess a balanced running attack. Ricky Kemp has 484 yards on 88 carries (5.5 avg) and 5 touchdowns. Marcus Townsend has 366 on 59 (6.2) and 3 touchdowns. Matt McIntyre chipped in with 306 on 32 (9.6 avg) and 2 TD’s. Finally, JJ Rivera has 85 attempts for 293 yards (3.4 avg) and 3 touchdowns.

David Peoples leads the way with 23 receptions for 383 yards (16.6 avg) and 2 touchdowns. Andrew Utley posted 16 receptions for 222 yards (13.8 avg) and 2 touchdowns. Marcus Townsend has 10 receptions for 78 yards and one score, while Anthony Ryan has 9 catches for 151 yards (16.7 avg) and one touchdown. Thomas Strickland has 5 for 50 and 2 scores.

Defense: A-

The Wildcats defense has been stellar the first half of the season (except for the WVU game). Here are some of the Mechanicsburg defensive leaders:

MLB Markell Bryan 39 tackles 9 tfl 2 sacks 1 int
SS Darren Ervin 38 tackles 4 tfl 0 sack 1 int
CB J. McNamara 24 tackles 5 tfl 3 sacks 2 int
FS Jamal Cook 25 tackles 1 tfl 0 sacks 1 int
DT Matt Shaffer 16 tackles 2 tfl 1 sack 0 int

Around the Nation

Top 10

1. Florida (6-0)
2. Penn State (6-0)
3. Oklahoma State (5-1)
4. Oklahoma (5-1)
5. Virginia Tech (6-1)
6. Oregon State (6-0)
7. North Carolina (5-1)
8. Ole Miss (5-1)
9. Miami (5-1)
10. Georgia Tech (5-2)


Big East


1. West Virginia (5-1) (1-0)
2. Cincinnati (4-2) (2-0)
3. Connecticut (2-4) (1-1)
4. Mechanicsburg (5-1) (1-1)
5. Rutgers (4-2) (1-1)
6. Louisville (2-4) (1-1)
7. Pittsburgh (3-4) (1-2)
8. South Florida (4-2) (0-2)


Heisman

1. Jarvis Williams, JR WR, NC State
2. Evan Royster, JR RB, Penn State
3. Tim Tebow, SR QB, Florida
4. Sam Bradford, JR QB, Oklahoma
5. David Reed, SR WR, Utah