Saturday’s Stevenson-Lebanon Valley football game filled Mustang Stadium with excitement in the form of nearly 900 yards total offense, 83 points, and a high-intensity game that many fans expected to end in an exciting fashion.
The game ended, however, with zero fans in the stands and zero players on the field. A Maryland thunderstorm put the game on hold shortly after 3 p.m. More than two hours later, officials called the game, with Stevenson on the short end of a 45-38 final score.
Head coach Ed Hottle was disappointed with the ending.
“Six minutes to go, anything can happen in a one score game,” Hottle said. “I’m most disappointed for the kids.”
A common theme for this game was a lack of discipline. With 17 penalties for the Mustangs, 173 total yards were lost.
“Beyond the first quarter, we lost our composure at times and were undisciplined at times,” Hottle said. “Not just undisciplined in our behavior but undisciplined in our scheme and how we were playing.”
Going into next week’s game against FDU-Florham, the Mustangs likely will focus on that discipline and try to play a cleaner game.
Even with a game full of penalties, the Mustangs had many stand out players on both sides of the ball. Nyaire Wilson played a very well rounded game with 68 rushing yards and 323 passing yards for a total of 391 offensive yards. Elijah Marquez rushed for 67 yards and added 3 touchdowns to the board, and Pat Gorman had 5 receptions for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brody Campbell also kicked a career-long 41-yard field goal at the end of the first half. On the defensive side, Clarence Travis dominated with 8 total tackles against the Dutchmen offense.
Lebanon Valley came up with two interceptions during the game to aid their 45-38 win. The Mustangs combated by leading in reception yards and rushing yards.