BOSWELL —
Gary Gouse knew his Portage Mustangs were big underdogs against two-time defending District 5 champion North Star on Friday night.
And the odds got even longer when his team was forced to play most of the second half without two of its best players.
But Portage got two big offensive plays – which the defense made stand up – and Evan Price did a little bit of everything as the Mustangs beat the Cougars 13-10 in a wild WestPAC game that featured two ejections and a raucous postgame celebration.
Price threw a 50-yard touchdown pass, ran for the game-winning score with 3 ½ minutes remaining in the game, then picked off a pass to just about seal the Mustangs’ upset victory.
“Their team is loaded with talent – 50 times more than ours,” Gouse said. “We came with heart, we came with desire and we won the football game on heart and desire tonight.”
Price said that teamwork made the difference for the Mustangs (1-0).
“We all worked together,” he said. “It’s just unbelievable, winning as an underdog. It’s the best feeling in the world right now.”
North Star took its first lead of the game with 6 ½ minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Thomas Miller, who finished with 97 rushing yards, scored from 5 yards out. Tony Strasiser’s 2-point conversion gave the Cougars a 10-6 lead that looked insurmountable for a Mustangs offense that struggled to move the ball for most of the game.
But Portage responded thanks to a big play from Chris Onder, a junior running back who only had one carry all game. He made it count, as he took a reverse 35 yards to the North Star 6-yard line.
“What’s crazy about Chris is all week, every time he got in to get reps, he ran the wrong thing,” Gouse said. “He did the wrong thing. I’m just thinking ‘Come on Chris, let’s do the right thing.’ And he did!”
Three plays later, Price scored on a quarterback sneak from the 1. Blake Swires’ extra point made it 13-10.
North Star got the ball back, but Price intercepted backup quarterback Joe Berkebile. The Cougars (0-1) got one last-ditch effort, but a hook-and-lateral attempt resulted in another turnover.
Mustangs coaches and players poured onto the field in celebration, with at least one Portage player knocking over an assistant coach in jubilation.
Gouse’s excitement level was still obvious when he spoke with reporters a few minutes later.
“Anybody that was betting, they weren’t betting on us,” he said. “Not one penny! They probably didn’t even have an NL on us – no line. These young kids played their guts out like old-fashioned Mustang football. We went back – I told you – old school. The toughest camp we had in 20 years. These kids never flinched.”
They certainly had the opportunity. Portage took a 6-0 lead in the first half thanks to a 50-yard touchdown pass from Price to Caleb Kephart. Faced with a third-and-10 play at midfield, Price backpedaled to lure in the Cougars’ pass rush, then dumped off the short pass to Kephart. The sophomore running back did the rest, weaving his way through the North Star defense from the right sideline, where he caught the pass, and across the entire width of the field before scoring down the left side.
“The screen was phenomenal. We really didn’t block it. He’s an athlete that made a great play,” Gouse said.
Despite leading 6-0 at the break, the Mustangs looked like they were going to fall apart early in the second half. Portage’s kickoff return unit barely made it onto the field in time for the kick and ended up with poor field position. Two of the first three plays produced negative yardage, and a personal-foul penalty resulted in the ejection of Kephart. Another penalty backed Portage up even farther and the snap on a punt sailed out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a safety.
Trailing 6-2, North Star looked poised to take the lead before Brandon Vocco recovered a fumble to stop the Cougars. Brantley Rice, North Star’s starting quarterback, was ejected after that play and a brief skirmish erupted between the teams.
“I’m just really disappointed that officials would throw out kids in the first game, both their quarterback and our best player,” Gouse said. “You know what? You give them a warning. You don’t do that to high school kids. It wasn’t flagrant. It was ridiculous. It’s very sad. You can’t take over a game. Tell the kids to come in and say ‘Don’t do that.’ ”
Schmitt said he wasn’t sure about either of the ejections.
“I actually didn’t see why either one of them were thrown out,” he said. “They were both on the far end of the field. (Gouse) probably would have had a better view of that than I would, so I’m not sure it was appropriate or not.”
The Mustangs also played the second half without fullback Scott Giles, who Gouse said had an asthma attack, but the young players did just enough for Portage.
“I’m so proud of them,” Gouse said. “I had probably four or five freshmen playing tonight. They played their guts out. Every kid that was on that field believed in each other. That was a great big victory for us, let me tell you.”
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Related Photos
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Portage quarterback Evan Price (6) is sacked by Shane Supanick and Levi Albright of North Star during the second quarter. (John Rucosky/The Tribune-Democrat) John Rucosky
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North Star’s Dalton Rice makes a nice block on Portage’s Joe Krisko to give Thomas Miller running room. (John Rucosky/The Tribune-Democrat) John Rucosky
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