Mustangs Hold off Islanders, Win it 28-20

By Marshall Cherrington

After coming out with all guns blazing and scoring 28 points in the first half, the Redmond Mustangs faded a bit in the second half. Mercer Island came storming back and was only down 28-20 with the ball in the 4^th quarter. That’s when the Mustangs defense stepped it up.

With one of the biggest student section turnouts in recent history at Redmond behind them, the Mustangs defense stopped the Islanders and forced them to punt the ball. From there, the offense would not give the ball up again. After a couple of runs and a first down, the Mustangs sideline called in for victory formation with a few seconds remaining in the game. That’s when first year Redmond head coach Jason Rimkus could exhale and smile.

“It was amazing. It’s not really for me. The amount of work the kids have put in, all of the fans that we had there, it was for them. They’ve been waiting for a long time for this,” said coach Rimkus.

Redmond head coach Jason Rimkus looks on as his team battles Mercer Island.

 

The Mustangs head coach felt like his team was able to come into the game and execute their game plan well. 2014 running back Bryce Steckler had a huge game for the Mustangs as he ran for 115-yards and 4 touchdowns. Steckler is such a strong runner with the ball and carried Mercer Island defenders on his back throughout the whole game. He is a very patient runner as well and was able to find the holes his offensive line was creating for him. The team expects the two-way player to have a huge season. But for all Steckler cares, he was just worried about dealing with the reoccurring cramps he experienced throughout the game.

“Cramps, they suck,” said Steckler. “I came out in the early third quarter and then coming back was hard. You don’t know when the cramps are going to hit, but when they do, it just sucks. Playing both ways with the cramps was tough as well. You definitely get winded.”

 

Mustangs running back Bryce Steckler had a huge game on the ground, scoring four touchdowns.



Despite their huge game, both Rimkus and Steckler added that there are some things to work on, mainly their nutrition regimen leading up to games. Multiple players were cramping up throughout the game, and they both know that was not acceptable.

“We will never eat pizza the day before a game every again, with all those cramps we had.” said Rimkus. “That was our worst game we’ll have all year. Most of it was penalties, stupid penalties. A few players had some crucial penalties, but those are all things that they know. It’s just the matter of playing football and getting the reps in. It was also the matter of having first game jitters.”

“We need to work on keeping that consistency throughout the game,” said Steckler. “We can’t just put up 28 points and be content with that. I think we all need to work on how we prepare for the game. Coaching-wise, we know what to do out on the field, but ourselves at home, we need to take care of our bodies. That’s something I need to work on especially because having those cramps, that’s something I could have improved on and changed.”

Second-year starter at quarterback, senior Zach Wheat, struggled at times during the game as he threw two picks, but was efficient when he rolled out of the pocket and either ran it or when he had his eyes downfield. The Mustangs will look to get the athletic Wheat into open space throughout the rest of the season.

Although the game was not perfect by any means, coach Rimkus was relieved to have that first win under his belt at Redmond High School. As always is the mindset, there are always many things to improve on. This message was echoed through his thoughts when the clock finally struck zero.

“Thank God, but not good enough,” concluded Rimkus.

 

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The Mustangs play next Friday at Interlake High School. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. Go to the game and watch Coach Rimkus return to his old stomping grounds and lead the Mustangs into battle.