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Mustangs turn it up a notch in second half

JOHNSTOWN — On a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon, Portage turned up the defensive heat in the second half and pulled away from Ferndale to earn a 42-15 victory.

The Mustangs (8-1) trailed by nine in the first quarter and faced a 15-14 deficit at the break as Yellow Jacket quarterback Hunter Kinsey threw for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first half. However, Portage held Ferndale (6-3) to just 10 net yards over the final two quarters and converted a pair of Ferndale turnovers into touchdowns during a momentum-shifting third quarter.

“(Ferndale) can score a lot of points and pass the ball well,” Portage coach Gary Gouse said. “Our front four did an outstanding job putting pressure on the quarterback, and we were able to control their skill kids.”

The Mustang defensive front tallied three of its four sacks of Kinsey in the second half.

Portage picked up 364 of its 428 total yards on the ground, and the power running of Zack Wiggins wore down the Yellow Jacket defense. The senior fullback bulldozed his way to 187 yards and two scores on 28 carries.

“We were more physical than they were,” Gouse said. “Our conditioning really showed in the second half.”

Quarterback Connor Price accounted for 126 yards of offense while throwing for one score and running for another, while Tom Randazzo had a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs.

“We only played one half, and you can’t do that against a good team,” Ferndale coach Don Robertson said. “They were more physical than us, and we couldn’t stop Wiggins. … He took the wind right out of our sails.”

The Yellow Jackets were in control early thanks to big plays from Kinsey. It took Ferndale just two plays to get on the board as Kinsey threw deep to Ty-Rique Rozier, who slipped a tackle and sprinted 61 yards for a touchdown. Nate Pudliner’s extra point made it 7-0.

Portage answered with a perfect drive to keep Ferndale’s explosive offense off the field as the Mustangs marched 68 yards in 16 plays, all on the ground. Portage converted two fourth downs on the series, which chewed up over seven minutes and was capped off by Price’s 4-yard touchdown run.

Ferndale went ahead, 15-6, but the Mustangs chipped away on the ensuing drive by moving 60 yards in seven plays, with Price floating a 36-yard touchdown pass to Austin McCabe. Wiggins took it in for the conversion to pull Portage within one at the 8:57 mark.

The key sequence that swung momentum clearly into Portage’s favor began with the second play of the third quarter. Cole Sossong recovered a Yellow Jacket fumble at the Ferndale 43, and a subsequent personal foul penalty gave Portage a first down at the 19.

Wiggins was then stuffed on third-and-one at the Ferndale 10, but he wouldn’t be denied on fourth down as he not only converted the first down but carried defenders into the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown.

Price picked off Kinsey at the Portage 48 on the ensuing possession, and Wiggins proceeded to carry five times for 45 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown.

The Mustangs continued to control the action and open things up in the fourth.

The Mustangs will close out the regular season in a Heritage Conference crossover game at Homer-Center that has playoff-seeding implications.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Portage 6 8 14 14 — 42

Ferndale 15 0 0 0 — 15

First quarter

F– Rozier 61 pass from Kinsey (Pudliner kick), 9:22.

P– Price 4 run (run failed), 1:58.

F– Pudliner 24 pass from Kinsey (Pudliner pass from Kinsey), 0:01.

Second quarter

P– McCabe 36 pass from Price (Wiggins run), 8:57.

Third quarter

P– Wiggins 10 run (Price run), 8:54.

P– Wiggins 1 run (pass failed), 3:16.

Fourth quarter

P– Randazzo 21 run (pass failed), 10:14.

P– Randazzo 2 run (Wiggins run), 5:18.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Portage–Wiggins 28-187, Shaffer 11-66, Price 11-62, Randazzo 8-51, Kargo 2-minus 2. Ferndale–Kinsey 8-minus 26, Pudliner 1-2, Ribblett 1-0, Grow 1-minus 6, Rozier 2-minus 1, Herring 2-13.

PASSING: Portage–Price 4-4-0-64. Ferndale–Kinsey 14-26-1-168, Pudliner 1-1-0-16, Rozier 1-3-0-9.

RECEIVING: Portage–McCabe 2-34, Randazzo 2-30. Ferndale–Pudliner 4-56, Grow 4-41, Rozier 4-78, Ribblett 2-9, Mitchell 1-0, Newcomer 1-9.

INTERCEPTIONS: Portage–Price. Ferndale–none.

TEAM STATISTICS P F

First Downs 23 11

Rushes-yards 60-364 15-(-18)

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 4-4-0 16-30-1

Yards passing 64 193

Total Yards 428 175

Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-2

Penalties-yards 14-147 8-75

Punts-avg. 1-20 2-36

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