NEWARK — Senior quarterback Steele Meister fired five touchdown passes, including the 7-yard game-winner to Preston Lunsford with 8:24 remaining to lift Newark past Mount Vernon 35-28 on Friday night at White Field.
That score broke a 28-28 tie heading to the fourth quarter, and finished a thrilling, see-saw affair.
“I thought our kids played physical. I thought they played hard, but I think we made too many mistakes to beat a good Newark team,” Yellow Jacket head coach Jay Campbell said. “In the end, we had too many penalties and they capitalized on a lot of them.”
Meister’s performance overshadowed a fine effort from Yellow Jackets’ senior Jonny Askew, who had a pair of first-half touchdowns on runs of 4 and 37 yards.
“He’s steady because we know what we’re gonna get from him. We know he is gonna run hard. We know he is gonna get us everything he’s got on every play,” Campbell said. “Jonny’s just a great, phenomenal kid and we’re happy to have him on our team.”
The two squads battled to a 7-7 first-quarter tie, before the Wildcats opened a 21-14 halftime margin.
But Mount Vernon’s Jake Taylor tossed an 11-yard TD pass to Luke Mullins with 9:46 showing in the third quarter to knot the game again at 21-21.
The Yellow Jackets took the lead when Taylor’s 1-yard plunge capped a superb, 10-play, 96-yard march.
Yet Meister and Lunsford countered, this time with an 11-yard connection for a 28-28 stalemate at the 15-second mark of the third quarter. That set the stage for the QB’s final heroics.
Mount Vernon drops to 1-1 and is at Delaware Hayes on Friday night.
Newark is now 2-0 and travels to arch-rival Zanesville next week.