Dallastown's Donovan Cheeks (5) lifts South Western's Jeb Shipley and drives him down during Friday's game. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Meghan Gauriloff)

Forget about the perfect overall record through five weeks for a minute. There are more important things to consider for Dallastown football coach Kevin Myers.

"This is what we've been looking for," Myers said after his Wildcats blanked South Western, 27-0, in YAIAA action on a misty Friday night. "We wanted to come out, play with focus and have a balanced attack. We knew what we needed to do, and we got it done. These kids bounced back and really stepped it up."

If it sounds like Myers was reflecting on a recent loss, well, that's just an indication of how far the Dallastown program has come in the last two years.

Actually, the Wildcats were just coming off a pair of lackluster victories against Kennard-Dale and New Oxford.

The bar has clearly been raised.

Dallastown did not post overwhelming statistics in any category but did an effective job of mixing the run with the pass to keep the Mustangs (2-3, 1-1) off balance. Add in a couple of big plays and some stellar defense -- particularly in the second half -- and you've got a 2-0 start in Division I.

"They played a great game, and they really kicked our butts," South Western coach Don Seidenstricker said. "It was disappointing for us to represent our school like that, but hopefully this will be a gut check for us."

The Wildcats relied on the 1-2 punch of seniors Kole Kraut and Chris Hunt to take control of what began as a tight game. South Western moved the ball early, but could not crack the 'Cats' bend-but-don't-break defense.

Meanwhile, the Mustangs were doing a nice job containing Kraut, but forgot about Hunt. Late in the first quarter, Hunt looked to pass out of the shotgun, saw a big hole in the middle and burst into the secondary. Only a slip on the wet turf brought him down after a 17-yard gain.

On the next play, Hunt did it again. This time he rolled for 45 yards all the way down to the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Kraut punched it in from the 1 and it was 7-0.

"When

South Western's Zac Scott runs the ball during Friday's game against Dallastown. Scott picked up 36 yards on five carries as the Mustangs were shutout, 27-0. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Meghan Gauriloff)
they went with that empty backfield, we were getting there on the blitz, but we were just a hair late," Seidenstricker said. "It happened not once, not twice, but three times."

The next time it happened was midway through the second quarter. This time Hunt (6-of-12, 150 yards) burned the visitors with his arm, dropping back and hitting Kraut with a perfect pass over the middle.

South Western's Levi Sanger saved a touchdown, catching Kraut 82 yards later at the 6, but three plays later Kraut found paydirt with a 3-yard run to make it 14-0.

"Teams are keying on Kole, so we're lucky to have a guy like Chris," Myers said. "He's got good speed, good vision and he is a real running threat."

The score was still 14-0 at intermission,

Dallastown's Chris Hunt, right, runs the ball during Friday's game. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Meghan Gauriloff)
but when the second half began, it was the Wildcats' defense that set the tone. After allowing 143 yards in the first half, the 'Cats held South Western to just two yards total in the third quarter and 54 in the fourth.

In fact, from the second quarter until midway through the fourth, the Mustangs punted on eight straight possessions. The last two drives were stopped by a pair of interceptions by Kraut.

Clearly the visitors were hampered by the loss of starting quarterback David Sager, who was hurt in last week's win over Dover. Junior Ian Smith made his first career start and had a rocky debut (4-of-15, 70 yards, two picks).

Without a passing game to worry about, Dallastown geared up to stop the run and swarmed the ballcarrier.

"We need to be able to throw the ball," said Seidenstricker, who added that Sager is not expected back next week. "If we can do that, we'll be fine. If not, they're going to keep loading the box."

The Wildcats closed out the scoring with Hunt tossing a pretty 24-yard strike to Eric Shoff in the third quarter, and Alex Orwig running one in from the 1 in the final frame.

 
South Western  0    0    0    0 --   0
Dallastown  7    7    6    7 -- 27

First Quarter
   Dt -- Kole Kraut 1 run (Trent Bear kick), :50
Second Quarter
   Dt -- Kraut 3 run (Bear kick), 6:40
Third Quarter
   Dt -- Eric Shoff 24 pass from Chris Hunt (kick failed), 8:01
Fourth Quarter
   Dt -- Alex Orwig 1 run (Bear kick), 6:40
 
-- SW -- Dt
First downs -- 9 -- 11
Rushes-yards -- 37-129 -- 37-168
Passing -- 4-15-2 -- 6-14-2
Passing yards -- 70 -- 150
Total yards -- 199 -- 318
Punts -- 8-28.1 -- 5-28.6
Fumbles-lost -- 2-0 -- 2-0
Penalties-yards -- 4-30 -- 2-20

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- South Western, J.R. Mummert 16-65, Zac Scott 5-36, Jeb Shipley 6-29, Chris Helwig 7-14, Mike Brant 1-4, Ian Smith 2-(-19); Dallastown, Chris Hunt 11-90, Kole Kraut 17-42, Tyler Imhoff 4-17, Anthony DeFabio 1-8, Alex Orwig 2-7, Ben Kline 1-2, Josh Luckenbaugh 1-2.
   Passing -- South Western, Ian Smith 4-15-2-70; Dallastown, Chris Hunt 6-12-1-150, Josh Luckenbaugh 0-2-1-0.
   Receiving -- South Western, Kyle Mahorney 3-44, Drew Sneeringer 1-26; Dallastown, Kole Kraut 2-83, Zach Green 2-32, Eric Shoff 1-24, Tyler Imhoff 1-11.