You can ask anybody on the 2012 PCM Mustangs football team that losing senior quarterback, Nate VandeWall for the season on a freak injury in their loss at Albia was a blow not only offensively, but morally as well. PCM head coach, Greg Bonnett, said that there were some leaders on his Mustangs team, but VandeWall was THE leader for his squad this season. Bonnett also told KNIA/KRLS Sports that VandeWall’s “motivational pep talk” during halftime of the game against C-M-B was the difference maker in that game.
“Yeah, Nate VandeWall was the dominant leader on this team and it was kind of his team,” Bonnett said. “I really don’t think we would have beat C-M-B if it hadn’t been for Nate VandeWall’s motivational speech at halftime and just him rallying the troops, so to speak. He was a kid that everybody looked up to, and when he told you something, you knew that he meant it.”
Bonnett also said that the senior signal caller was quick to point out his own mistakes, but also expected the same out of his teammates if and when they botched something up on the field. PCM went 1 – 3 without VandeWall, and finished the season with a 4 – 7 record.