Tigers earn second win
Tigers too much for Falcons, weather too much for both teams
As violent weather invaded the area with intense rain, lightning, and thunder, the Tigers brought their own intensity to a 36-0, rain-shortened District D2-5 football game against the Elkhorn Valley Falcons.
The Tigers scored twenty-two points in the first quarter and then added sixteen more in the first 2:15 of the second quarter before the game was put into a weather delay after lightning was spotted.
The delay lasted over an hour before both teams agreed to discontinue the game.
“Our guys came out and played hard. They imposed their will their opponents and right away, and never let them have an opportunity to get back into the game,” Tigers Head Coach Scott Morrison said.
One of the reasons the Tigers came out so well was due to a pre-game talk by former Tigers teacher and coach Loren Hansen.
As part of coming back to be honored for the 1992-1993 teams, Hansen stopped by to speak to the players before the game. He delivered a heart-felt talk to the players.
Once the game began, the Tigers’ defense came out right away and set the tempo for the game. They allowed the Falcons just twelve offensive plays on the night.
Unfortunately, Falcons senior running back Josh McFarland did not play due to an injury, which hurt the Falcons chances to produce offensively.
“We have a great group of guys on this team. We knew we were going to be challenged without Drew Krienert, who had a phenomenal game last week against Stuart,” Morrison said. “But, we had some guys step up and fill in really well.”
The entire team stepped up in Krienert’s place-who was unable to play due to an arm injury. They all played well together by adjusting to new personnel and by executing what they worked on in practice.
One of the players who stepped up in a big way was sophomore Landon Stelling, who has played a little on the offensive and defensive lines. However, this was his first major starting role defensively and offensively.
“It was fun the see the edge our guys developed in practice despite knowing they would have to work through some challenges (injury and weather),” Morrison said. “They carried it over to the game!”
On offense, the Tigers used a group effort to score early and often.
While Anthony Heiman (Jr) and teammate Colton Beacom (Sr) were the only two to find the endzone, it wasn’t without superior play by their offensive line.
Heiman also scored on a punt return for a touchdown that went forty-eight yards.
Linemen Alex Alderson (Sr.), Nick Reikofski (Jr.), Alexis Solorzano (So.), Stelling, and Zach Huwaldt (Fr.) worked together to ensure their backs made it uncontested into the second level and beyond.
These guys helped Heiman run for 116 yards and two touchdowns. They were instrumental in helping Beacom to two touchdowns and two 2-point conversion on just seven carries.
Alex Palu (Sr., B/DB) scored his first career varsity points on a 2-point conversion run in the second quarter.
The Tigers’ perimeter blocking was also solid. Huwaldt, Beacom, Hieman, Palu, Justus Maertins (So., B/DB), and Josh Gansebom (So., B/DB) sustained blocks when asked.
Brenden Hille (Sr.), who didn’t have much of a reason to need to throw the ball, had a nice run in the first quarter.
Asher Wattier (Sr.) saw time at inside linebacker. He used an opportunity to blitz to get in the quarterback’s face and force an errant throw. He nearly made an interception as well.
“We’re fortunate that we have some depth in places,” Morrison said. “Some of our guys may not an extreme amount of playing time, but they do a great job when they’re in.”
Unfortunately, after securing a big lead, the Tigers didn’t have much of an opportunity to get some of their your players into the game. The weather started to affect the game too early.
“It would have been nice to get our younger players into the game before the weather hit, but it didn’t happen. We have some definite bright spots and some guys with quite a bit of potential.”
For those who came to the game who were to be part of the celebration of the 1992 and 1993 teams, we’re sorry it didn’t work out, but want you to know how appreciative we are that you took time come back.
There were several members of the crowd wearing their old Tigers jerseys. That was cool to see!!
The Tigers (2-4, 2-1 District D2-5) travel now to Bloomfield on Friday, October 13. They need to win at least one of their final two regular season games to earn a spot in the Class D2 playoffs.