Tigers defeat Wildcats
Game 6 StatsTigers battle shorthanded Wildcats on busy OHS night
The Osmond Tigers football team hosted the Winside Wildcats on a rainy Thursday, October 4. The Tigers outdid a Wildcats team with just eleven players on its team.
The Wildcats gave the Tigers their best shot, and the Tigers benefited from the game. The Wildcats exposed some of the Tigers’ deficiencies in all phases, which forced the Tigers to adjust.
They also benefited from the fact that everyone on the team got some legitimate playing time and some valuable experience.
“We weren’t sure we were going to get to play this game due to Winside’s numbers,” Tigers coach Scott Morrison said. “Not only did we get the game in, but our younger guys got to play for a majority of the second half. This is huge considering we had to cancel our junior varsity season due to low numbers.”
The Tigers scored the game’s opening touchdown on a 17-yard pass from Anthony Heiman to Justus Maertins immediately after a Wildcats turnover.
Then after getting the ball back, the Tigers scored again, this time on a 42-yard run by Anthony Heiman. This was part of a 13-play drive, which was capped off by a two-point conversion. This made the score 14-0.
Josh Gansebom (Jr.) had a great 57-yard touchdown run. The offensive line rendered him untouched as he went through the line of scrimmage.
“Josh stepped up and had a great game tonight,” Morrison said. “Likewise, we typically go as our offensive line goes. Once they hit their grove tonight, they were difficult to stop.”
The offensive line includes Nick Reikofski (Sr.), Alexis Solorzano (Jr.), Landon Stelling (Jr.), Logan Stelling (Jr.), Justus Maertins (Jr.), and Zach Huwaldt (So.).
In the second quarter, the Tigers struck first with an 11-yard run by Heiman. Zach Huwaldt caught a pass from Heiman to score on the two-point conversion.
This built the Tiger lead to 22-0, but it didn’t last long. The Wildcats scored on a 50-yard kick return for a touchdown. The Wildcats converted the two extra points and made the score 22-8.
The Tigers went on a 14-play drive that was capped by an 8-yard run by Josh Gansebom. Heiman scrambled in the two-point conversion and the Tigers were up 30-8.
They added one more touchdown before half, going into the half up 38-8.
The Tigers came out in the second half and scored twice in as many drives. Gansebom scored both touchdowns.
This put the Tigers up 54-8. Gansebom and Maertins both scored on two-point conversions.
The Wildcats scored the game’s final touchdown, making the final 54-14.
For the Tigers the game was extremely valuable considering the opportunity it granted for several younger players to get in the game.
Mason Bykerk (Jr.) jumped in at outside linebacker and safety. He also played tight end offensively. At one point, Mason made a touchdown-saving play on a wide receiver after the receiver broke free in the secondary. He also came up hard on a couple run plays, causing a fumble on one occasion.
Logan Stelling did a nice job offensively as a guard and defensively as a nose guard. Stelling led the charge on the line for the younger group, and he made a really nice tackle in A gap on a fullback dive play.
Landon Stelling got some reps at center.
Connor Gutz (So.), Parker Johnson (So.), and Patrick Vinson (Fr.) all worked at inside linebacker. All three continue to work on taking defeating blocks and taking good angle to the ball carrier.
Vinson also played quarterback, while Johnson saw time at offensive end.
Blake Bahr (So.) and Brenden Gillespie (So.) worked as defensive ends. This was Brenden Gillespie’s first ever high school football action.
Bahr did play at offensive tackle.
Freshmen Bryan Solorzano and Hunter Beacom came in at outside linebacker. Solorzano made some beautiful, physical form tackles. Beacom came up and made a big play on Winside’s quarterback who was running around the right end.
Solorzano carried the ball several times offensively.
Headed into next week, the Tigers travel to Elgin to play the Elgin Public/Pope John Wolfpack on Friday, October 12.
