By Becky Walz,
Everything was clicking for the Decorah football team (3-2, 1-0) as the Vikings put together a solid effort in the 33-14 homecoming victory over Mason City (1-4, 0-1) Friday night.
“We played well in each phase of the game. It was not perfect, but very good. Our blocking in the run game showed progress and each player that had the chance ran hard. Our defense had to get more stops than we wanted because we did not possess the ball as much as we wanted in the second half. Keenan Tyler had a big game from both the running and passing standpoint and our line was physical on both sides of the football. Yet it was as a team we were able to execute each phase fairly well. We need to keep improving to win the upcoming big games,” said Coach Pat Trewin.
Welcome offense
After the Viking defense forced Mason City to punt on its first possession, Decorah drove the pigskin 61 yards on nine plays that culminated with a 28-yard pass from Keenan Tyler to Zach Jermier for the first touchdown of the game. The Mohawks quickly answered with a 72-yard pass play that went to the house to tie the score. Back in control of the ball, Decorah fans watched Jaden Baker make his way to the end zone on a 10-yard carry giving the Vikings a 13-7 lead after the first quarter.
Five plays into the second period saw a Mason City pass get tipped into the hands of Tyler at the Mohawk 39-yard line. That turnover set up Decorah for its third TD run of the half on a Tyler 3-yard plunge. With time winding down in the first half, Jacob Pipho put the Vikings on top 26-7 with a two-yard reception.
Scoring was slower in the second half with Tyler giving Decorah another TD in the third quarter at the end of a three-play 46-yard drive. Mason City would add a TD in the final period, but the Vikes held on for the win.
How they played
Decorah rolled up 393 yards of total offense, holding Mason City to 233.
Tyler completed 10-for-19 passes for 103 yards with five different targets including Noah Storts, Zach Jermier, Ryan Johanningmeier, Joseph Bockman and Jacob Pipho.
In the ground game, Tyler kept the ball for 18 carries to pick up 143 yards. Jaden Baker had 11 carries for 66 yards, while Brady Stille had 10 touches for 58 yards. Dane Frieden also had 23 yards on seven carries.
Defensively, Bockman had five solo tackles and two assisted stops, while Stille and Baker each had four solo stops.
Bus ride
The Vikings will have a long bus ride as they take on Western Dubuque (Epworth) Friday, Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m.
“Western Dubuque is a talented team. They are very strong, deep and have some size. They have two tall and fast wide receivers and a very big defensive lineman who really knocks people around. They have played some very good competition. We need to play a complete game and not just have a good half or three quarters of football. They want to be balanced and run the football, but are best at passing it deep. We will need contributions by everybody to get the victory,” concluded Coach Trewin.
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q F
Mason City 7 0 0 7 14
Decorah 13 13 7 0 33
Scoring sequence
1st Quarter
Decorah – Zach Jermier 28-yd. pass from Keenan Tyler (Erik Hjelle PAT)
Mason City – 72-yd. pass (PAT)
Decorah – Jaden Baker 10-yd. run (PAT failed)
2nd Quarter
Decorah – Tyler 3-yd. run (Hjelle PAT)
Decorah – Jacob Pipho 2-yd. pass from Tyler (Hjelle PAT)
3rd Quarter
Decorah – Tyler 45-yd. run (Hjelle PAT)
4th Quarter
Mason City – 4-yd. run (PAT)
Game stats
Total yards: Decorah 393; Mason City 233
Passing (comp/att/yds): Keenan Tyler (10-19, 103 yds., 2 TD)
Rushing (att/yds): Tyler (18-143, 2 TD); Jaden Baker (11-66, 1 TD); Brady Stille (10-58); Dane Frieden (7-23)
Receiving (att/yds/TD): Noah Storts (2-46); Zach Jermier (1-28, 1 TD); Ryan Johanningmeier (1-11); Joseph Bockman (2-9); Jacob Pipho (4-9)
Tackles (total): Bockman 6.0; Pipho 5.0; Stille 4.0; Baker 4.0; Tyler 3.5; Joseph Hjelle 3.0; Johanningmeier 2.5; Zach Jermier 2.0; Carson Wemark 2.0; Trysten Finholt 2.0; Brayden Reiser 2.0; Sam Kleiner 2.0; Kasey Krauskopf 1.5; Frieden 0.5; Storts 0.5; Kendall McCain 0.5
Interceptions (no/return yds): Tyler (1-0)
Punts (att/yds): Storts (4-161)
Punt returns (att/yds): Pipho (3-16); Bockman (2-16)
Kick-offs (att/yds): Erik Hjelle (6-262)
Kick-off returns (att/yds): Bockman (2-35)
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