Brayden Wemark connected on five PATs and had seven kick-offs for 259 yards for the Vikes Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Amy Averhoff)
Fired up after a hard loss the week prior, the Decorah football team (4-1, 1-0) really wanted the homecoming win Friday night over Mason City (1-4, 0-1) and it showed with a 42-0 blanking of the Riverhawks.
“Our team played well against Mason City. Even though it rained throughout the game, our student section was awesome and stayed and cheered the team on. We managed the conditions well overall. We tried to keep the football dry so we could handle it and I think we did better than they did. We rushed the ball well but could not bring in all the passes. The players were able to accomplish a shutout which we had not done previously this season. Our offense played very well too with some long drives with good blocking,” said Coach Pat Trewin.
Scoring moments
Three first-quarter touchdowns and a safety pushed Decorah to the early lead and the Vikes didn’t let go. On their opening drive, Decorah drove 71 yards down the field in six plays with Tommy Sexton rumbling the final 16 yards for the score. It wasn’t long before the Vikes were driving again as a Riverhawk fumbled the ball on the kick-off with Gatlin Dahlberg recovering the pigskin at the Mason City 30. Three plays later Dakota Johnson darted through traffic for a 13-yard touchdown run. Pinned deep in their own territory, the Riverhawks mishandled a snap for a punt which rolled out of the end zone for a safety. Viking quarterback Louis Bucksa capped off the opening period with a two-yard carry over the goal line. Decorah added a score in the second on a 17-yard rush by Johnson to carry a 30-0 lead into halftime.
It was another safety in the third and Johnson’s third touchdown in the third. The final score was a Jimmy Valdez 26-yard field goal.
A few stars
The Vikings rushed for 254 yards and passed for another 70 for 324 yards of total offense while Mason City finished the night with -18.
Johnson rushed 16 times for 150 yards, a 9.4 yards per carry average. Tommy Sexton picked up 85 yards in 16 carries. Bucksa was 7-for-12 in passing with Noah Milburn pulling in a trio of receptions for 44 yards. Trevor Kuennen had two receptions, while Gavin Groux had one.
Leading the defense with three solo tackles and one assist was Carter Dlhy who also forced a fumble. Keaton Orris was there for a pair of solo and two assisted stops, while Brady Benzing and Gatlin Dahlberg had one solo and three assisted tackles apiece. Jeron Feuerhelm had an interception with 22 yards of return as well with Dahlberg and T. Kuennen each having a fumble recovery.
Up next
With district competition underway, Decorah will travel to Waverly-Shell Rock Friday, Sept. 29, for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
“They are certainly a big rival. We have not fared well against them the past three years and our seniors have not beat them in high school. We won’t let their record deceive us. They have played the toughest schedule in the state so far. Still, when we watch film on them, we see how good they can be. They are big and they have a quarterback and receiver combination who really click. Finally, our guys know that this game is very important to our team goals and need a great week of preparation and to play our best on Friday,” said Coach Trewin.
Scoring sequence
1st Quarter
Decorah – Tommy Sexton 16-yd. run (Brayden Wemark PAT)
Decorah – Dakota Johnson 13-yd. run (Wemark PAT)
Decorah – Safety
Decorah – Louis Bucksa 2-yd. run (Wemark PAT)
2nd Quarter
Decorah – Johnson 17-yd. run (Wemark PAT)
3rd Quarter
Decorah – Safety
Decorah – Johnson 1-yd. run (Wemark PAT)
4th Quarter
Decorah – Jimmy Valdez 26-yd. field goal
Game stats
Total yards: Decorah 324; Mason City -18
Passing (comp/att/yds): Louis Bucksa (7-12, 70 yds.)
Rushing (att/yds): Dakota Johnson (16-150, 3 TD); Tommy Sexton (16-85, 1 TD); Cade Averhoff (5-13); Gavin Groux (2-11); Gatlin Dahlberg (1-3); Jeron Feuerhelm (3-2); Garrett Waskow (1-2); Brady Benzing (1-1); Bucksa (4-1, 1 TD); Noah Milburn (1-(-14))
Receiving (att/yds/TD): Milburn (3-44, 1 TD); Groux (1-14); Trevor Kuennen (2-12)
Tackles (total): Benzing (4.0); Dahlberg (4.0); Carter Dlhy (4.0); Keaton Orris (4.0); Johnson (3.0); Brody Hanson (3.0); Andrew Rhodes (2.0); Landon Kuennen (2.0); Kelley Gates (2.0); Groux (1.0); Waskow (1.0); Bradan Darling (1.0); William Hahn (1.0); Caleb Krieg (1.0)
Interceptions (no/return yds): Feuerhelm (1-22)
Fumble recoveries: Dahlberg 1; T. Kuennen 1
Punts (att/yds): Milburn (2-78)
Punt returns (att/yds): Groux (1-54)
Kick-offs (att/yds): Brayden Wemark (7-359, 1 TB)
Kick-off returns (att/yds): Groux (2-28); Sexton (1-6)
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