By Becky Walz,
In a battle of the Class 8-man District 3 battle of the undefeated teams, the Turkey Valley football team (5-0, 3-0) withstood the test Friday night, defeating Janesville (4-1, 3-1) 28-20.
“We played well on both sides of the ball. On offense we ran the ball well again and threw enough to keep their defense honest until late in the game,” said Coach Mark Scott. “On defense we held them in check most of the game. One of their touchdowns came on 4th down and the pass was tipped away but fell into one of their other receiver’s hands. This was a big road win.”
Resilience
Senior Marcus Herold introduced himself early, capping a Trojan drive with a 54-yard TD run to put the Trojans up 6-0 in the first quarter. Herold added a 4-yard plunge into the end zone in the second period, followed by a Carson Busta 12-yard TD carry. Janesville stormed back before halftime with 15-yard and 26-yard touchdown passes to set the score 20-14 at the break.
After a scoreless third period, Herold got Trojan fans back on their feet with a 31-yard run to the house in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats responded with a drive that ended in the end zone for a 28-20 Trojan lead with time ticking off the clock. After a block TV punt, the Wildcats had a short field to work with late in the fourth quarter and looked to put up another TD; however, Garrett Kurtenbach denied the quest with an interception to seal the TV win.
“Marcus Herold had a great night running behind the blocking of Garrett Kurtenbach, Collin Kleppe and Treyton Hulbert. The two fumbles did help Janesville stay in the game,” commented Coach Scott.
By the numbers
The Trojans rushed for 308 yards and completed seven passes for 60 yards for a total offensive effort of 368.
Janesville completed 11-for-27 passes for 133 yards and had 30 yards rushing.
Herold took the handoff 29 times for 191 yards and caught three passes for 31 yards. Carson Busta had 46 yards rushing in six carries and hauled in four passes for 29 yards. Junior quarterback Noah Hanson was 11-for 27 and rushed for 34 yards.
On defense, Herold had four solo tackles and five assisted tackles, while Dylan Reicks had three solo stops and five assisted tackles.
Hanson and G. Kurtenbach each had an interception and Troy Schmitt had a fumble recovery. Treyton Hulbert had five kick-offs for 218 yards.
A time to celebrate
Friday, Oct. 1, the Trojans celebrate homecoming with a game against Clarksville at 7 p.m. The homecoming queen will be crowned at halftime of the football contest, while the king will be crowned at Tuesday’s home volleyball game versus South Winn.
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q F
T. Valley 6 14 0 8 28
Janesville 0 14 0 8 20
Scoring sequence
1st Quarter
TV – Marcus Herold 54-yd. run (2-pt. run failed)
2nd Quarter
TV – Herold 4-yd. run (Garrett Kurtenbach 2-pt. pass from Noah Hanson)
TV – Carson Busta 12-yd. run (2-pt. pass failed)
Janesville – Jaden Appleby 15-yd. pass from Keegan Eastman (Jared Hoodjer 2-pt. run)
Janesville – Appleby 26-yd. pass from Eastman (2-pt. run failed)
3rd Quarter
None
4th Quarter
TV – Herold 31-yd. run (Herold 2-pt. run)
Janesville – Wiley Sherburne 8-yd. pass from Eastman (Sherburne 2-pt. pass from Hoodjer)
Game stats
Total yards: TV 368; Janesville 163
Passing (comp/att/yds): Noah Hanson (7-11, 60 yds.)
Rushing (att/yds): Marcus Herold (29-191); Carson Busta (6-46); Dylan Reicks (8-39); Hanson (10-34)
Receiving (att/yds/TD): Herold (3-31); Busta (4-29)
Tackles (total): Herold 6.5; Dylan Reicks 5.5; Garrett Kurtenbach 3.5; Busta 3.0; Oliver Schmitt 3.0; Chase Hayek 2.0; Robert Kruse 1.5; Ryan Franzen 1.0; Calvin Bodensteiner 1.0; Hanson 0.5; Troy Schmitt 0.5
Interceptions (no/return yds): Hanson (1-10); G. Kurtenbach (1-9)
Fumble recoveries: T. Schmitt (1-0)
Punts (att/yds): Herold (3-109)
Kick-offs (att/yds): Treyton Hulbert (5-218)
Kick-off returns (att/yds): Hanson (2-28); G. Kurtenbach (1-0)
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