Vikes fall to No. 2 Bobcats

Jeron Feuerhelm (10) makes the tackle as Brady Benzing looks on in the background during Friday’s rainy game at Western Dubuque. (Photo courtesy of Amy Averhoff)

The Decorah football team (5-3, 2-2) knew it faced a tough task Friday night, battling Class 4A No. 2 Western Dubuque (7-1, 4-0) on the road.
The Vikes put up a fight but fell to the Bobcats 28-7.
“Western Dubuque is a really good football team. Their line is excellent and their running back is outstanding. Our defense fit the play well most of the time, but the running back broke tackles and we could not generate enough offense to keep theirs off the field. Most importantly, we did not give ourselves the best chance to win the game because we did not block well. Their twists and stunts were effective and we did not pick them up like we needed to. We did not play as physical and hard as they did in the first half. We picked things up in the second half and played much better, but their lead was too much,” said Coach Pat Trewin.
Western Dubuque opened up the game scoring once in the first quarter on a 34-yard carry. With the help of three more touchdowns in the second, the Bobcats held a 28-0 lead at half as the Vikes struggled to get offensive momentum.
Decorah’s defense hung strong in the second half, keeping Western Dubuque out of the end zone, but a late touchdown pass from Louis Bucksa to Kaiden Quandahl wasn’t enough to put the Vikings back in the game.

Totals
Decorah put up just 99 yards of offense while Western Dubuque was there for 417.
Louis Bucksa garnered 85 yards through the air on 10-of-18 passes. Pulling in the passes for the Vikes were Kelley Gates, Noah Milburn, Kaiden Quandahl, Brady Benzing, Trevor Kuennen and Dakota Johnson. On the ground, Gavin Groux led the way with 11 yards on five carries. Milburn scampered 10 yards on his lone carry.
Defensively, William Hahn had seven solo tackles and three assisted stops. T. Kuennen and Gatlin Dahlberg each had four solo stops with Kuennen assisting on two others while Dahlberg had one tackle assist.

Finale
The Vikes will finish out the regular season at home Friday, Oct. 20, against Waterloo East at 7:30 p.m.
“We will be honoring our seniors and their parents and families. These seniors have worked hard and they appreciate the support they have been given by their families to play football. Also, the student body and the community has been great. We hope to have a big crowd for them. The weather has held people away, but we hope it is nice for this one,” said Coach Trewin. “It is a big game. We still have a good chance to make the playoffs if we win and that was one of our goals established before the year started. Thanks go out to all who contributed to our team. We had many people sponsor the season and want to make them proud too.”

Game stats
Total yards: Decorah 99; Western Dubuque 417
Passing (comp/att/yds): Louisa Bucksa (10-18, 85 yds., 1 TD)
Rushing (att/yds): Gavin Groux (5-11); Noah Milburn (1-10); Dakota Johnson (10-(-3)); Tommy Sexton (1-(-3)); Bucksa (2-(-1))
Receiving (att/yds/TD): Kelley Gates (2-37); Milburn (3-27); Kaiden Quandahl (1-7, 1 TD); Brady Benzing (2-7); Trevor Kuennen (1-6); Johnson (1-1)
Tackles (total): William Hahn (8.5); T. Kuennen (5.0); Benzing (4.5); Gatlin Dahlberg (4.5); Jeron Feuerhelm (4.0); Quandahl (3.0); Sexton (3.0); Landon Kuennen (3.0); Andrew Rhodes (2.5); Groux (1.5); Gates (1.5); Johnson (1.0); Caleb Krieg (1.0); Milburn (1.0); Keaton Orris (0.5)
Punts (att/yds): Milburn (7-268)
Kick-offs (att/yds): Brayden Wemark (1-54); Will Larson (1-34)
Kick-off returns (att/yds): Groux (2-42); Johnson (2-34)

Submit A Comment

Fill out the form to submit a comment. All comments require approval by our staff before it is displayed on the website.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments