GHS Football faced Arlington-Lake Preston for our homecoming game this past Friday. It was a crushing victory for the Blue Dragons, with the final score 54-8!
“We did some nice things on both sides of the ball,” said head coach Chris Long. “Our offensive line is getting better each week (Dylan Jessen, Gabe Johnson and Jaden Richter) and we were explosive offensively scoring 7 touchdowns in 32 plays. That’s a good thing but it can also mean your defense is playing a lot of snaps.”
The only lights up on the scoreboard was from the Blue Dragons when Jayse Miller made a 22 yard run for a touchdown, and Jenna VanHolland kicked in the extra point putting GHS at 7-0 for the first quarter.
Just a minute or so into the second quarter, GHS quarterback Dylan Kindt made a successful pass to Tayson Swatek for a touchdown. This time VanHolland didn’t have the magic touch, and her point kick was no good.
The Badgers however, showed the Dragons that they couldn’t have everything their own way three minutes later when they pushed hard for their end-zone and Brigg Carlson made a 2 yard touchdown and then a successful two point conversion.
Garretson fired back, however, with Miller catching a pass for a 71 yard touchdown. Kindt tried for a two-point conversion with a pass to Hunter Abraham but had no joy.
In the last few minutes of the first quarter, Dylan Kindt made an interception catch and ran it on home for another Blue Dragon touchdown! VanHolland kicked in an extra point. The half ended with a solid lead for the Dragons at 26-8.
‘I thought the first half we were not really focused and didn’t have the effort we needed and expect each week,” said coach Long. “At halftime we challenged the kids to have better effort and execution and they made the changes we needed and I thought the second half we were much quicker and more physical on defense.”
The GHS Defense was certainly stronger the second half as they did not let the Badgers advance for any more touchdowns for the rest of the game.
Two more touchdowns happened for GHS in the third quarter, Kindt passed to Cooper Long for 55 yards for a touchdown. Sadly, VanHolland missed the extra point kick. Then, Miller again had a great running touchdown, this time for 55 yards! VanHolland scored an extra point kick on that play.
The final quarter put two more nails in the Badgers' coffin. Kindt again did a 20-yard pass to Long for a touchdown. The Refs called the Badgers for holding against the Dragons, but they declined the penalty and VanHolland kicked in her last goal of the night. At the tail end of the game, Michael Olson made a short 5-yard run for another Blue Dragon touchdown. Blaine Trower slipped into the end zone to bury the Badgers with a total final score of 54-8!
You could rightly call this homecoming game a crushing victory for the Blue Dragons, but this Friday, things might not be so easy.
“The Canistota-Freeman team is a defending state champion team,” said coach Long. “They have good athletes and are well coached. We will need to play a really good game on Friday and we’re looking forward to the challenge."
