Through four games of the season, the offensive average is now 45 points per game! Wow! This is not far off the pace of last year's team, which was averaging 49.5 points per game through Week Four.
To improve to a perfect 4-0 during Friday Night Lights IV, the No. 5-ranked B-B-E Jaguars football team showed their superiority in the opening seconds of the game as they proceeded to dismantle Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City by a 56-8 score tonight. The Jaguar defense put on a clinic in the first half while limiting the Falcons to 54 total yards on 6 possessions. One of those 6 possessions gained 53 yards before stalling out in the red zone. If you do the easy math there, that means A-C-GC had 5 first-half possessions that combined for a net gain of just one yard.
The game did not start well for the Falcons. On their first series, they had two incomplete passes and a one-yard loss on a rush. After a 7-yard punt, the Falcons had to get to work on defense while trying to make a stop on B-B-E with just a 41-yard field to work on. The Jaguars needed nine plays to do it, but they succeeded with their first try on offense when Jack Lundberg ran in a touchdown from 4 yards out with 6:56 on the clock. Hunter Laage ran in the two-point conversion.
*Here's video from the opening quarter of the game tonight at A-C-GC:
B-B-E's second touchdown came on a three-yard carry by Brett DeRoo, and Laage's two-point carry made it 16-0 with 6:06 left in the first quarter.
A-C-GC's first three series ended with two punts and one lost fumble. Across those drives, they had a net gain of one yard with a time of possession of 2 minutes, 32 seconds. Ethan Mueller earned that fumble recovery and later earned a second (with 34 seconds left before halftime) to account for the game's two fumble recoveries.
Here's a video featuring part of B-B-E's second touchdown drive tonight:
The Jaguars started their third drive of the game with 3:40 on the clock starting at A-C-GC's 34-yard line. Just two plays from scrimmage were needed to score, with the Falcons committing an offsides penalty that converted a 2nd-and-4 for B-B-E. On the next play, DeRoo caught a pass from Luke Illies right at the goal line with 2:24 on the clock. The 76-second-long drive was capped by Harley Weber's two-point conversion for a 24-0 lead.
The halftime score was 32-0. At that point, A-C-GC had five possessions but only gained meaningful yards on one of them (their fourth drive).
The Jaguars racked up 419 total yards on 64 plays, while their defense limited the Falcons to 109 total yards on 40 plays. The Jaguars ran for a season-high 285 yards on the ground. Senior Jack Lundberg earned his first 200-yard game as he tallied 205 rushing yards on 17 carries with 4 touchdowns. Luke Illies's quarterback numbers were once again outstanding: 12-for-20 for 134 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His longest pass was a 44-yard reception to Ethan Mueller. Brett DeRoo caught 4 passes for 63 yards and three touchdowns.
B-B-E's defense held A-C-GC quarterback Brayden Schroeder to 3-of-17 passing for just 36 yards. One of the three passes was good for a 25-yard reception by senior wide receiver Cameron Giese.
Next: the Jaguars now prepare for their toughest test of the season so far when they host fellow undefeated Upsala/Swanville Area (4-0, 3-0) for Homecoming AND for sole possession of first place in the Gopher Gold District. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 27. The U/SA Patriots just earned a marquee win by shutting out fellow Top 10-ranked Browerville 20-0 tonight. In a nutshell...as routine as this A-C-GC win seemed, next week's game with U/SA will bring the fight of our lives against a stacked, experienced Patriots team.
More to come in the morning.
In case you missed it...you can click on the following link to redirect yourself back to yesterday's blog post that features my 5th sports podcast of the fall season: https://shorturl.at/Gc7cc.
**Don't forget! Brink's Beer Joint in Swift Falls will host Turkey Fest on Saturday. The activities' list has been published in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, and you can also see more by cilcking over to the newspaper's website: https://shorturl.at/v1soy. That web article features a video from Turkey Fest way back on September 19, 2015.
Mid-Northwest Gopher Gold District scores in Week Four on September 20:
#10 Upsala/Swanville Area 20, #8 Browerville 0
West Central Area 24, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 0 (in Barrett)
Benson 40, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0 (at Long Prairie)
Area football scores in Week Four on September 20:
Holdingford 56, Maple Lake 0 (Huskers are averaging 45 points per game and have given up just two touchdowns all season)
Rocori 35, Hutchinson 14
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 34, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 32 (Overtime! Tigers win a thriller at Big Cat Stadium in Morris)
Litchfield 22, New London-Spicer 6
Kimball Area 56, Royalton 6
MACCRAY 16, Lakeview 13
Eden Valley-Watkins 46, Paynesville Area 16
Minneota 56, Canby 0
BOLD 50, Lac qui Parle Valley 13
Parkers Prairie 53, Wadena-Deer Creek 0
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 38, Underwood 32
Bertha-Hewitt 20, Verndale 14
Ottertail Central 34, Rothsay 22
Becker 42, Willmar 7
Hancock 52, Brandon-Evansville/Ashby 20
Mahnomen/Waubun 36, Bagley 6
Sauk Centre 22, Melrose Area 18
Rockford Area 35, Montevideo 0
Border West 54, Ortonville 6
Breckenridge 58, Pine River-Backus 22
St. Cloud Cathedral 19, Osakis 16
Dawson-Boyd 61, Yellow Medicine East 6
Albany 34, Pierz 12
Alexandria 42, Sartell-St. Stephen 13
Minnewaska Area 33, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 8
