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Dodge 62 Sterling 8

    

     In first round playoff action this past Thursday, the Dodge Pirates traveled down to Sterling to take on the Sterling Jets. After a slow start, the Pirates took control of the contest during the 2nd quarter with Cody Wisnieski carrying the load by scoring 5 rushing touchdowns in the victory.

     The lone score of the 1st quarter came on a 23 yard run by Wisnieski. The PAT pass failed. The Pirates scored 4 unanswered touchdowns during the 2nd quarter of play with Co. Wisnieski adding scoring runs of 12, 11, and 21 yards. Jake Brune added the 4th score of the quarter on a 44 yard run. The Pirates converted all 4 PAT's on runs. The Pirates took a 38-0 lead into halftime.

     Co. Wisnieski continued his outstanding evening of running the football with his 5th score early in the 3rd quarter on a 4 yard run. The PAT was added on a Casey Wisnieski pass to Brune. The Jets followed with their lone score of the contest on a 47 yard hookup between Michael Lucas and Kody Benson. They also added the PAT.

     The Pirates came right back with Ca. Wisnieski finding Kampschnieder open from 20 yards out for a score. Brune ran in the PAT. The score stood at 54-8 heading into the 4th quarter. The Pirates found the end zone one final time during the 4th quarter on a 32 yard run by Jason Henrickson. The PAT was added on a run by Ben Kuehn. The final score was Dodge 62 Sterling 8.

     The leading rusher on the night for the Jets was Levi McCartney with 30 yards on 11 carries. Trey Trauernicht added 1 yard on 7 carries and Lucas added -4 yards on 10 carries. Lucas was 4 of 14 passing for 60 yards. Benson had 2 receptions for 53 yards, Archie Keebler had 1 reception for 4 yards and McCartney had 1 reception for 3 yards.

     Defensively, the Jets were led Benson with 5 tackles and 7 assists. Jet defenders helping out were McCartney 5 tackles, 3 assists, Dalton Clark 4 tackles, 4 assists, Keebler 4 tackles, 1 assist, Trevor Huls 3 tackles, 2 assists, Lucas 2 tackles, 6 assists, Ryan Zuhlke 2 tackles, 4 assists, Matt Erickson 2 tackles, 1 assist, Trauernicht 1 tackle, 5 assist, Lukas Theisen 1 tackle, 1 assist, Rhet Dirks 1 tackle, Ceaton Malone 3 assists, Kale Heusman 2 assists, Billy Richardson 1 assist, and Garrett Stolz 1 assist.

     " Their size turned out to be just too much for us to handle. We hung around with them for about a quarter and a half, but once they got their ground attack going, they just wore us down as the game went along. We couldn't get anything going on offense and that led directly to our defense being out on the field way too long. Our kids never quit, they were just beat by a superior opponent."

     "This turned out to be the final game in a Jet uniform for 6 seniors, Matt Erickson, Archie Keebler, Levi McCartney, Billy Richardson, Lukas Theisen, and Colin VanGroningen. These 6 were key contributors for usthroughout their careers and will be sorely missed next season. Hopefully our underclassmen learned a lot from these guys and will be able to put it to good use next season. We have a solid nucleus coming back and we will work hard in the off season with the goal being to advance further in the playoffs next year."

     Sterling finishes it season with a 5-4 record.