The Cowboys ground out nearly 300 rushing yards, and combined it with over 100 passing yards, to turn back a stubborn Bronco team 32-20 in a home game last Friday. Nevan Foss and Preston Gardner each ran for two touchdowns, while Gardner hit Jaxon Carpenter for a ten-yard TD pass.
Gardner finished at 4 of 7 for 121 yards and was also picked off once. He had a final 202.3 QB rating. Besides Carpenters catch, Coady Olson caught three balls for 111 total yards. Gardner also did plenty of damage on the ground in picking up 170 yards on 19 carries (8.9 avg.). Foss gained 58 yards on 11 attempts, Cale Kirstein 39 yards on nine totes and a TD and Garrett Seaba 28 yards on nine carries.
Janasch Roesner kicked off six times for a 53.0 average, with Brallon Gomez kicking once for 45 yards. Kirstein booted five punts for a 46.0 average. Gardner and Landon Olson each returned one kick for 14 yards and Kirstein one for 10 yards. Olson also had three punt returns for a 7.0 average.
The tackle numbers show Foss, G. Seaba and Mack Seaba at two solo and 4.5 total tackles each. Diego Gonzalez had three solo stops and 4.0 total, while Carpenter finished with two solo and 4.0 total. Daniel Chavez had two solo and 3.5 total and Erick Perez two solo and 3.0 total. Kirstein, Ethan Traub, Mason Allen, Reid Huntley, C. Olson, L. Olson and Gardner all had one solo stop each. Kirstein finished with 3.0 total, Traub 2.5, Allen and Huntley 2.0 and the other three 1.5 total. C. Olson recovered a fumble with Thane Jackson getting an interception for no gain.
“Our goal was to come out playing fast,” stated head coach Caleb Vogel. “Though we gave up a first series touchdown, that did not define us. We came out on offense and scored on a 68-yard run by Preston. I would say from there our offense started to click. Our defense was getting three and out’s like we wanted. Our offensive line did an amazing job. Our 200-plus rushing yard do not go unnoticed. If it wasn’t for our o-line we wouldn’t have gained a yard. Overall we played as a team and fought to the end. We rallied together on the negatives and bounced back. It was a dogfight and I knew it was going to be, but something turned and we ended up running away with it in the second half. I couldn’t be more proud of my team on how they played. We still have a lot to fix but that is the joy of this game. It is about loving the game and trusting the process and that is what we are doing.
The team goes to Forest City (1-1) this week. “It won’t be easy, so we must continue to get better each and every day,” concluded the coach.
