Tigers own second half, win opener 34-7

Logan Manska advances the ball for Morris Area Chokio Alberta. (B.W. photos)

Corey Storck makes an interception return in the opener win.

The weather was summer-like for the start of a new prep football season Friday (8/31). Big Cat Stadium was abuzz with anticipation.
Our MACA Tigers were taking the field to play the Minnewaska Area Lakers. It was a Labor Day weekend highlight event. Minnewaska Area is close enough that we can count on a good number of opposing team fans.
It would be the orange and black-clad fans of MACA having more to cheer about. The Tigers scored with regularity in their opener win.
Touchdown No. 1 came in the first quarter when quarterback Jacob Torgerson connected with Lincoln Berget on a seven-yard scoring pass. Berget deftly ran a "waggle" route. Torgerson, the returning starter at QB, did his part and would finish the night seven of 16 in passing for 85 yards (an average of 12.1 yards per completion). The passing game wasn't overwhelming but it filled its niche in this 34-7 triumph.
Berget's TD catch capped a six-play drive. Tom Holland had a 17-yard run along the way. The play preceding the TD was an eleven-yard run by Tanner Picht that got MACA to the seven. The point-after kick try was blocked. The first quarter ended with the score 6-0.
A Minnewaska fan was heard commenting on Holland's way of slipping past would-be tacklers, like he's "slippery, covered with WD-40!"
Minnewaska scored a touchdown in the second quarter on an 18-yard pass from Jake Amundson to Austin Ostrander. The Lakers succeeded on the conversion to take the temporary lead.
The Lakers may have outperformed the Tigers on offense in the first half. Reflecting, coach Jerry Witt saw some lapses with "missed assignments." But all that would be forgotten at game's end.
Minnewaska would do no more scoring after the second quarter. The Tigers picked up the pace considerably. Torgerson commanded an offense that scored 14 points each in the third and fourth quarters. They used a punishing ground attack to drive 62 yards in eight plays to re-take the lead. The "slippery" Holland, Jordan Staples and Tanner Picht did most of the ballcarrying. Fullback Staples broke loose for a 24-yard run.
It was Holland scoring the TD on a 13-yard scamper. A toss-power play enabled Holland to find the daylight for that score. The conversion play failed on a pass.
The Tiger 'D' took the field and held 'Waska, forcing a punt that set the stage for the next MACA touchdown.
Beginning at their own 36, the Tigers went to work on a 64-yard scoring thrust. Nine plays were executed along the way. Determined running was shown by Connor Metzger, Tanner Picht, Holland and Staples. Picht broke loose for a 19-yarder. Holland had an 18-yard gain along with the scoring run which covered eleven yards. Holland ran a toss-power play in for six. This time the conversion was good on a pass from Torgerson to Chandler Erickson.
Corey Storck set up the Tigers' fourth touchdown by intercepting a pass.
"He read it nice from his 'D' back spot and made a great break on the ball," coach Witt commented.
Storck made a return to the Minnewaska 14 yard line. The Tigers were a stone's throw from scoring and weren't to be denied. Play No. 1 had Holland running for eleven yards. At this point the third quarter ends. Play resumed with Staples covering those last three yards to the end zone and getting the zebras to signal "score!" The Tigers tried a kick on the conversion and were unsuccessful.
Torgerson had given way to understudy Bryce Jergenson when MACA scored its fifth and final touchdown. It was Jergenson achieving this score on a sneak from the one. It capped an eight-play, 45-yard drive that was set up by a fumble recovery. Staples, Metzger and Bo Olson covered much of the real estate with their ballcarrying.
The initial conversion try was flagged by the refs (holding) so the ball was moved back to the 13, whereupon Jergenson, undaunted, passed to Austin Dierks (running a slant) and two points were added on. The night's scoring was done with Morris Area Chokio Alberta savoring the 34-7 outcome.
Is it a prelude of things to come? A long season lies ahead with obstacles to be sure.
The Tigers had 20 first downs compared to eight by 'Waska. The Lakers had 12 pass completions in 21 attempts for 143 yards but got picked off three times. Turnovers were a woe for the visitor as there were also three fumble recoveries by the opportunistic Tigers.
The Lakers were a negative one yard in rushing but this is misleading as there was an errant snap from the shotgun formation that pushed them back. Gage Backman of the Tigers pounced on the ball on that play.
The Tigers had 268 rushing yards on 48 carries. Looking at the penalty stats, I can imagine coach Witt saying "Yeah, we led there too." The Tigers were whistled eight times for 98 yards, and the Lakers three times for 30.
Holland crept over 100 rushing yards by night's end. He did this on 14 carries. Staples was second high in rushing yards, accumulating 86 in ten carries. Picht had 42 net rushing yards, Metzger 20 and Torgerson ten. Olson and Aaron Nelson contributed a few rushing yards.
Five Tigers were on the receiving end of passes. Logan Manska had two catches for 36 yards. Holland had one for 16, Picht one for 20, Chandler Erickson two for six and Berget one for seven.
Let's roll up our sleeves for the defensive numbers. I'll report this list with numbers in this sequence: unassisted tackles, assists and total points. Here we go: Picht 1-4-16, Storck 2-2-11, Erickson 0-5-10, Holland 3-2-8, Metzger 1-4-8, John Tiernan 1-3-6, Manska 1-3-5, Gage Backman 0-0-5, Jergenson 0-0-5, Joel Harrison 1-1-4, Nick Vipond 1-2-4, Staples 0-4-4, Dierks 0-3-3, Mac Beyer 0-3-3, Darion Helberg 0-3-3, Brady Wulf 1-0-3, Olson 1-1-3, Marcus Cannon 0-1-1, Riley Biesterfeld 1-0-2, Nate Vipond 0-1-1, Vaughn Dieter 0-1-1, Tyler Henrichs 0-1-3 and Dillan Johnson 0-1-1.
Tackles for loss were performed by Tiernan, Harrison and Wulf. Recovered fumbles were by Picht, Erickson and Backman. Storck was joined on the interception list by Picht and Jergenson. Pass knockdowns were by Metzger and Henrichs.
Bring on the rest of the schedule!
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com