“FROM THE HUDDLE”

BY COACH BRIAN WALKER       

            The Falcons hosted the Rabbits of Wabasso in a Southern MN showdown with a huge Parents’ Night and Cheer Night crowd.  The Falcons were coming in off a loss, while the Rabbits were (2-0) and had not allowed a point yet this season.  We knew coming in that our defense would be tested as Wabasso features one of the top rushing attacks in the league.  This one came down to one of the best games that these two teams have played against each other in years. Both defenses held tough, and as both teams had trouble running the ball, it was the Falcons that would have the upper hand on offense in the first half.  Both teams went into halftime scoreless at 0-0.  Our defense had to come up big in the second quarter as we had a bad punt snap, and Wabasso took over on the 29 yd line.  The Rabbits moved the ball down to the 9 yd line, but our defense held on 4^th and 3 to take over on downs.  We followed that up with a 13 play drive and drove the ball from the 10 yd line and moved it to the other 18 yd line.  We had big plays on the drive, as QB Dylan Bunting connected on 4 of 6 passes for 39 yds, and a 31 yd run by Zach Siemer put us in great field position.  We just could not execute to get it across the goal line. Our team defense’s mind set was to key on their running back Derek Riley, and we made it very tough on him, and really tackled well, and didn’t let him get free too often.  On the night, we held the Rabbits to just 120 yds rushing, and to hold Derek Riley to just 80 yds was a great feat by our defense. 

                In the second half, Jake Fredrickson saw his first action as he was injured in last week’s game.  We came out and handed the ball to Jake and our line opened up some nice holes for him and we moved the chains for first downs.  We put together a good 10 play drive and kept the ball out of there hands and that was a key for us in this game.  Midway through the third quarter, QB, Dylan Bunting,  took a big hit and had to leave the game.  From there we played another sophomore QB Dan Maras, and also Sr. Jake Fredrickson finished up under center as Bunting would not return to the game.  Dylan was doing a good job directing the offense, and we were having success moving the ball, so with him on the sidelines, our timing was a little off, and we had some bad exchanges.  Once again, our defense had to come up big, as the Rabbits chose to go for a 4^th and 1 yd to go at mid field, and our defense stuffed the run to take over on downs again.  Both teams exchanged punts, and the game would end after 4 quarters still scoreless.  As we went to overtime, we were on defense first, and it didn’t take Wabasso long to score as Cody Welch ran in from 3 yds out on the 2^nd play.  Riley ran in the PAT to take an 8-0 lead.  RRC took the ball, and Jake Fredrickson hooked up with Nate Bierman for an 8 yd pass to the 2 yd line.  Zach Siemer gained 1 yd to the 1 yd line.   We tried a QB sneak on third down and came up just short, so we tried to push it over on 4^th down, but we didn’t get a good handle on the ball, and the game ended.  It is so hard to see your team go down in defeat in a game like this.  It was a game that neither team deserved to lose, but they were able to make the scoring play and we weren’t.  Our kids played their heart out, and showed that we are able to play with any team in our league or section.  We over came some turnovers as our defense wouldn’t allow the big play and the team believed in the system and schemes that we had this week.  The longer we stayed in the game, the more confidence we had.  Despite this loss, our team grew a lot in this one, and we have so much football yet to be played this year.  For the game, RRC out gained the Rabbits 187-180.  RRC rushed for 69 yds with Zach Siemer leading the way with 10 carries for 52 yds.  Jake Fredrickson ran 16 times in the second half for 36 yds.  Dylan Bunting connected on 10 of 18 passes for 110 yds.  George Rogotzke caught 4 balls for 46 yds.  Nate Bierman, Tyler Erickson, and Nick Derickson each caught 2 passes for 19, 35, and 19 yds respectively.  I can’t say enough about the defensive effort we had in this game.  Nathan Mattison led the way with 10 tackles.  Nate Bierman had 7 tackles, and Dillon Imker, Alex Kircher, Ray Hagberg, Zach Siemer, Josh Rogotzke, and Tyler Erickson all had 6 tackles.  George Rogotzke had an interception, and Aaron Furth recovered a fumble.  We had 2 turnovers and we forced two turnovers.  Every week we will have competitive games, so we have to regroup after this game, and get ready for next week.  We will travel to Heron Lake next week to face SWU(0-3) for their homecoming game.  We have to get people healthy and start to put some points on the board.  We will also need another great defensive effort to give us a chance to win.  The Falcons are on the road now for two straight weeks.  RRC will return home on October 10 th for homecoming vs BLH.  Road games at SWU and then at New Ulm Cathedral before two home games.  Keep the great support of this team, and cheer this group on to a victory! GO FALCONS!!