Eagles dominate Wolves to open football season
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
Justin Johnsrud knew going into Friday night’s opening football game for Watford City that his young Wolves’ team would have their hands full with a much older and experienced Sidney Eagles squad.
And Johnsrud’s assessment of the match-up was spot on as the Eagles dominated their young opponents in every aspect of the game en route to a 34-0 victory at the first annual Bakken Bowl.
“Sidney’s athleticism and our youth proved to be too much to overcome,” stated Johnsrud on the Wolves’ opening season loss. “I thought we did some good things. When everything came together we had some nice runs. But we could not do it consistently enough to sustain a drive down the field.”
Sidney got on the scoreboard as they marched 56 yards on 10 plays to take a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles would then score twice in the second quarter to post a 21-0 halftime lead.
Sidney would continue to dominate the offensive action in the second half as the Eagles would score a touchdown in each of the final two quarters for the win.
Offensively, Sidney rolled up 393 total yards of offense compared to 142 yards by the Wolves. On the ground, Sidney held a 215 to 118-yard advantage over the Wolves, and a 178 to 24-yard advantage in passing.
According to Johnsrud, missed assignments and fundamental breakdowns on both sides of the ball were to blame for the lopsided loss.
“We expect some of those errors with a young team, but it was evident that we as a coaching staff need to do a better job of breaking things down and getting everyone on the same page,” stated Johnsrud. “Some of Sidney’s big plays were caused by simply lining up in the wrong spots. And a few of our rushing plays that were stopped for no gain, were just a missed blocking assignment away from being a three to five-yard run. We will continue to work hard and improve.”
Brandon Sandvik led the Wolves offensively as he carried the ball 13 times for 49 yards, while Kason Hartel gained 20 yards on four carries.
Jamison Flynn, Watford City quarterback, hooked up with Seth Indegard on a 24-yard pass reception for the Wolves’ only pass completion.
Logan Mehlhoff led the Wolves in defensive points, followed by Heath Chaffin and Derrike Hayden.
“I like the effort our athletes gave,” stated Johnsrud. “And that speaks to their work ethic and determination to be a good football team.”
The Wolves will be traveling to Minot this Thursday to take on the Minot High junior varsity squad. And Johnsrud expects another tough game for the Wolves.
“Minot will be a tough test for us,” states Johnsrud. “We will be working hard to correct some things this week in practice. If we can get the players comfortable with their assignments, offensively, we should find a higher level of consistency in our running game that will hopefully open up some passing opportunities, and defensively, will put us in a better position to make plays.”
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Sidney 6 15 7 6 34
Watford City 0 0 0 0 0