October 20, 2015

Titans crush Watford’s football playoff hopes

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Watford City’s hopes of making it to the State Class AA football playoffs were dashed on Thursday evening as the Dickinson Trinity Titans defeated the Wolves, 35-16.
Dickinson Trinity controlled the tempo of the game as the Titans scored twice in the first quarter and then tacked on another touchdown in the second quarter to hold a commanding, 21-0 lead, at the end of the first half.
Dickinson would put 14 more points on the scoreboard in the third quarter, with Watford City scoring twice in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Kyle Cook would score twice for the Wolves in the fourth quarter on runs of 66 and 95 yards, with the two-point conversions being run in by Jarek Hogue and Kason Hartel.
“We failed to find any kind of rhythm on Thursday night,” stated Justin Johnsrud, Wolves’ head coach. “It was a tough test against a good football team and our youth really showed against their veteran group.  We had a couple of miscues in the first quarter that seemed to derail us and we never did recover.”
The Titan held a 370 to 261 total offensive yard advantage over the Wolves. While Watford City held a 238 to 164-yard advantage on the ground, the passing game belonged to the Titans as Dickinson Trinity held a 206 to 23-yard advantage in the air.
Kyle Cook was Watford City’s leading rusher as he ended the game with 152 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns.
Defensive leaders for the Wolves were Jadyn Ewing, Jackson Faller, Jarek Hogue and Brandon Sandvik.
“The kids played hard and I was proud of how they finished the game,” stated Johnsrud. “Our effort has been great all year and I expect the players will work hard this week as we prepare for Beulah on Wednesday. The Miners are coming off a loss to Valley City last week and it will take our best effort to be successful.”
                        1st    2nd    3rd    4th    Final
Trinity              13      8       14       0       35
Watford City    0      0         0      16      16

WATFORD CITY WEATHER