Bulldogs rush for close to 400 yards in high scoring contest against the Panthers

By Kelsie Hoitomt

HAMMOND- The Boyceville football team faced off against the St. Croix Central Panthers on Friday, September 21 for an all out battle in which the Bulldogs were defeated 36-47.

The arm of senior quarterback back Carl Moll was on fire that night as he threw for a 20 yard touchdown run to Cody Nyhagen to start off the first quarter with 8:48 still left on the clock.

Moll ran in the two-point conversion himself to put the Panthers on the board 8-0.
In just over a minute of play, the Bulldogs would be forced to punt and the Panthers would get the ball back again.

With the ball sitting on the Bulldogs 43 yard line, Moll held on to the ball and ran in for another Panther touchdown.

The two-point conversion run by Wyatt Sain was successful and the Panthers were now up 16-0 with 7:39 still left in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs had had enough at this point as Josh Cormican lined up in the back field to receive the kick by Kyle Tallman.

Cormican had a 27 yard return run to put the ball on their own 32 yard line. Quarterback Matt Leach then connected with Will Kraft for a 24 yard run. Kraft was handed the ball on the next play for a nine yard gain.

The ball was then handed off to Zach Klassen for a gain of 11 yards to put the Bulldogs on the Panthers 16 yard line.

Kraft was again handed the ball and he pushed through for a gain of eight yards on the play.

Sophomore Tyler Draeger was given the ball on the next hand off to put the Bulldogs on the four yard line.

With the goal in sight, Kraft powered through the line for the Bulldogs first touchdown of the night.

The two-point conversion play was unsuccessful, but the Bulldogs were still on the board 6-16 with 5:15 left in the first quarter.

Nyhagen started the following drive with a 20 yard kick return run to put the Panthers on their own 38 yard line.

Moll then connected with Nyhagen for 26 yard pass completion.

Moll ran the ball himself for a gain of two yards.

With the ball on their own 26 yard line, Moll once again drew back and connected with Tyler Lathe for a touchdown run.

The Panthers two-point conversion play was no good, but they were still ahead 22-6 with four minutes still remaining in the first quarter.

The following Boyceville drive resulted in a punt, which was caught by Wyatt Hansen for a fair catch to place the Panthers on their own 26 yard line.

The Bulldog defense put pressure on Moll and forced him to scramble out of the pocket, but he was hit out of bounds, which resulted in a personal foul.

With the ball now on the 50 yard line, Moll handed the ball to Aaron Delander for a seven yard gain.

The ball was then lofted to Jason Matteson for a 43 yard touchdown play with 46 seconds left on the clock. The two-point conversion run was no good, but the Panthers were now ahead 28-6.

The Bulldogs set themselves up for a long drive to start the second quarter with the help of senior rushers Kraft and Klassen.

The Bulldogs started on their own 33 yard line and marched down the field as Kraft ran for 26 yards and Klassen 38 yards.

Now sitting on the Panthers five yard line, Leach rolled out and pitched the ball to Klassen for a gain of three yards.

With two yards to go, Leach took the snap and saw an opening to the right side and ran in for the touchdown.

The two-point conversion run by Klassen was successful to make the score 14-28 with 4:55 remaining in the second quarter.

The Panthers would answer back with another touchdown by Lathe to end the second quarter 34-14.

The Bulldogs were ready to work coming into the third quarter as they received the kick off and started their drive on the their own 33 yard line.

Again Kraft and Klassen rushed the ball down the field, working as an unstoppable duo.
With the ball resting on the one yard line, Kraft broke through the line for the touchdown. Klassen then scored the two-point conversion to put the score at 22-34 with 4:33 left in the third quarter.

The Panthers would not let the Bulldogs enjoy their touchdown for long as Moll connected with Nyhagen for a 63 yard touchdown carry.

Tallman squared up for the extra-point kick, which was good to now put the Panthers ahead even farther, 41-22.

Leach was sacked on the following drive and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by the Panthers on their own 30 yard line.

The Panthers were able to take the ball within sight of the goal, but as Moll drew back for the touchdown pass, Cormican stepped in and intercepted the ball, which was carried for a 16 yard gain.

Kraft was able to break through several tackles for an explosive 42 yard run and a horse collar penalty put the Bulldogs on the Panthers 14 yard line as the third quarter ended.

Kraft again was able to power through the line for the touchdown. Leach then pitched the ball to Klassen for the two-point conversion play to put the score at 30-41.
The Panthers were relentless and they marched the ball down the field to the Bulldogs 42 yard line.

With Nyhagen open down the field, Moll tossed one up in the air for a 42 yard touchdown completion.

Tallman’s extra-point kick was no good, but the Panthers still held a solid lead of 47-30 with close to five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The following drive ended as Leach was slammed to the ground and taken out of the game, but the Bulldog defenders were able to stop the Panthers from scoring on their next drive.

In a last minute effort with Cormican now in the quarterback position, the ball was pitched to Klassen who rolled out to the right side for a 55 yard touchdown.

The two-point conversion was unsuccessful and the clock would tick down to zero as Moll took a knee to seal the win.

Moll threw for 279 yards with 16 out of 23 passes completed to his leading receiver, Nyhagen who carried the ball for 161 yards.

Lathe had 47 yards, Matteson had 43 yards, Delander had 18 yards and Dante Carlson had 13 yards for receiving.

The Panthers had 121 rushing yards with Moll earning 88 and Delander with 33 yards.
The Bulldogs had 401 total yards in the game with 369 of them being rushing yards by Klassen who had 174 yards and Kraft who had 159 yards. Dominic Olson rushed for 32 yards and Draeger had four yards.

Leach completed just 32 passing yards with Kraft earning 24 yards and Ryan William with eight yards.

“Our kids played hard through to end and they did not give up and we saw some things tonight in a few kids that we haven’t seen in awhile, which is good to see. We are focused on our next game already and the kids are ready,” shared coach Brian Roemhild.
The Bulldogs will host the Spring Valley Cardinals for their homecoming game on Friday night starting at 7:00 p.m.