Strong defensive effort leads Bulldogs to victory
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LONG TD RUN — Boyceville senior Sebastian Nielson (#26) ran toward the end zone on this 49-yard scoring play in the third quarter while teammate Zach Hellendrung (#56) raised his arms to signify the six-point score. Both played well in the win over Turtle Lake as Nielson finished with 167 yards rushing and a touchdown and Hellendrung made a team-leading 17 tackles. —photo by Joel DeWitt
KICKOFF RETURN — The Bulldogs setup a wall of blockers as Mason Bowell prepared to return a kickoff during Boyceville home football game versus Turtle Lake September 16. The Bulldogs prevailed 20-6. —photo by Joel DeWitt
by Joel DeWitt
Sports Correspondent
BOYCEVILLE — Boyceville hosted Turtle Lake on September 16 with hopes of handing the Lakers their first Dunn-St. Croix conference loss of the season. The Bulldogs proved to be the bigger, more powerful team on the evening as they cruised to a 20-6 victory.
In front of a festive Parent’s Night crowd, Boyceville raked up 328 total yards, while holding the Lakers to just 144 total yards.
“Our defense played great and didn’t give Turtle Lake time to do much,” stated coach Michael Roemhild on his squad’s performance. He continued, “Defensively, we were flying around to the ball, but the impact player tonight was Zach Hellendrung.”
Hellendrung, a freshman, recorded 17 total tackles on the evening including 11 solo tackles. He also notched two of his teams seven sacks and had the team’s lone interception. Sebastian Nielson also logged double-digit tackles with 11. Corbin Krenz and Mason Bowell each had two sacks.
Even though there was a huge yardage discrepancy, Turtle Lake was able to keep the game close the first half.
Turtle Lake started the game with the ball and pushed it deep into Bulldog territory but were stopped on 4th and 14 when Laker quarterback Walker Korish scrambled and came up short of the first down at the 13 yard line.
While the Bulldogs couldn’t muster anything on their next possession, their defense would produce a three and out to get the ball back.
The offense marched the ball 80 yards in ten plays for the score. The drive was highlighted by three consecutive first down rushes by Braden Roemhild, Nielson, and Nick Olson to put them deep in Laker territory.
Olson would keep the ball on a second and goal attempt and go in from nine yards out for the score. The missed point after attempt would put Boyceville up 6-0 with 6:54 remaining in the first half.
Turtle Lake would strike back almost immediately. They took over on their own 29 yard line and went 71 yards for the game tying score with over 3:00 minutes remaining in the first half.
“At halftime we made some small adjustments and it worked on offense and defense,” coach Roemhild noted. “We came out hoping to be able to throw the ball to Caden, Devin, and Braden, but our running attack kept wearing them.”
With the score knotted at six apiece at halftime, the Bulldog’s adjustments made the difference as a motivated and determined team would take the field. Boyceville would use its power rushing game on their opening two possessions of the third quarter to extend the lead to 20-6
The first possession of the third quarter saw the Bulldogs take it 64 yards in just over six minutes for the score. Olson again called his own number and took it in from the 2 yard line for his second touchdown of the evening.
The second possession would take much less time. They started on Turtle Lake’s 46 yard line, and only take two plays as Nielson would bust loose from 41 yards out to score Boyceville’s final touchdown of the evening. The two-point conversion by Olson put the Bulldogs up by 14 points with 3:15 remaining in the third quarter.
Heavy rain would hit midway through the third quarter, which resulted in neither team’s offense able to move the ball in the last 16:00 minutes of the game. Despite the weather, the Bulldogs spirits were not dampened as they secured the victory to go to 4-1 (2-1 in conference) on the year.
Of the 328 yards gained on the evening, 315 came on the ground. The team averaged 7.9 yards per carry on 40 attempts. Nielson paced the team with 19 carries for 167 yards. Roemhild and Olson were strong contributors with 72 and 51 yards rushing, respectively.
The Bulldogs didn’t have to rely much upon the passing game with the strong ground attack and only saw Olson go 1-4 in passing for 13 yards. Nielson had the sole reception.
“In the end it was a great victory at home against a good opponent,” commented Roemhild. “Now our focus turns to Elmwood/Plum City and trying to contain Trevor Asher who has been running all over teams this year.”
Boyceville looks to continue their winning ways on September 23 when they travel to Elmwood to take on the Wolves. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Both teams are among four that are tied for second place in the conference standings, one game behind Spring Valley, with the winner looking to stay within striking distance of the conference lead.