Woes continue for Colfax Vikings in gridiron action with loss to E-PC Wolves

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by Marlys Kruger

Sports Correspondent

ELMWOOD — After coming oh-so-close to winning their first Dunn-St. Croix Conference game a week earlier, the Colfax football team couldn’t carry any momentum over and dropped their sixth consecutive game with a 48-18 loss at Plum City against the Elmwood-Plum City Wolves Sept.ember 30.

The Vikings knew their defense was going to be tested in a big way with the Wolves’ star running back Trevor Asher coming into the contest as the state’s leading rusher, according to the Wissports.net website. Asher had over 1,500 yards on the ground and with the 260 he added on against the Vikings, he now has over 1,700 with two regular season games left. 

The Wolves scored on their first possession but it wasn’t by Asher as Blake Allen ran the ball in from 25 yards out on the fourth play of the game. The two-point run made it 8-0 with under two minutes off the clock.

Colfax was forced to punt on their first possession after six plays which included a penalty and two incomplete passes and did what they didn’t want to do-give the ball back to the E-PC offense. On second down, Asher got through the first wall of Viking defenders and took off for the races on a 63-yard TD run and after his two-point run it was 16-0 with 7:48 left in the first quarter.

The Vikings gave the Wolves their own dose of Asher, however, as Asher Pecha went to work. After Theo Hovde brought the kickoff back to the Colfax 47, Pecha ran six straight times, picking up a pair of first downs in the process. On a fourth down on the E-PC 13, Brian Tuschl zipped a pass to Kade Anderson for six points. The two point conversion run was stopped but it was 16-6 with 19 seconds to go in the quarter. And on another positive note, the long drive kept the Wolves offense off the field.

E-PC started at midfield after the kickoff and on second down, Asher tore through the Colfax defense again for a 50 yard score just 10 seconds into the second stanza. Asher was stuffed on the conversion run but it was 22-6.

The Vikings continued to grind out yards on the ground with Tuschl and Pecha getting positive yards and a first down, but the fumble-itis bug from previous games struck again and they turned the ball over at midfield. Asher carried the ball five of seven times and with the Viking defensive backs forced to play closer to the line than normal, Wolves quarterback Aaden Birtzer found a wide open Riley Bechel in the end zone for a TD. Asher bulled his way for two more points to make it 30-6 with 5:03 left in the half.

It seemed to be the same story a few minutes later when the Vikings fumbled the ball away on second down and once again  Birtzer found an even more open Bechel in the end zone for six more points. They failed on the two-point conversion but it was 36-6 with 3:38 showing on the clock.

Starting at their own 37 after the kickoff, Tuschl connected with Hovde on a second and nine pass for a first down, then Hovde completed a long pass to Anderson for another first down to the E-PC 15. A penalty on the Wolves gave Colfax some extra yards and Pecha found the end zone on a short run. The extra point kick was off the mark but it was now 36-12.

Colton Hoffman boomed the ensuing kickoff, sending the receiver back to the 20 where he was dropped by a herd of Vikings. But they moved the ball on the ground to the Colfax 38 and Asher took it to pay dirt from 48 yards away and the half ended with E-PC up 42-12.

Starting the second half, Colfax had some success controlling the ball with Tuschl gaining 16 yards on two runs for a first down but an incomplete pass, a penalty for a false start and a short pass to Anderson gave the ball back to E-PC at midfield. Asher continued running but the Vikings defense seemed to tighten up and didn’t give up any big yardage to him. It took 10 plays and a lot of time before Asher scored his fourth and final touchdown, this time from just a yard out. The two-point pass was incomplete and it was running clock time at 48-12 with 2:34 left in the third stanza.

The Vikings were forced to punt again after a three and out but their defense stiffened as they shut the Wolves down by stuffing a fourth and two run. Colfax took the ball over on their own 20 and with a first down run by Hovde, a 25-yard gain by Anderson and another long run, Hovde blew past the E-PC defenders for a 23-yard TD. The kick was off the mark again but it was 48-18 with 3:18 remaining. An onside kick attempt failed and the Wolves ran the ball four plays before giving it back to the Vikings for a final play to end the game.

Pecha led the Vikings in rushing with 98 yards on 21 carries, Hovde tacked on 62 yards on just four attempts, Anderson ran seven times for 41 yards and Tuschl picked up 25 yards on seven runs. Tuschl completed 4 of 10 passes with a touchdown and an interception, and Hovde was 1 for 1 for 25 yards. Hovde caught two passes for 34 yards and Anderson snared three for 43 yards and a TD. Anderson was tops in defense with nine tackles while Hovde, Matt Dachel and Camron Molina were all credited with four each.

After running for 300 yards against Boyceville the previous game, the Colfax defense held E-PC’s Asher to 260 yards but he scored four TDs on the night. The Wolves average just 2 or 3 passes a game and Birtzer had three passes but two went for touchdowns.

Up next for Colfax is the homecoming game this Friday night at 7:00. Come on out and cheer for the Vikings as they take on Glenwood City!