Bulldogs deliver homecoming win over Clear Lake Warriors
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GAINING GOOD yardage on this run was Boyceville senior Mason Bowell. He finished with a 112 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 38-25 home win over Clear Lake October 7. —photo by Joel DeWitt
by Joel DeWitt
Sports Correspondent
As football season winds down, the Bulldog football team continues to jockey for conference standings and playoff seeding position. Heading into play on October 7, they sat in a three-way tie with Cadott and Turtle Lake for third place in the Dunn-St. Croix.
They welcomed conference foe Clear Lake, winless in conference play, for a combination homecoming/senior night tilt with high hopes of cruising to an easy win. While it was anything but easy in the opening half, the Bulldogs would score 32 unanswered points to end the first half and start the second to take a commanding 38-6 lead halfway through the fourth quarter.
The Warriors would score three late touchdowns within the final five minutes, but Boyceville would hold on for the 38-25 victory.
“We knew that Clear Lake always comes out strong in the first half,” coach Michael Roemhild said. “Their record is deceiving, and we knew they had one goal this week; ruin our homecoming.”
While the homecoming game wasn’t spoiled by the Warriors, they did make it tough on the Bulldogs.
Boyceville’s defense set the tone early. They held Clear Lake to a three-and-out their opening possession and gave the ball to their offense on their own 23-yardline.
Over the next 12 plays covering almost eight minutes of game time, the Bulldog offense methodically pushed the ball down the field. A heavy dose of rushes by Mason Bowell, Sebastian Nielson, and Braden Roemhild proved to be the key on the drive.
Bowell capped the drive with a 3-yard plunge into the end zone for the 6-0 lead with 2:47 left in the first quarter.
Clear Lake’s next possession would again be short, however this time it would fruitful. Highlighted by a 22-yard run by Tyler Sunday and a 37-yard reception by Andrew Campion, the Warriors would tie the score at six apiece with 1:40 remaining in the first quarter when quarterback Jacob Burbach carried it across from the 2-yardline.
It took until the end of the half for the Bulldogs to exert their dominance though. Nick Olson called his own number and took it 15 yards for the score with 00:27 remaining to give his team the 13-7 lead after a Brayan Vasquez-Martinez point after.
“We finally were able to get the ball in the end zone with Nick scrambling for a touchdown,” commented coach Roemhild. “(That’s) something we have been looking for from him all year.”
Roemhild would highlight the go ahead score with a 14-yard run on second and long, and then a 27-yard reception to put them in scoring position.
The second half would begin much like the first half ended, with Boyceville lighting up the scoreboard. Their first three possessions ended with rushing touchdowns. Not to be outdone the defense caused three turnovers, two fumbles and an interception returned for the touchdown, on their first three appearances of the second half.
The Bulldogs got the scoring started after halftime when Olson connect with Corbin Krenz for the 22-yard touchdown at the 8:08 mark of the third quarter. The PAT put the score at 20-6.
“Corbin works his butt off every day and has been known for his defense, but tonight on Homecoming and Senior night he was able to get a TD reception, which to me is just awesome to see,” Roemhild stated.
After Nielson recovered a fumble on his own 39 yard line, the Bulldogs only needed four plays as Nielson finished the drive he started and took it in from 2-yards out for the 26-6 advantage.
Another fumble by Clear Lake, this one recovered by Krenz, gave the Bulldogs great field position at midfield. Eight plays later, Bowell took it across the goal line from 15-yards out to extend the lead to 32-6.
Olson would cap the Bulldog scoring for the evening when on the Warriors next possession, he picked off a Burbach pass and returned it 56 yards for the touchdown and 38-6 lead.
Clear Lake would score three touchdowns in the final 3:30 of the game to cut into the large Bulldog lead. However, the 32-point advantage would prove too large as the Bulldogs held on for the 38-25 win.
“Our senior running backs Bash and Mason were forces that could not be stopped,” noted Roemhild. “The two combined for 200 yards and 3 scores”.
The Bulldogs racked up 306 yards on the ground for the evening, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Bowell led the way with 112 yards on 12 carries. Nielson was a close second with 15 carries for 96 yards.
Olson completed four passes for 64 yards, including a single touchdown, with them going to four different receivers. Roemhild’s single reception was for 27 yards, while Krenz had a 22-yard touchdown reception.
The win leaves Boyceville at 6-2 (4-2) and tied for third in conference with Cadott. The Bulldogs travel to Cadott on October 14 with hopes of securing the win and a third-place conference finish. A Boyceville win, coupled with an Elmwood/Plum City loss to Spring Valley would move them into a tie for second. Game time is 7:00 p.m.