Boyceville Bulldogs bruise Colfax Vikings in D-SC gridiron opener

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by Marlys Kruger

Sports Correspondent

BOYCEVILLE — The Boyceville Bulldog football team hosted a Colfax Vikings’ squad that had just 17 players dressed to open the Dunn-St. Croix Conference season at Evenson Field last Friday, September 1.

The Bulldogs overpowered the Vikings in pretty much every aspect of the game, claiming a 46-12 win.

It’s no secret the Bulldogs have been building an awful strong team over the past few years. With 11 seniors on the roster of 37 kids, the team is favored by many to win the conference and have a good run in the playoffs.

“I thought our guys came out focused and were prepared mentally and physically for this game against Colfax,” stated Michael Roemhild, Boyceville head coach. 

“We knew Colfax had some of their players out from the previous game and didn’t have a lot of backups, but that wasn’t changing out approach. We wanted to be able to run and throw the ball at a high tempo. We wanted our defense to fly around and make plays. I think both sides did just that,” he added.

The Bulldogs showed their versatility and strength by putting the game away at halftime with a 40-0 lead, scoring 32 points in the first quarter alone.

After the Vikings were forced to punt on their first possession, it took just three plays for Boyceville to score their first points. Carson Roemhild passed 16 yards to Caden Wold,  Braden Roemhild ran for 12 yards and Carson Roemhild connected with Wold again for a 24-yard touchdown. Nick Olson ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead with 9:25 on the clock.

Another three and out by the Vikings gave the Bulldogs the ball on the Colfax 15 after a long punt return by Olson. After an incomplete pass, Olson took it in for six more points. A Carson Roemhild pass to older brother Braden Roemhild for two points put the score at 16-0 with 7:15 left in the quarter

Colfax had a little success on their next possession when quarterback Drew Buchner gained positive yards on two carries and completed a six-yard pass to Kade Anderson but they ended up punting again. Boyceville moved the ball from their own 44 to the end zone on a 25-yard pass from Carson Roemhild to Olson and Zach Hellendrung ran in the two-point conversion for a 24-0 Bulldog lead with 2:51 to go in the first quarter.

Boyceville came up with a huge defensive play when Buchner tried to throw a pass that was deflected by Owen Rydel who grabbed the ball in the air and took it in for another Boyceville TD. A conversion pass from Carson Roemhild to Landyn Leslie put the score at 32-0 as the first quarter ended.

The Viking defense pulled themselves up from their bootstraps and held the Bulldogs to just one score in the second stanza on a Braden Roemhild 10-yard run and Olson’s two-point conversion. The Vikings couldn’t muster any offense however, and the half ended with a 40-0 Bulldog lead.

With a running clock in effect due to the large lead, Colfax held the Bulldogs to just three yards on the first possession of the third quarter and Buchner had a nice return on the punt. Starting at their own 39, Hoffman zipped down the right sideline for a long gain and a first down. A Buchner pass to Orion Nichols gave them another first down and Anderson took it to the house from 21 yards out to put the Vikings on the scoreboard. The two-point run was stuffed and it was 40-6 with 4:36 to go in the third stanza. 

The Vikings forced another Bulldog punt but the receiver muffed it and Boyceville took the ball back at the Colfax 42.

Moving into the fourth quarter, Boyceville ended up scoring their final points of the night on a Rydel run for 20 yards and a 46-6 advantage. And the most exciting play of the game for the Vikings followed when Buchner took the kickoff back for a 75-yard touchdown and six more points. The PAT run was stopped again and with the score 46-12 with 9:02 left in the game.

Boyceville kept the ball on the ground with the majority of junior varsity players in the game and neither team added any more points.

“Offensively, I thought it came down to our offensive line, and they run blocked with dominance, and were able to keep Carson Roemhild up right for the first half of play. Braden Roemhild and Nick Olson ran the ball very well and Caden Wold had a couple nice catches and threw some great blocks,” Roemhild said.

Boyceville totaled 131 yards on the ground, led by Rydel with 31 yards on five carries, Olson finished with 29 on two attempts and Braden Roemhild tacked on 26 yards on four Runs. Carson Roemhild completed 5-of-8 passes for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Zach Kersten was 1-for-2 for 10 yards. Wold caught three passes for 53 yards and three other Bulldogs all snared one each.

“Defensively I thought Devin Halama and Owen Rydel had great games at defensive ends.  Peter Wheeldon and Zach Hellendrung didn’t let Colfax’s quarterback or running back ever get comfortable. Braden Roemhild, Paul Kurschner, and Nick Olson were flying around making plays at the linebacker position,” concluded Roemhild

The Vikings rushed for 91 positive yards in the game with Buchner gaining 44 on 17 carries. Hoffman ran for 29 yards on three attempts and Anderson ran three times for 18 yards. Buchner completed 4-of-5 passes with three to Nichols for 26 yards and one to Hoffman for six yards. Buchner also returned four kickoffs for 118 yards.

Boyceville (1-0, 3-0) will travel to Turtle Lake (1-0, 2-1) to face the Lakers who defeated Cadott 27-12 last Friday.