Boyceville defense and special teams score touchdowns in playoff victory over Clear Lake
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
NEARLY BLOCKED — Bulldog senior Nick Olson (#4) tried to block a Clear Lake punt during a WIAA Division 7, level 1 football playoff contest in Boyceville October 20. Boyceville won the game 41-3 to advance to level 2 where it will host Spring Valley this Friday.
—photo by Shawn DeWitt
by Joel DeWitt
Sports Correspondent
BOYCEVILLE — While it’s the Boyceville offense, with its bruising ground game and potent aerial attack, that has garnered much of the attention; its defense has quietly been shutting down opponents.
The 2023 Bulldogs defense has held the opposition to less than 100 total yards in five of its first nine games. And the October 20 matchup against Clear Lake proved to be no different.
The Boyceville defense held the Warriors to 97 yards on the night and scored a touchdown. Along with that, the Bulldogs special teams added a score to push them to a 41-3 victory in Level 1 of the WIAA Division 7 football playoff action.
Boyceville, now 10-0, also defeated Clear Lake 50-7 in a September 29 Dunn-St. Croix contest played on the Warriors’ home turf.
“Defensively, we kept the pace of the whole year,” praised coach Michael Roemhild. “We had a total of eight sacks, three interceptions, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.”
The Bulldog defense set the pace starting on the first series. Owen Rydel’s interception on the third play from scrimmage set Boyceville up on the Warrior 30-yard line.
Two plays later a Nick Olson rush from 29 yards out put Boyceville on the scoreboard. The ensuing 2-point conversion gave with Bulldogs the lead at 8-0 with less than three minutes off the clock.
Four minutes later Caden Wold found pay dirt with a special teams play. After a three-and-out by Clear Lake, the senior speedster received the punt on his 35-yard line and took it 65 yards for the score and 14-0 lead with 6:10 left in the first quarter.
To start the second quarter, the Bulldog defense came up big again. With the Warriors starting on their own 16-yard line, quarterback Blake Harris was sacked on back-to-back plays.
The second sack resulted in a fumble which was recovered in the end zone by Peter Wheeldon. The 2-point reception by Devin Halama from Carson Roemhild gave the Bulldogs the 22-0 lead.
A Clear Lake field goal cut the Boyceville lead to 19 with only 1:04 left in the half. However, the Bulldogs were not finished.
Roemhild connected with Wold on the second play of the series for 73 yards and the touchdown. The long score gave Boyceville the 28-3 lead heading into halftime.
INTERCEPTION — Boyceville sophomore Owen Rydel (#32) jumped up to make this first-half interception during the Bulldogs’ Division 7, level 1 home playoff game versus Clear Lake October 20. Teammates Caden Wold (#10) and Nick Olson can also be seen in the picture. The Bulldogs defeated the Warriors 41-3. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
The second half proved to be much of the same for the Bulldog defense. They force Clear Lake to a 3-and-out on the Warriors first possession and then followed that up with consecutive turnovers on down.
Meanwhile the Bulldog offense continued to put points on the board. Zach Hellendrung’s touchdown from 14 yards out at the 1:15 mark of the third quarter gave his team a commanding 34-3 advantage.
Brandon Roemhild’s 1-yard rushing score at the 10:47 mark of the fourth quarter capped the Bulldog scoring on the evening and gave them the 41-3 win.
“I thought our linebackers did a great job of filling gaps again tonight,” indicated coach Roemhild. “Grant (Kaiser), Peter (Wheeldon), and Zach (Hellendrung) dominated the line of scrimmage combining for 18 total tackles.”
Wheeldon had eight tackles on the evening, including six solo. Hellendrung and Braden Roemhild were close behind with six apiece.
The Boyceville secondary held the Warrior passing attack to only 13 yards on 4 of 18 on the evening.
“Landyn (Leslie) and Caden (Wold) had great coverage all night, knocking down balls and getting an interception,” lauded coach Roemhild on his secondary’s performance.
SPECIAL TEAMS SCORE — With teammates Zach Hellendrung (#26) and Braden Roemhild (#24) clearing a path, Boyceville’s Caden Wold (#10) returned this first-quarter punt for a 66-yard touchdown to put the Bulldogs in front 14-0. Boycveille went on to defeat Clear Lake 41-3 in the a Division 7, level 1 football playoff contest played at Evenson Field last Friday, October 21. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
The offense racked up 254 yards on the night, with 161 coming on the ground. Nick Olson paced his team with 11 carries for 87 yards. Hellendrung added 58 on six carries.
Carson Roemhild was 5 of 11 on the night for 93 yards and the single touchdown to Wold that covered 73 yards. Braden Roemhild was his leading target with three receptions for 22 yards.
The win keeps Boyceville, the top seed, undefeated on the year and sets up a home rematch with #4 Spring Valley (8-2). This will be the second time the two teams have met in the past three weeks, with Boyceville taking home the road victory 26-6 on October 13 that clinched the Bulldogs first outright Dunn-St. Croix Conference championship since 1962.
“There is no time to rest as we welcome Spring Valley back to Boyceville for a rematch from a week ago,” exclaimed coach Roemhild. “They are a good team, and this is going to be one heck of a game.”
Kickoff for the October 27 game is 7 p.m.