Bulldogs wear down Toppers, take 40-14 victory at Glenwood City

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Username

Password

Login

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.

Email

Submit

← Back

GLENWOOD CITY — Both the Hilltoppers and Bulldogs were coming off disappointing losses when the two rivals meet on the gridiron last Friday evening in Glenwood City.

Glenwood City had suffered a 31-0 homecoming loss at the hands of Cadott while Boyceville was bitten 24-21 by the Trevor Asher-led Wolves of Elmwood-Plum City.

The two squads were looking to get back on a winning track with the playoffs just a few weeks away.

Boyceville built a 14-0 advantage but Glenwood City was able to close the gap to 14-6 at halftime. But, the visitors from Boyceville proved to be too much as they wore down their Hilltopper hosts scoring 19 points in the final quarter including a defensive fumble recovery for a touchdown and returned home a 40-14 victor in the September 30 Dunn-St. Croix football showdown.

“After a disappointing loss to EPC last week and a tough week of practice, I wasn’t quite sure how we were going to respond,” stated Michael Roemhild, Boyceville head coach.

Any doubts were quickly put to rest when the Bulldogs opened the game with a four-play drive capped by a 42-yard touchdown pass from their slinger Nick Olson to speedy wide-out Caden Olson less than two minutes into the game. That junior-to-junior connection would yield dividends for the Bulldogs all game long and lead to another score in the fourth.

“I thought offensively we set the tone right away,” added Roemhild. “We were getting big gains on our runs and Nick Olson hit Caden Wold on that 42-yard TD pass to get our energy level high and the team dialed in.”

Despite giving up that early score, Glenwood City maintained its composure and made a game of it in the first half.

“I thought we played very well on defense in the first half. We gave up a big touchdown pass early on a perfectly thrown ball that hurt us, but we responded well until the second half,” said Glenwood City head coach Shane Strong.

Boyceville focused on its rushing attack which out gained Glenwood City 216 to 106 and perfectly complimented and enhanced its aerial displays.

“We really focused on getting our run game going,” noted Roemhild. “I thought Mason (Bowell) and Bash (Nielson) really led us the whole night. Nick didn’t need to pass much but when he did he was very effective and hit some big passes (2 of them being to Caden for touchdowns).”

His Glenwood City counterpart concurred.

“Olson did a great job throwing the ball, I was impressed with his confidence in the pocket,” stated Strong. “They have a very talented group of players, so you have to give them credit for how they played.”

That efficient and deadly combination of run and pass were evident in the Bulldogs first scoring drive.

Taking the game’s opening kickoff from Glenwood City, Boyceville started at its 35 with three straight runs – six from Mason Bowell, a dozen off the quick legs of Braden Roemhild and five by workhorse Sebastian “Bash” Nielson. That forced the Toppers to move close to the line of scrimmage. On the next play, Olson went to the air and found a wide open Caden Wold who had gotten well behind Topper defender Morgen Eggert and hauled in the 42-yard touchdown toss with just 1:41 gone off the clock. Brayan Vasquez-Martinez booted the PAT and the Bulldogs led 7-0.

Glenwood City would run three plays and punt the first time it had the football. Boyceville’s second possession resulted in a punt.

The Hilltoppers gained a first down on their second offensive foray and appeared to be on the move. But after a nine-yard pass from quarterback Gabe Knops to Brady Klatt on a first-down play that put Glenwood City at midfield, the Toppers went backwards. Knops did not gain a yard on a second-down run and was then thrown for a four-yard loss by the Bulldogs’ Mason Bowell on third down which forced a punt.

Taking over with just under three minutes left in the first quarter, Boyceville ran a dozen plays, 11 of which were on the ground. The Bulldogs drove from their own 23 to the Glenwood City end zone capped off by a 2-yard dive by Nielson  at 7:55 of the second quarter. Vasquez-Martinez kick was true and the Bulldogs led 14-0.

On that drive Nielson rushed five times for 32 yards and Olson and Bowell twice for 16 and 14 yards, respectively. On the only throw, Olson connected with Wold for 11 yards and a first down.

Glenwood City responded with a drive that ended in its first touchdown.

Starting at the 25 following the kickoff, Knops went to work for Glenwood City, throwing four completions in the first five plays. 

He opened with a three yarder to Jayden Quinn, then ran for a couple yards before coming back with three straight aerials – one to Morgen Eggert for 8 yards and consecutive tosses to Brady Klatt for gains of 11 and 8 yards.

Then faced with a third and 14, Knops notched back-to-back completions for 12 yards to Quinn and 10 to Klatt for a fresh set of downs at the Bulldogs’ 20. On first down, Knops went back to the pass, completing his third straight attempt, this one a 20-yard strike to an open Jayden Quinn who then raced into the end zone with Glenwood City’s first score with 3:25 left in the first half. Although Brady Klatt’s PAT attempt was blocked, the Hilltoppers had cut their deficit to 14-6 which was the score at intermission.

Glenwood City received the ball to start the second half as they looked to tie the contest. After an initial first down, a pair of penalties had the Toppers moving backwards and they had to punt.

The Bulldogs took the kick and embarked on a 15-play drive that  took nearly eight and a half minutes off the clock and culminated with a one-yard Bowell touchdown run at 1:44 of the third quarter. Vasquez-Martinez’ good kick made it 21-6. Nielson kick started that drive with four straight runs for 14 yards and Bowell carried it five times for 24 yards including the score. Boyceville threw just once in that  span, gaining seven yards on a pass from Olson to Wold.

On its ensuing possession, Glenwood City was quickly faced with a fourth and five to open the final stanza. Opting to go for it, Toppers’ senior running back Max Janson was tackled for a 5-yard loss by a pack of Dogs resulting in a turnover on downs at the GC 40.

It didn’t take long for Boyceville to find its way back to the end zone. Runs of 15 yards by Bowell,  nine from Olson and four by Nielson set up a 12-yard touchdown pass from Olson to Wold. Vasquez-Martinez tacked on his fourth extra point of the contest and the Bulldogs extended their lead to 28-6 with 9:46 left in the game.

Just 28 seconds later, Boyceville made it 34-6 when Toppers’ quarterback Gabe Knops was hit from behind while scrambling on a pass play and fumbled. Mason Bowell scooped up the loose pigskin and scampered just 11 yards to the end zone. Peter Wheeldon, subbing for an injured Brayan Vasquez-Martinez, missed the extra point kick.

“Defensively, we made some adjustments to Glenwood’s passing game after the first half and really buckled down  in the second half. We knew that Max (Janson) was a great runner and we couldn’t let him get going. I thought Jack Phillips really stepped up his game and played well for us. Mason and Corbin (Krenz) played great off of the edge, and that duo caused a fumble and defensive TD that really sealed the game,” stated Roemhild.

Boyceville would strike pay dirt one final time.

After the Hilltoppers tried and failed to convert a fourth and ten, the Bulldog took over at their own 46 yard line with 7:14 to play. It took Nielson all of two plays to punctuate the end zone. After ripping off a 53 yard run before being brought down at the one yard line, Nielson finished the drive off on the next play as he bulled his way across the goal line for the score at 6:36. Zach Hellendrung came on to attempt the PAT but the kick did not make the cross bar leaving the score 40-6.

Glenwood City finally put another scoring drive together at the end of the game. Knops had runs of 7 and 18 yards and a ten-yard pass to Klatt while running back Max Janson carried the ball five times for 33 yards including a 4-yard touchdown run at 2:35. Knops ran in the conversion which made the final score 40-14.

Boyceville finished with a 313 to 197 advantage in total yardage as it passed for 97 yards and ran for another 216. Olson was an efficient 6-for-8 passing for all 97 of those yards with a pair of touchdowns to Caden Wold who finished with five catches for 87 yards. Bash Nielson led the Bulldogs’ ground game with 118 yards and two scores on 18 attempts. Mason Bowell added ten carries for 62 yards and finished with an offensive and defensive touchdown.

For Glenwood City, Gabe Knops finished 9-for-20 passing for 91 yards and a touchdown to Jayden Quinn who tallied 35 yards on three catches. Brady Klatt snared five aerials for 48 yards. The Toppers were limited to 106 yard rushing with Janson topping the chart with 13 carries for 56 yards and a TD. Knops added 30 yards on eight runs.

“We are still struggling to protect our quarterback and our run game has struggled,” said Strong following the loss. “We are down two senior lineman, which doesn’t help us up front. Our kids played hard, I’m not questioning their effort at all. We just need to be more fundamentally sound on our blocking and tackling skills, we miss too many blocks and too many tackles.”

Boyceville, who improved to 3-2 in conference play and 5-2 overall, hosts Clear Lake for homecoming this Friday while Glenwood City (1-4 and 3-4) will be in Colfax.