Beckman's power prevails in first Panther loss of season

     The power running of Dyersville Beckman’s Owen Huenergarth, and a stretch of five unanswered touchdowns, resulted in the first loss of the season for the Monticello High School football team.

     Beckman broke a 13-13 tie late in the first half, then scored the first four touchdowns of the second half, on the way to a 48-21 win Sept. 10 at Monticello’s Dean Nelson Field.

     It was the final non-district game of the season for the Panthers (2-1), who will begin a stretch of five straight district games starting Sept. 17 with the homecoming tilt against Tipton.

     Huehnergarth was unquestionably the biggest difference in Friday’s game. The Beckman senior running back carried 43 times for 275 yards and scored four of the Trailblazers’ six touchdowns in the game. It was part of Beckman’s rushing total of 400 yards.

     “He’s a tough runner and just wears on a defense as the game goes on,” Monticello coach Wes Wilson said. “They controlled the line of scrimmage, and he did a great job of breaking tackles and getting extra yards.”

     Still, the Panthers did have a little fun in the first half. Monticello started the game by displaying the big-play offense that characterized its wins in the first two weeks.

     On the second play from scrimmage, Preston Ries hit Caleb Sauser on a 56-yard pass that took the ball to the Beckman 25. Three plays later, Ries lofted a pass to the deep part of the end zone, and Sauser outleaped a defender to pull down a touchdown pass on a 27-yard play. Christian Castillo’s extra point kick gave the Panthers an early 7-0 lead.

     Then the Huehnergarth show began for Beckman. The Blazers gave the ball to him on nine of its 10 plays on a 53-yard touchdown drive, with Huehnergarth scoring on a one-yard run. The extra point kick missed, and the Panthers held a 7-6 lead.

     An interception set up a 56-yard drive for the Blazers early in the second quarter, with Nick Wulfekuhle eventually scoring on a nine-yard run.

     The Panthers answered on the next possession, going 79 yards in just seven plays. The touchdown came on a 39-yard pass from Ries to Caleb Sauser. The point-after kick was blocked, and the teams were tied 13-13.

     From that point, Beckman scored 35 unanswered points. A key pass play, Cayden Gassmann to Padraig Gallagher for a 46-yard touchdown, gave the Blazers a 20-13 lead with 54.9 seconds left in the half. Beckman then got the ball to start the second half, and drove 70 yards in eight plays, with Huehnergarth scoring on a 16-yard run.

     “The score to start the second half was big for them, but the long pass they scored on at the end of the second quarter really hurt us.”

     An interception set up a 47-yard scoring drive for the visitors – this time Huehnergarth scored on a 41-yard run – and Beckman led 34-13 with 5:11 left in the third quarter. Two more scores – a four-yard run by Huehnergarth and a 59-yard run by Wulfekuhle – made it 48-13 with 6:28 left in the game.

     Monticello scored one last time, on a 28-yard pass from Ries to Caleb Sauser, to account for the final score.

     In all, Beckman outgained Monticello 448 to 308.

     “We have to be better up front and be able to get our running game going,” coach Wilson said. “Another focus will be doing a better job of tackling.”

Sept. 10

(at Monticello)

Dy. Beck.   6 14 14 14 – 48

Monti          7   6    0    8 – 21

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

     Monti – Ca. Sauser 27 pass from Ries (Castillo kick), 9:09 remaining.

     DB – Huehnergarth 1 run (kick failed), 3:53.

SECOND QUARTER

     DB – Wulfekuhle 9 run (Burchard kick), 5:51.

     Monti – Ca. Sauser 39 pass from Ries (kick blocked), 3:40.

     DB – Gallagher 46 pass from Gassmann (Burchard kick), 0:54.9.

THIRD QUARTER

     DB – Huehnergarth 16 run (Burchard kick), 8:31.

     DB – Huehnergarth 41 run (Burchard kick), 5:11.

FOURTH QUARTER

     DB – Huehnergarth 4 run (Burchard kick), 10:04.

     DB – Wulfekuhle 59 run (Burchard kick), 6:28.

     Monti – Ca. Sauser 28 pass from Ries (Guilford pass from Petersen), 2:21.

TEAM STATISTICS

                                    DB      Monti

First downs            16           7

Rushing yds.         400        64

Passing yds.            60       303

Comp.-att.-int.   5-7-1   12-22-3

Total yards            460       367

Fumbles lost           0            0

Penalties-yds.       2-20      3-25

MONTICELLO STATISTICS

     Rushing – Ries 9-43, Cooper 5-19, Ca. Sauser 1-2.

     Passing – Ries 12-22-303-3-3.

     Receiving – Ca. Sauser 7-197, Schilling 2-50, Weber 1-41, Petersen 2-15.

     Interception – Petersen.

     Tackles – Petersen 12, Ries 8, Cooper 6.5, Phelps 6, Ca. Sauser 5, Guilford 4.5, Tallman 3.5, Co. Sauser 3, Thomas 3, Schilling 2, Bartachek 2, Sternhagen 1.5, Etzel 1, A. Graves 1, Wickman 0.5.

     Tackles-for-loss – Ries 1.5, Cooper 0.5, Phelps 0.5, Thomas 0.5.