Football roundup: NLS Wildcats pick up where they left off

Oct. 2—NEW LONDON — New London-Spicer's running backs picked up right where they left off from Friday night's postponement against Watertown-Mayer to propel the Wildcats to a dominating 43-6 homecoming victory over the Royals on Monday.

The Wildcats and Watertown-Mayer played five minutes, 26 seconds before inclement weather pushed the two teams to finish the Skyway Copper matchup three days later.

Over that span, NLS senior running back Brody Duke returned the opening kickoff 78 yards, its defense forced a safety and senior running back Mason Delzer broke loose for a 53-yard touchdown. The Wildcats had a 16-0 lead with 6:34 remaining in the first quarter before the postponement.

"We really felt that we were rolling on Friday night and we got it back pretty quick," NLS head coach Chad Gustafson said. "We were pretty happy about how the game started."

The Wildcats sure did get back to their early, dominating play from Friday.

NLS forced Watertown-Mayer to a second straight three-and-out. The Wildcats wasted no time on their next possession.

Delzer converted a short fourth down play inside the 10-yard line before finding the end zone on a 2-yard run. His second touchdown, which capped off a 53-yard drive, gave the Wildcats a 22-0 lead with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter.

NLS went on to out-score Watertown-Mayer 21-6 across the next three quarters, adding its three touchdowns on the ground. The Wildcats rushed for 348 yards on 39 attempts.

"Our running backs are amazing," NLS senior offensive lineman Chi Schneider said. "They all get yards, they all get touches. They all run very hard and they are smart.

"It helps that we got five, six great lineman that rotate and do our job — we get our holes and they do the rest."

Delzer finished the game with 197 yards to go along with his pair of touchdowns on 18 carries.

Delzer is the lead back in NLS' veteran backfield committee. Senior fullback Lucas Swenson had seven carries for 51 yards. Ethan Holme, another senior running back, added 36 yards and two touchdowns on three carries. Nolan Johnson, a junior quarterback, had 20 yards on two carries, including a quarterback sneak that went for a touchdown late in the contest.

"It all starts with the line," Holme said. "Me, Mason, Lucas and anyone else touching the ball, we're just following our blocks and it's all we have to do, they make it easy for us."

Just like their offense, the Wildcats' defense shined.

NLS held Watertown-Mayer to six first downs and 100 total yards, including 97 passing and three rushing. The Wildcats had three interceptions, including one in the red zone, and recorded four sacks.

Brock Buffington, a junior defensive back, recorded a pair of interceptions. Holme, a linebacker, tacked on the third.

"The defense really picked it up this game," Holme said of a Wildcats defense that allowed a combined 80 points over its previous two games against Dassel-Cokato and Litchfield. "We came prepared, we came fired up. I would like to dedicate some of it to our captains — they're great leaders. Our defense really stepped up."

Now the Wildcats are in for a short week. NLS faces Glencoe-Silver Lake at 7 p.m. Friday at Glencoe.

"The good news is (Glencoe-Silver Lake) is playing tonight too," Gustafson said. "It'll be a lot of work for the coaches to prepare. ... We will have to have our game plan ready to roll already tomorrow. Normally, of course, you get the full weekend for that."

A soft practice and film session will take place Tuesday, a live practice will occur Wednesday and a walk through will happen Thursday before the Wildcats return for Week 6.

"The biggest thing is as long as the kids aren't dinged up too bad because a lot of times they have that seven-day rest period," Gustafson said. "But I think we came out of the game pretty well, so physically we should be fine.

"We're all going to rest up, get our sleep and come back at it hard tomorrow with a good week of practice — watch our film and get right to it," Schneider said. "We got a job to do."

So coach, what's the message to the kids? Take care of yourselves and get rest?

"Exactly that," Gustafson said.

W-M (3-2) 0 0 6 0 — 6

NLS (3-2) 22 7 7 7 — 43

Scoring Plays

NLS — Brody Duke 78 kickoff return (Griffin Thompson kick)

NLS — Safety

NLS — Mason Delzer 53 run (Thompson kick)

NLS — Delzer 2 run (kick failed)

NLS — Ethan Holme 15 run (Thompson kick)

W-M — Gannon Lee 34 pass from Nathan Behrens (kick failed)

NLS — Holme 12 run (Thompson kick)

NLS — Nolan Johnson 1 run (Thompson kick)

First downs: 6 ... Penalties: 4-15.5 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Nathan Behrens 10-10, William Otto 1-4. Total: 26-3 ... Passing (Individual and team): Behrens 8-17-3, Matthew Isakson 0-1-0. Total: 8-18-97 ... Receiving: Gannon Lee 3-52, Isaiah Wasser 4-37, Otto 1-8 ... Interceptions: Wasser 1 ... Fumble recoveries: team 1 ... Tackles (solo-assist): n/a ... QB sacks: none

First downs: 18 ... Penalties: 9-76 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Mason Delzer 18-197, Lucas Swenson 7-51, Ethan Holme 3-36, Nolan Johnson 2-20, Griffin Mayhew 2-18, Jack Thein 3-17, Brody Duke 2-12. Total: 39-348 ... Passing (Individual and team): Blake Schultz 4-8-1. Total: 4-8-46 ... Receiving: Grant Paffrath 1-27, Delzer 1-10, Holme 1-8, Johnson 1-1 ... Interceptions: Brock Buffington 2, Holme 1 ... Fumble recoveries: none ... Tackles (solo-assist): Braden Long 7-2, Everett Halvorson 8-0, Brody Duke 6-1, Grant Paffrath 3-2, Christopher Schneider 3-2, Jack Steffensen 4-0 ... QB sacks: Long 1, Lucas Swenson 1, Ethan Swenson 1, Halvorson 0.5, Duke 0.5

Leading 14-0 with 8:37 left to play, St. Cloud Cathedral preserved its shutout in a victory over Litchfield at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville.

Brandon Carlson led the Bulldogs' ground game with 72 yards on 15 carries. Grant Wendlandt had 17 total tackles (three solo) for Paynesville's defense.

The Bulldogs head to Osakis at 7 p.m. Friday.

Paynesville (1-4) 0 0 0 0 — 0

St. Cloud Cathedral (1-4) 0 7 0 7 — 14

Scoring Plays

SCC — Cade Simones 9 run (kick good)

SCC — Simones 23 run (kick good)

First downs: 7 ... Penalties: 2-16 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Brandon Carlson 15-72, Brayden VanderBeek 8-11, Emmitt Burg 4-10. Total: 27-93 ... Passing (Individual and team): VanderBeek 6-15-1 32 ... Receiving: Owen Brick 2-25, Reed Johnson 2-7, Abe Brunner 1-1, Carlson 1-(-1) ... Interceptions: Brunner 1 ... Fumble recoveries: none ... Tackles (solo-assist): Grant Wendlandt 3-14, Seth Vearrier 3-10, Kevin Raya Botello 2-2, Tyson Bruntlett 2-7 ... QB sacks: none

Stats not available