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Badgers trounce Wildcats |
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October 17, 2016 |
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Thanks to some great work by the
offensive line, Badger Nick Sabin found
plenty of running room on the way to a
34-6 romp against Kellogg Friday night. |
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By Robert Lavala
In their second of three conference matchups,
the Badgers came onto the rain-soaked field full
of energy and ready to take on the Wildcats from
Kellogg.
The area had received quite a bit of rain for
the days leading up to the game and it had even
rained early in the day. The forecast was for
30-plus mile-per-hour winds and driving rain but
when we arrived at the field, neither conditions
were present. The temperature hovered around
45-50 degrees, the wind was calm and there was
no rain for the entire game. That was a good
thing because the field was completely soaked
and that would soon be the fate of all the
players as well.
The Badgers won the coin toss and elected to
receive the ball and the game started. Our first
drive resulted in a three and out and #23 Caleb
Harrington, punted the ball. It was a good punt
and the Wildcats took over deep in their own
territory. However, their first play was a pass
that yielded 14 yards and then they continued
down the field gaining 30-plus yards.
They were threatening to score and the entire
Badger crowd collectively held their breath.
The snap came and the Kellogg quarterback was
flushed out being chased by several Badgers who
then caused him to fumble the ball. The relief
in the stands and on the entire sideline for
Bonners Ferry was palpable. We would go another
three and out, as would Kellogg.
The Wildcat punter bounced the ball down to our
20-yard line where we would take over. #1 Isaac
Lavala would start his statistics out with a
34-yard pass reception from quarterback, #12
Kaleb Stockton.
Lavala would end the day with nearly 100 yards
receiving and a small amount rushing the
football.
The first and second quarter would turn out to
be a hard-hitting defensive battle but with only
2:44 left in the second quarter our running
game, spearheaded by #26 Nick Sabin, would take
off. We struck first after a great drive late in
the second quarter and finished it off with a
two-point conversion. Kellogg would answer back
on their next drive scoring with a 60-yard
passing play. Their two-point conversion attempt
failed however and we would go into halftime
with the score of Badgers 8, Wildcats 6.
Beginning the second half of play #1 Isaac
Lavala kicked the ball into the end zone forcing
a touchback.
The defensive struggle would continue into the
third quarter forcing punts from both soggy
teams. At around 5 minutes to play in the third
quarter our running game would take us down into
Wildcat territory but the slippery conditions
would contribute to a fumble and recovery by the
Wildcats. They would not be able to do anything
and the Badgers would get the ball back on the
45-yard line.
On the first play from scrimmage, running back
#26 Nick Sabin would break through the line and
go for 45 yards to score the second Badger
touchdown. Sabin would gain 181 yards on 20
carries throughout the game.
Again Bonners Ferry would attempt and succeed at
the two-point conversion making the score 16-6
at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Following a Wildcat punt at around eight minutes
left to play, #12 Stockton connected to wide
receiver #1 Lavala for a 35-yard completion
getting down to the 3-yard line. A few penalties
would push us back but we would not be denied as
#26 Sabin punched into the end zone for another
Badger touchdown. The two-
point attempt would be no good and the score now
would be 22-6 with about six minutes left to
play in the game.
On Kellogg's first play after the kickoff, they
would fumble the ball and the Badgers would
recover it on the Kellogg 38-yard line. The
first play from the Badgers would have #12 hand
the ball to #5 Evan Wasmer, who would take it to
the house, putting down two different defenders
with strong stiff-arms, and score a 33-yard
touchdown for the Badgers.
Wasmer would carry the ball 5 times for a total
of 51 yards.
Our offensive line played the game with pep and
provided the necessary holes for the running
game to succeed. The slippery ball would fall to
the ground on the point after attempt and the
score would be 28-6.
On the kickoff, #1 angled an on-side kick to the
sidelines and #12 Kaleb Stockton recovered it in
Wildcat territory. The Badger faithful were on
their feet and the players were feeling
invincible.
A couple of running plays and another 24-yard
pass completion to Lavala would put the Badgers
in scoring position again.
With just over a minute left to play, #3 Chris
Sabin in for the starting quarterback would
throw to #23 Caleb Herrington for our final
touchdown of the night. The two-point conversion
would fail but that put the Badgers at 34-6 over
the soaking, defeated Wildcats from Kellogg.
Starting quarterback #12 Kaleb Stockton would
end the night with four completed passes out of
nine for a total of 82 yards and #3 Chris Sabin
would go two for two for 33 yards and a
touchdown.
All through the game, the defense played with
amazing fortitude and determination as they shut
down the offense of the Kellogg Wildcats time
and time again. Each and every player could be
mentioned here for the work that they
accomplished and how well they stuck to their
assignments. Both offensive and defensive
players played as a team and worked as hard as
possible especially in the adverse conditions.
Congratulations to the players and coaches for
bringing home the win!
Be sure and come out to support our Badgers
football team Friday night, October 21, at 7
p.m. as we host the Priest River Spartans at
Senior night in Bonners Ferry. This promises to
be an exciting game where the winner will
advance to the State playoff. |
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