By Becky Walz,
Big plays early on broke the game open for the Decorah football team Friday night in the season opener at Waukon.
With no touchdown play less than 29 yards, the Vikes dominated the gridiron to defeat the Indians, 33-0.
“This was a great team win for us. Our kids played very physical and with great effort all night. Our offensive and defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and our skill positions made some explosive plays. We have things that we need to work on. We had too many penalties but overall a solid first game,” said Coach Mike Tangen.
How it went
Three plays and 30 seconds into the game, Decorah’s Trevor Kuennen created excitement with a pick 6 from near the Waukon 30-yard line and set the tone for the first game of the season. The thrill of big plays was far from over as the Viking defense forced the Indians to go 3-and-out. Starting near midfield, Decorah needed just six plays and a 59-yard pass from Louis Bucksa to Peyton Webb to find the endzone for a second time. Decorah’s defense held against the Indians again on their next possession, setting up Bucksa to find Carter Dlhy for the next Viking touchdown strike with 4:24 remaining in the first period to give Decorah a 20-0 lead.
In the second quarter Tommy Sexton heard his number called as he weaved his way through traffic for a 37-yard touchdown run allowing the Vikes a 27-0 cushion at halftime. A sweep to Gavin Groux ended all scoring for either team with 27.6 seconds to play in the third giving Decorah the eventual 33-0 shutout victory.
Highlights
Decorah had 249 yards rushing and 119 passing for 368 total, while holding Waukon to just 155 yards.
Individually, Sexton rushed 13 times for 89 yards. Kuennen had 72 yards on the ground while Groux had 44. Bucksa completed 5-of-9 passes with one reception to Webb, Dlhy and Will Larson and two to Groux.
On defense, Gatlin Dahlberg led the way with six solo and seven assisted stops. Groux, Luke Franzen and Keaton Orris all had three solo tackles with Franzen having a pair of sacks. Kuennen had the one interception while Will Larson had one fumble recovery.
Up next
Friday will be another battle as the Vikes head to West Delaware (0-1) . The Hawks fell to Western Dubuque 21-13 in the first week.
Scoring sequence
1st Quarter
Dec – Trevor Kuennen 26-yard INT (Brayden Wemark PAT)
Dec – Louis Bucksa 59-yard pass to Peyton Webb (Wemark PAT)
Dec – Bucksa 29-yard pass to Carter Dlhy (Wemark PAT failed)
2nd Quarter
Dec – Tommy Sexton 37-yard run (Wemark PAT)
3rd Quarter
Dec – Gavin Groux 42-yard run (Wemark PAT failed)
4th Quarter
None
Game stats
Total yards: Decorah 368; Waukon 155
Passing (comp/att/yds): Bucksa (5-9, 119 yds., 2 TD)
Rushing (att/yds): Sexton (13-89, 1 TD); Trevor Kuennen (10-72); Groux (1-55, 1 TD); Tanner Caddell (2-18); Mason Avila (7-8); Bucksa (1-3); Dlhy (1-3); Archer Sims (1-1); Will Larson (1-0)
Receiving (att/yds/TD): Webb (1-59, 1 TD); Dlhy (1-29, 1 TD); Groux (2-21); Larson (1-10)
Tackles (total): Gatlin Dahlberg (9.5); Luke Franzen (3.5); Keaton Orris (3.5); Groux (3.0); Cash Riehle (3.0); Jackson Pipho (2.5); Dlhy (1.5); Kuennen (1.5); Larson (1.5); Sexton (1.5); Caddell (1.5); Bradan Darling (1.5); William Hahn (1.5); Jameson LaBelle (1.0); Anthony Putnam (1.0); Jared Pavlovec (1.0); Ian Giddings (1.0); Josh Adam (0.5); Hunter Quandahl (0.5); Webb (0.5); Avila (0.5); Henry Brynsaas (0.5)
Interceptions (no/return yds): Kuennen (1-25, 1 TD)
Fumble recoveries: Landon Quandahl 1
Punts (att/yds): Brayden Wemark (3-76)
Punt returns (att/yds): Groux (1-14); Larson (1-13)
Kick-offs (att/yds): Wemark (6-348, 3 PAT)
Kick-off returns (att/yds): Avila (1-28)
Submit A Comment
Fill out the form to submit a comment. All comments require approval by our staff before it is displayed on the website.