Week 8 at Independence

It was put up or shut up time for the Bobcats!  With the last play-off spot on the line, we rolled in to Independence on Friday night with the understanding that this is what the season comes down to: one game.  We win and we are a four seed in the play-offs, we lose and we are out.  The cool twist to this night was that Independence was in the same boat.  If they win, they would be in the post season for the first time since 1986.  It had been a long drought for the Mustangs.  Their home fans showed up in droves and came with plenty of energy to support their boys.  But the WD stands were not empty by any means.  Knowing what was on the line, the Bobcat Nation traveled well and helped us bring home a victory.

As the pre-game anxiety set in, the Mustangs had parents night, extending the wait and building the pre-game tension to new levels.  But once the kick was off, we went straight to work.  We scored on our first drive with a Dylan Gansen run around the left side.  Dylan finished with 120 yards on the night and one TD.  With a 7-0 lead, the defense took over holding the Mustangs to a meager 130 total yards and 7 points.  With defense like that, it is tough to lose.  Right before the half, Nolan Baumhover connected with Austin Hosch on a fade to the end zone and a 14-0 halftime lead. 

A third quarter turn over led to a short field score for Independence, but we didn't bat an eye at it.  Our offense took us the length of the field again and scored a 3yard QB sneak on 4th down, to go ahead 20-7.  With an onside kick recovery after that, and a great defensive effort, we finished the game on the 2 yard line with two consecutive kneel downs to eat the clock and preserve the win with respect for a good opponent. 

We are excited to say that the Western Dubuque Bobcats are going back to the play-offs for the 3rd straight year.  As I told the team, the difference between the 1st seed and the 4th seed in the play-offs is the 1st round opponent.  After that, the competition is the same anyways.  You have to win to move on, but you have to get there first.  I am very proud of the way our team is competing and improving week by week.  With one more district game to play, we have the chance to sharpen our skills against a perennial powerhouse.  The Decorah Vikings are heading our direction next Friday.  They will step on to "The Buc" with a 21 game winning streak and the title of defending state champions.  There is no greater way to make a memory of a life time than by beating Decorah on our home field.  Friday night will be a great opportunity for us!  Go Bobcats!

Week 7: Bobcats vs DeWitt

Homecoming week was a wild week indeed.  With all of the activities that went on, our guys were excellent on the practice field.  We had a very good week of preparation.  We were definitely focused for the task at hand, which was to compete against a strong DeWitt team.  The Sabers record is a bit of a misnomer.  Their 3-3 record included the three games that they had to forfeit due to a participation rules infraction.  They would have been 5-1 entering the contest had they not been forced to give up two wins.  But records aside, we new what we were up against.  DeWitt returned a lot of members from last years quarter finals team that lost to the eventual state champion Decorah Vikings.  With that in mind, we game planned accordingly and came in ready to fight.

The first half was a battle.  After trading TDs, we found ourselves down 7-6 due to a missed extra point.  But with a 7-6 halftime deficit and some great adjustments, we bounced back trading TDs again (Ben Burds with two TDs on the night), but this time we converted the 2 point conversion to tie things up at 14.  With seven minutes left in the forth quarter, things began to get ugly.

Two interceptions and a fumble in the final quarter were too much to overcome.  Each of those led to Saber touchdowns, and we just couldn't get back on track.  The effort was fantastic, and I am so proud of our attitude in the face of adversity.  Sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way, and it surly didn't against DeWitt.  We knew the game was going to be tough, we learned from our mistakes, and we bounced back for the "play-off" game that was to come against Independence the following week.

Week 6 at Oelwein

The Oelwein game was one of the strangest lightning storms I have ever seen. After the Freshman game opened for the varsity contest, we had about an hour wait. The state rule is to start varsity games no sooner than 7:30. As the clouds began to roll in, we wondered if we would be able to start the contest with the storms to the North of us putting on quite the light display. As we stuck to the schedule, the pregame routine started to create a little spark of our own. By kick-off, it was time to flip the switch, and that is exactly what the boys did. With a balanced attack of rushing and passing, we found ourselves with a 42-0 lead with 9 minutes left in the second quarter. It was a full out substitution. With our second string on the field, we continued to march the ball and scored another TD when Jason Kauffmann plunged ahead for a six yard run. After a lengthy half-time, the officials postponed the game due to lightning. After a 45 minute wait, the game was called, ending with a 42-7 Bobcat victory over the Huskies. It was a strong first half display. Nolan Baumhover finished with 2 TD passes and a 7/8 passing performance for 150 yards. This half game of offense puts us second in the district in total offense with 2049 total yards, almost balanced at 1000 on the ground and 1000 in the air. This weeks homecoming game against a strong DeWitt team will be a great test of our play-off potential. Go Bobcats!

Jason Kauffmann

Nolan Baumhover

Week 5: Bobcats vs Crestwood Cadets

Going into Week five, we had a great week of practice and felt fully prepared for what we were going to see.  The Cadets came out in the double tight wishbone formation and did a great job of establishing their offensive line of scrimmage.  They put together a long opening drive and finished it off with a TD.  Defensive penalties kept their drive alive on two different occasions.  We responded with a long drive of our own, but with a missed extra point, we trailed 7-6.  After a quick score from a QB keeper around the edge, we responded with a quick drive again, only to be intercepted at the three yard line.  The cadets scored again before the half and left us with a chance to put it in the end zone right before half.  After a controversial call that didn't go our way, we headed into the half trailing 20-6.

After the WD Band performed their annual light show, always a crowd pleaser, the lights came back on and we were ready to go.  Getting the ball to start the second half, we sustained a long drive that lead to another Dylan Gansen TD.  Unfortunately our inability to stop the ball in the second half continued, and a costly fumble turned the ball over after a scoring opportunity.  After the fumble things began to unravel.  As frustration set in, we lost our composure and piled up 5 personal fouls on the night.  It was a poor response to adversity, one that we are not proud of as a program.  But the game of football is meant to be a learning experience.  These matters have been analyzed, discussed and addressed.  We are taking extra time this week to discuss the importance of character.  Losing never feels good, but losing without class is not acceptable and not part of what our program represents.  With close to 200 yards of penalties, we could not overcome the hole that we created for our team and finished with a loss.  Our efforts are focused on improving our play and how we handle adversity.  We look forward to Friday night against Oelwein to try to iron out some of our mistakes.  The play-offs are still in our sights.  One game at a time.

Week 4: Bobcats on the Road Against Vinton

After coming off of a loss that cut pretty deeply, it was time to bounce back and prove that we were worth our salt.  We decided that one game will not define us, and we came ready to play on Friday night.  Vinton was sitting at 2-1, 1-1 in the district and we were sitting at 1-2, 0-1 in the district.  We knew that this game was important to springboard us into the heart of district play.  With a slow start from both teams, and a 6-6 halftime score, we knew that it was going to take some adjustments at the intermission to get things turned around.  Vinton-Shellsburg had a solid game plan, but with a few quick fixes on strategy, we turned the momentum into our favor. 

We finished the game with over 450 yards of total offense and a 35-18 Bobcat victory.  The offense was led by Nolan Baumhover who tallied 195 yards passing with 1 TD and 2 rushing TDs.  The running game was driven by Dylan Gansen with another 100 + yard performance and a couple of TDs.  Dylan is the district leader in scoring with 42 total points.  Great job Dylan, and great job to his offensive line.  Riley Pfeiler proved he was back from his injury in a big way.  Riley finished with 7 catches and 135 yards receiving with 1 TD on the night. 

Defensively we were able to force three turnovers, and we were able to stop Vinton in the red zone twice.  The defense was led by line backer Ben Burds and corner back Austin Hosch.  These two combined for 18 tackles, nine a piece, and a number of pass break ups, and one interception by Ben.  The team came together in the fourth quarter to open the score up and provide us with the 13 points necessary to keep the play-off doors open. 

The rule of 13 is IAHSAA (Iowa High School Athletic Association) rule that helps decide who gets to go to the play-offs by providing a tie breaker based off of margin of victory.  For every district game that you win or lose, the margin of victory or defeat can either give you 13 points toward the tie breaker, or take 13 points away.  This is a crucial method for determining who will play in the post-season.  As a coach who has been knocked out of the play-offs by tenths of a point because of this rule, I understand the necessity to have a rule such as this one.  It may appear to the unknowing fan that we are "running up the score".  But I assure you that the other team doesn't see it that way.  Their coach understands the rules and the importance in getting every one of the 13 points per district game that you can get.  I wanted to emphasize that because I in no way want anyone to think that the WD Bobcat Football program would be anything but a class act. 

Big win for us this week, and a huge week of preparation to ready ourselves for Crestwood.  Go Bobcats!

Nolan Baumhover

Dylan Gansen

Riley Pfeiler

Ben Burds

Austin Hosch

The Battle of the WDs: West Dubuque vs West Delaware

Last Friday night's game was a bit of a disappointment for Bobcat fans.  The Hawks of West Delaware came out with the guns blazing as they took us for 49 first half points and a 56-21 loss.  It was a mixture of things that went wrong.  From soft defensive line play and inexperienced line backers, to lax defensive coverage in the secondary, there was not a person in the program that didn't take some blame.  It is my job as the coach to see that the players are ready to take the field.  It was evident that we were not prepared on Friday.  To the players goes all the credit in victory, to the coach goes all the blame in defeat.  That is the way that this business works, and that is as it should be.  I was very proud of the teams second half effort.  Not a single person gave up, as would have been easy to do at the half way point.  Our goal was to win the third quarter, and we did just that.  It was 7-0 Western Dubuque in the third.  There was not a person on the team that threw in the towel, and I am so proud of the guys for not quitting on themselves, their coaches, or each other.  With multiple players injured, it is always easy to give the team an out and say that we were just banged up.  However, I wont give us that out.  The guys that filled in for the seven starters that we were missing did a fantastic job.  The next man in philosophy is crucial to any teams success.  Everyone loses players to injury from time to time.  This was a great chance to help some of our younger players get the necessary experience to be competitive later in the season.  With every snap played, they get better and we build depth.  I was very happy with the effort and attitude of all 47 players.  Hats off to West Delaware, they played well.  We would love another opportunity to play them.  Perhaps we will get that chance in the second round of the play-offs.  One game at a time!  Go Bobcats!

Week 2: Bobcat Win at Maquoketa

This was a great week for all three high school levels.  We took on the Maquoketa Cardinals for this weeks non-district match up.  Maquoketa has a very strong football tradition, making the play-offs the last four seasons straight.  This weeks action started with the freshmen game on Thursday night.  The Bobcat freshmen squad racked up 27 points on the evening as they defeated the Cardinals 27-6.  The freshmen team is off to a great 2-0 start.  We are very proud of their hard work and dedication to victory.

The sophomore team came out eager to avenge last weeks loss,  and they did just that.  Winning 14-7, and getting the team back on track was exactly what they had planned.  With the sophomores sitting at 1-1 for the season, they are poised to take on West Delaware this week.  Great job sophomores!

The varsity game was a tale of two halves.  With a sluggish start and a good half time adjustment, mostly our attitude, we came out with the kind of fire that team captain Bryce Hoerner had hoped to instill in his teammates.  With the newly instilled energy level that we needed to play with, the second half became a torrent of tackles and touchdowns. 

The offensive line did their job again helping the back field grind out over 150 yards rushing.  Juniors Tyler Johnson, Royce Demmer, and Ryan Kenneally are really learning their offensive line positions well and starting to come into their own.  Dylan Gansen rushed for 75 yards and a score and Ben Burds ran for 74 proving to be a great 1-2 punch.  What really lit up the board was the passing attack lead by junior QB Nolan Baumhover.  Nolan threw for 184 yards and 3 TDs, two of the plays coming on great scrambles and fantastic catches.  Brennan Koerperich, Shane Bouska, and Riley Pfeiler all had TD receptions.  A great balance of pass and run kept Maquoketa on their heals, but the offense wasn't the only thing keeping them on their heals.

Coach Butler's defense held the Cardinals to 124 total yards of offense.  The stout defense was lead by Bryce Hoerner (12 tackles on the night) and Will Mayne (9 tackles on the night).  While they stuffed up the middle, the pass was locked down with 4 interceptions.  Austin Hosch, Bryce McAndrew, Brennan Koerperich, and Riley Pfeiler all picked off one pass on the evening. 

I was very pleased with our ability to overcome some first half adversity.  The boys never lost focus of the task at hand, which was to win! This win puts us at 1-1 on the season and springboards us into next weeks district match-up with our Highway 20 rivals West Delaware. 

Go Bobcats!

Week 1 against Beckman

Last Friday night we started out our season with a loss to our county rivals Dyersville Beckman.  The Blazers start the year ranked third in the state in class 2A.  As with any game, we learn so much about our team each time we take the field.  When asked in pre-season what I thought about our squad this year, I responded with the same answer.  We are a talented group, but we are pretty young.  Out of the 22 starters on either offense or defense, we only returned 5 guys that have started in a varsity football game before last Friday.  I knew that it would take a little time to bring the new starters up to speed.  What I didn't know was how good Beckman would be this season or how long it would take us to iron out the wrinkles.  The Blazers turned out to be a great team.  The have a balanced attack on the ground and in the air.  The most impressive athlete of the night proved to be Beckman's Mitch Steger.  His five touchdown performance and 300 plus all purpose yards were eye catching to say the least. 

The keys to our teams success are always going to be blocking and tackling.  I saw some great things in both regards on Friday night.  The biggest improvement from last season is Dylan Gansen.  What a night Dylan had tallying up 120 yards rushing on 16 carries and punching three of them into the end zone.  He ran with great vision and a mixture of graceful cuts and powerful finishes.  Dylan was one of our many athletes that made a huge commitment to the weight room in the off-season, and it shows.  When I asked Dylan how it looked out there, the first thing he did was give credit to the linemen that were creating the holes.  Kyle Kass and Brennan Koerperich did a great job of setting the edge on sweeps.  Dylan's humble demeanor was ever present, and he was quick to tell the big guys up front that they were responsible for his rushing success.   Dylan was definitely a shining star on Friday night, as were the young offensive linemen. 

Defensively we had a tough time containing such an explosive athlete.  However, Brennan Koerperich and Bryce Hoerner did exactly what was expected.  They came out and played tough football.  Both guys made huge off-season gains in the weight room as well.  Their commitment to the program has been fantastic, which is why they have been selected as two of our teams team captains.  Matt Riniker has been chosen to fill a third captain spot.  His leadership has been fantastic, and he has been a role model and an inspiration to all of us.  A young bright spot on the line backing core was Alex Wernimont.  Alex tallied up a string of tackles and is learning how to play such a difficult position with early starting responsibilities. 

We definitely found some areas that we need to improve upon.  With five turn-overs and a slough of penalties, we still only trailed the Blazers 27-19 at half-time.  We definitely have some loaded weapons on both sides of the ball, but we need to stop shooting ourselves in the foot.  This weeks preparation for Maquoketa needs to be focused.  We can't wait to take to the field on Friday night and redeem ourselves from a frustrating start.  Every game is an opportunity, and we will get better every day!

A visit from an NFL, All-Pro, Superbowl Champion

Over the summer we like to have numerous guest speakers to come and talk to the team about the impact that football has had on their lives.  We were very fortunate this year to have three speakers take time out of their days to come and share their thoughts with the team.  Our local pizza mogul, Rich Ohare, Happy Joes Pizza entrepreneur and a great Bobcat supporter, started out our guest speaker circuit with his playing days at Iowa and Arizona.  He talked about how his college experiences led him to the NFL where he had the opportunity to play with a couple of teams in the league before deciding to settle down into a career and a family.  His passion about striving to be your best at any endeavor was heard and felt by all of those in attendance.  Success breeds success.  It was no lucky chance that he has been successful in football, business, family, and life.  Rich is a great role model for the young men of our community and a shining example of the rewards of hard work.

The second speaker in our line-up was Josh Lenz.  I talked about him on the last blog.  Josh is a great young man with a lot of opportunity.  We hope his NFL career is prolonged and successful.  Mr. Ohare gave us the mature outlook of a man who has been there.  Josh gave us the bright young enthusiastic look of a rookie in the league.  It was a great contrast to have both of them talk.

The final speaker of our summer was Marshal Yanda.  Marshal needs very little introduction in this part of the country...make that any part of the country.  As a two-time pro-bowler, and a super bowl champion, Mr. Yanda made quite the impact on the Bobcat team.  It isn't every day that you get this opportunity.  Thanks to his college roommate and current Bobcat coach, Mike Elgin, we were able to listen to the number one ranked offensive guard in the country.  He is a super star with a major contract, yet he showed up to speak fresh off the farm.  He pulled up in a Gator with a towel around his neck.  He was dripping with sweat from his head to his toes.  It was obvious that he came straight from doing chores at the farm.  He told the team stories of the super bowl and the pro bowl and all of the fun he had playing with some of the greatest players on the planet.  Then he told the team how he got to where he is.  It was no great secret!  Hard work!  He talked about the fact that he just flat out busts his butt to be successful.  Some people are born with a ton of talent, but everyone can work hard and make themselves better.  That was his underlying message.  It was real and to the point!  The kids ate it up!

The talk went on and on with the team holding on to every word he shared.  You could see it in their eyes that they all wanted a part of what he has.  Mr. Yanda made it evidently clear that if you give 100% of yourself to your dreams, anything is possible.  We are so grateful to have had a man of Marshal Yanda's stature share his time with a group of high school athletes.  He is a true gentleman and a great representative for the NFL.  Next time you see him on T.V., cheer a little louder for him.  He is 100% class, and he has the Bobcat Nation behind him all the way!

West Dubuque Football with special guest Josh Lenz

About three weeks ago the Western Dubuque Bobcat football team was paid a visit by a current member of the Chicago Bears.  Josh Lenz, former Iowa State wide receiver was picked up as a free agent after the 2013 draft.  I was fortunate to have coached Josh during the time I spent at Dubuque Hempstead.  I asked him if he would come and talk to the team before he left for training camp, and he was glad to come to Epworth and share his thoughts on how the game of football has taught him so many valuable life lessons.  Josh is a humble kid, and it took quite a bit of prodding to get him to talk about the many successes that he has had in football.  He talked about the importance of leadership, something that he is familiar with as a former Cyclone team captain.  The longer I coach, the more I come to realize that it is such a hard responsibility to instill in a young man.  Leaders aren't always born.  Through patience, dedication, and understanding, every person has the ability to lead in some capacity.  Josh learned to lead, which is a hard thing to do when you have natural athletic talent.  But he overcame those obstacles, and proved to be a great leader to listen to on our Wednesday night mini-camp. 

It is always great to see former players come back and talk to you about their experiences on the college football playing fields.  Everyone's is different.  I tell the boys endlessly how important it is to be a part of your community and give back to the people and places that have helped sculpt you into the person you are.  This was a great  example of what that really means.  It meant a lot to the team to hear from someone that could very well be on an NFL roster come week one of the season.  But like Josh told the kids, if he doesn't make it in the league, he has been truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to play this great game as long as he has. 

Never take a moment for granted!  I want to thank Josh for making a difference in the lives of the athletes that were fortunate enough to hear him talk, and thank him for coming back to see an old friend/mentor that is trying to have the same kind of positive impact on the young men I  am fortunate enough to work with today.  Good luck with the Chicago Bears, and the Bobcat Nation is pulling for you all the way.  Don't forget to check back when I write about the visit that we had from two-time pro-bowler and super bowl champion Marshal Yanda.