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!