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!
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| Nolan Baumhover |
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| Dylan Gansen |
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| Riley Pfeiler |
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| Ben Burds |
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| Austin Hosch |
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