A visitor playing it's first game of the season, the host playing it's second. That inevitably meant that there would be issues that are best resolved with more practice time but each team came onto the field ready to earn the I-29 trophy.
Oak Grove struck first, when Rylee Bakkegard hit Cody Card in stride for what finished as a 65 yard receiving touchdown.
When Northern Cass got the ball back they yo-yo'd through penalties before Jack Metzger hit #2 for the first tying score. The odd thing being that there isn't a "2" on the official roster. There's likely a simple explanation for the discrepancy but that hasn't been made known, yet.
The penalty yards continued to rack up into the second quarter but the Jaguars again managed to better overcome them. A catch & acrobatic attempt to get into the end zone by Brock Carpenter was for not but Metzger finished the drive off after the next snap.
The first lead helped spark the defense into a quick stop, punctuated by a Maximus Broneske sack - that's a name that's too good to shorten!
Oak Grove's defense responded in turn, forcing a 3 & out punt but another sack against their offense helped Northern Cass close out the half with the ball. This time it was #21 who did damage, running NC to the 3 before Metzger dove in for the 20th point of the evening. That makes two players in need of identification... it is still early in the year.
Coach Whitney used the break to iron out the struggles on his side and the team responded with a three-play scoring drive right away, capped by a receiving touchdown to Trevon Rodriguez. They continued to chop away with a quick turnover-on-downs to end N Cass' next chance with the ball, which was the first of three straight possessions where the defense was ahead of the opposing offense.
Oak Grove broke through with just over three minutes left in the third when Cody Card broke the barrier for the second time and put his team back in front.
The advantage was short lived as the Jags ran out the clock on the quarter and then began their knockout barrage. 21 put his team ahead 26 - 21 less than a minute into the final quarter. Their defense recorded three tackles-for-loss on the next possession which gave Metzger the ball back & he made it an 11 point game. After a TOD N Cass hit pay dirt one more time when 21 zipped in again.
With four minutes left on the clock there was more than enough time for more fourth quarter fireworks but Oak Grove was forced into another turnover & the Northern Cass coaches respectably didn't go for humiliation.
Northern Cass 39, Oak Grove 21
Players from smaller schools helping on offense & defense is as old as the game, even quarterbacks play both ways with regularity
But less often does the quarterback also help as a kick/punt returner
Tonight, along the banks of the Red, the player of the game did just that!
Jack Metzger
Click the pic to see the full game gallery!