PREP FOOTBALL: Generals fall to Wildcats

SIBLEY, Iowa — After being stopped cold by Sibley-Ocheyedan on their first offensive possession Friday night, the visiting Woodbury (County) Central Wildcats scored the next five times they had the ball and opened up a convincing 34-0 first quarter lead on the Generals in an Iowa Class 1A high school football game.

Woodbury Central, located in Moville — 15 miles east of Sioux City — crossed the goal line three more times in the second quarter and took a commanding 54-0 halftime lead.

With running time in effect for the entire second half, neither squad scored — after intermission — and the Wildcats improved to 6-3 for the season and will be in action in the District 1 playoffs, beginning Wednesday.

The Generals, who moved the ball well through the air, finish their season with a 1-8 record.

S-O sophomore quarterback Ethan Mino (6-2, 215) displayed good arm strength and completed seven passes — on 15 throws — in the first half for 142 yards.

Hard-running senior Dylan Brockshus (5-8, 195) hauled in three of those passes for 59 yards, including a 16-yard gain on a screen pass late in the second quarter, which moved the ball to the Wildcats’ 20-yard line.

Dillon Thies had a pair of catches of 42 yards and Mino connected with Owen Wiese for a 31-yard pass completion.

“We gained some yards with our passing,” praised S-O head coach Jordan Menning about the Generals’ first-half aerial attack. “Ethan’s just a sophomore and throws the ball well.”

Several dropped passes and some untimely penalties helped put the brakes on the drives the Generals did sustain.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, racked up a total of 403 yards on 24 offensive plays in the game’s initial 24 minutes.

WC gained 120 first-half yards on just eight carries and completed eight of 16 passes for 283 more.

A 66-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Wright to William Dougherty put the Wildcats on the board at the 9:43 mark of the first quarter.

Four more quick-strike scores helped fashion the 34-0 lead by the first quarter’s end and the Wildcats’ eighth touchdown of the game came with 4:22 remaining in the second quarter when Wright’s quarterback keeper capped a two-minute WC drive and completed the game’s scoring.

Wiese opened the third quarter with a nifty 24-yard kick return to the Generals’ 38-yard stripe and Brockshus — who had gained 21 yards rushing in the first half — churned 11 yards for a S-O first down at the 49.

But, the Wildcats held and after a couple of possession exchanges, WC freshman Brady Butters intercepted a Generals’ pass and returned the ball 35 yards to the S-O 18-yard line.

The Generals came up with a strong defensive stand — which included a tackle for a loss by sophomore defensive end Josh Wagenaar and a pass deflection by Thies.

Brockshus gained 15 yards on a rush and then picked up about 25 more after making a great catch over the middle.

But, unfortunately, the pass completion play was nullified by a holding penalty on the Generals and another S-O drive stalled.

Key late-game tackles by Brockshus and senior defensive back Josh Van Westen helped keep the Wildcats from moving much on their next series.

Sophomore defensive back Alex Fisher had a nice tackle, Wagenaar and Andrew Brockshus combined for a tackle for loss and Wagenaar came up with a crunching sack to highlight S-O’s defensive plays in the game’s closing minutes.

The Generals, who started several sophomores, had only six seniors on this year’s squad — Thies, Dylan Brockshus, Joe Storbakken, Chris DeNoble, Robert Swenson and Van Westen.

But neither Storbakken (center/middle linebacker) or DeNoble (two-way starting lineman) dressed Friday, as both key players missed several games with injures.

WC 34 20 0 0 — 54

S-O 0 0 0 0 — 0

Tags: sibley-ocheyedan, sports, prep, football