HUMPHREY — Missed opportunities by the Wolfpack let Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family slip away as the Bulldogs claimed a 46 to 8 victory Friday night.
Denying the Wolfpack two chances to score early in the first quarter, the Bulldogs capitalized on big plays to build a 30 to 0 lead by halftime. But, the game was much closer than that in the early going.
With the return of Hunter Reestman to the lineup (he had been out the last two games because of injury) the Wolfpack used a misdirection play to free the sophomore for a 32-yard scamper down to the Bulldogs’ 29-yard line on their opening drive of the game. The drive stalled and the Bulldogs took over on their five-yard line.
Two plays later, Reestman recovered an Ashton Dohmen fumble on the Bulldogs’ 11-yard line.
Three running plays netted the Wolfpack just six yards. So, on fourth down, quarterback Conor Ramold handed the ball off to Liam Heithoff. The fullback picked up two yards, just short of the first down.
With two chances to take the early lead, the Wolfpack wouldn’t get a third chance as Bulldog Johnny Babl went around left end for a 73-yard touchdown run and the subsequent two-point conversion made the score 8 to 0 just past the halfway mark of the first quarter.
Working with a short field on their next possession, the Bulldogs only had to go 23 yards to score their second touchdown. Doing the honors was Dohmen on a three-yard run. The Bulldogs would add another score on their next possession to take a 22 to 0 lead.
After gaining a first down, the Wolfpack were forced to punt. With Reestman as punter, he pinned the Bulldogs back on their 30-yard line. After holding the Bulldogs to just four yards on two plays, the Wolfpack got burned when Dohmen threw a screen pass to Babl who went 54 yards for a touchdown, making the score 30 to 0 at halftime.
The Wolfpack kicked off to start the second half. On the Bulldogs second play from scrimmage, Babl swept around the end and zig-zagged his way to a 53-yard touchdown.
Unable to do anything on offense on their next possession, the Wolfpack got the ball back when Reestman picked off a Dylan Hanzel pass to give the Wolfpack the ball on their own 23-yard line. The Wolfpack moved the ball to near midfield where the drive ended as the Bulldogs got a turnover.
The Wolfpack capitalized on two quarterback sacks from junior Carter Schindler to deny the Bulldogs a scoring opportunity.
The teams traded possessions early in the fourth quarter. With the game clock winding down, the Wolfpack put together a touchdown drive. Starting on their 16-yard line, Reestman bolted for 22 yards before being tackled. On the play the Bulldogs were called for a face mask penalty, putting the ball on the Bulldogs’ 32-yard line. Two carries by Heithoff and one from Reestman gave the Wolfpack a first down on the 20-yard line. Then, two plays later, the Wolfpack found the endzone. On the play, quarterback Conor Ramold pitched the ball to Reestman who stopped and lofted a pass to Hayes Miller, all alone on the five-yard line. Miller went untouched across the goalline. Heithoff then added the two-point conversion. Bulldog reserves added a final touchdown to make the score 46 to 8.
Reestman led the Wolfpack with 49 yards rushing. Kyle Schumacher and Carter Schindler each had seven tackles to lead the Wolfpack.
The loss dropped the Wolfpack’s record to 0-5 heading into Homecoming Week. Next up for the Wolfpack is Howells-Dodge (2-2). Kickoff at Elgin Field will be 7 p.m. Friday night.
Bulldogs 46, Wolfpack 8
Wolfpack………0 0 0 8 — 8
Bulldogs………14 16 8 8 — 46
HHLF — Johnny Babl 73 run (Dylan Hanzel pass to Logen Beller)
HHLF — Ashton Dohmen 3 run (PAT failed)
HHLF — Hanzel 5 run (Dohmen pass to Beller)
HHLF — Dohmen 56 pass to Babl (Dohmen pass to Brock Wiese)
HHLF — Babl 53 run (Babl run)
EPPJ — Hunter Reestman 20 pass to Hayes Miller (Liam Heithoff run)
HHLF — Bryce Classen 10 run (Bret Hanis pass to Andrew Mendez)
Team stats EPPJ
Total plays 43
First downs 5
Rushing 35/76
Passing 3/8/0
Passing Yds 20
Total yds 96
Interceptions by 1
Fumbles/lost 1/1
Fumbles rec 1
Individual statistics
Passing — Conor Ramold 2/5/0 — 0, Hunter Reestman 1/3/0 — 20
Rushing — Conor Ramold 5/-9, Joseph Bailey 1/2, Kyle Schumacher 1/-1, Liam Heithoff 10/35, Hunter Reestman 18/49
Receiving — Hayes Miller 1/20, Hunter Reestman 2/0
Tackles (solo/assists) — Conor Ramold 0/1, Joseph Bailey 1/2, Miles Schrage 2/3, Kyle Schumacher 3/4, Noah Knievel 1/0, Liam Heithoff 3/2, Hayes Miller 0/1, Lane Bartak 0/1, Tyler Iburg 0/1, Hunter Reestman 2/4, Carter Schindler 4/3, Nick Iburg 1/5
Quarterback sacks — Carter Schindler 2
Interceptions — Hunter Reestman 1
Fumble recoveries — Hunter Reestman 1
