ELGIN — The Wolfpack led 16 to 6 entering the fourth quarter. They shut the door on the Knights by scoring two touchdowns in the final 12 minutes to seal their second victory of the season.
Coach Randy Eisenhauer said in the days leading up to the game he stressed to his team to show the Knights who was the better team up front. “This game was won up front with our line of scrimmage,” he said. “They (North Central) were also a smash mouth football team and we needed to show them we owned the line. We did this with the first drive of the game as we went 18 plays in seven minutes to score.”
Scoring the first touchdown of the game was junior fullback Kyle Kallhoff who capped the drive with a one-yard plunge into the endzone. Andrew Fangman’s two-point conversion made the score 8 to 0.
Again, this time in the second quarter, the Wolfpack put together another time-consuming scoring drive. They held the ball for 6:30, capping the drive with another Kallhoff touchdown run, this time from six yards out.
Eisenhauer called the domination of the line of scrimmage a “huge part of the game.” How huge? North Central ran only seven plays in the first half.
North Central did get on the scoreboard with a touchdown in the third quarter. But from there on, it would be the Wolfpack’s night.
“Our kids battled hard in the fourth quarter to finish them off,” Eisenhauer said. In the fourth quarter, Andrew Fangman broke free for a 26-yard touchdown run.
The Wolfpack then capped off the night with a halfback-guard eligible pass. Chad Bode connected with Homecoming King Kyle Heithoff for a 25-yard touchdown strike.
Safety Seth Schumacher then finished the game with a “highlight reel” interception. The interception was his fourth in two games.
“Our defense also played one heck of a game,” Eisenhauer said. “To only give up 56 yards rushing and 56 yards passing is something else. They have really come a long ways from the first game to this game. They were put in many different situations in the game and especially on short field and answered.”
Fangman led the Wolfpack in rushing with 89 yards on 14 carries. On defense, Heithoff led the way with 17 tackles.
Next on the schedule for the Wolfpack (2-3) is a road game Friday afternoon against Niobrara/Verdigre. The Cougars come into the game with a 1-4 record. “The kids need to be ready for a hard fought game and hopefully we can keep it rolling,” Eisenhauer said.
Kickoff for the afternoon game will be 3 p.m. at Verdigre.
Wolfpack 30, Knights 6
Wolfpack………..8 8 0 14 — 30
Knights………….0 0 6 0 — 6
EPPJ — Kyle Kallhoff 1 run (Andrew Fangman run)
EPPJ — Kallhoff 6 run (Fangman run)
NC — Touchdown (PAT failed)
EPPJ — Fangman 26 run (Pass failed)
EPPJ — Kyle Heithoff 25 pass from Chad Bode (Bode run)
Team Statistics EPPJ
First Downs 17
Passing 3/5/0
Passing Yds 57
Rushing/Yds 68/295
Total Offense 352
Penalties/Yds 6/55
Individual Statistics
Passing — Chad Bode 1/1/0 — 25; Seth Schumacher 2/4/0 — 32
Rushing — Kyle Kallhoff 18/85; Chad Bode 22/80; Andrew Fangman 14/89; Seth Schumacher 14/41
Receiving — Austin Meis 1/17; Kyle Heithoff 1/25; Andrew Fangman 1/15
Tackles (solo/assists) — Dylan Behnk 0/3; Kyle Kallhoff 1/5; Austin Meis 1/3; Miles Schrage 1/7; Chad Bode 2/7; Chase Preister 0/1; Christopher Bush 2/4; Kyle Heithoff 3/14; Andrew Fangman 5/5, Seth Schumacher 1/1
Quarterback sacks — Scott Moser (1)
Interceptions — Seth Schumacher (1)
Blocked punts — Andrew Fangman (1)
