Halftime push for Wildcat football stopped by Pepin/Alma in conference loss
Blair-Taylor senior Evan Nehring secured the ball on a 45-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of a loss to Dairyland Conference foe Pepin/Alma last week. (Times photograph by Benjamin Pierce)
Facing a 21-point deficit at halftime, the Blair-Taylor football team faced a battle to get back into the game against another undefeated team in the Dairyland Conference last Friday.
Seth Jahr jumped on a fumble on the opening drive of the second half to give the Wildcats life, and the Wildcat offense responded by driving down their home field to make it 21-6 behind a four-yard run from Jackson Shramek.
After forcing a three and out on the next Pepin/Alma possession, the Wildcats had a chance to get back into the game. A sloppy snap on fourth down near midfield resulted in a turnover on downs, and the visitors never let the hosts close again in a 42-14 win.
“Us as a team, we didn’t panic. We know they’re a good football team. We just stay within who we are, what we do well, and we believe in our kids,” Blair-Taylor coach Andy Nehring said. “So, unfortunately, that fourth and one didn’t go the way we wanted to, but you know, it’s part of football.”
Pepin/Alma entered the game as the fifth-ranked team in division seven with a perfect 6-0 (now 7-0) record. The Wildcats fall to 4-3 on the year and 4-1 in the conference with the loss.
The home team added three straight rushing touchdowns after the stop near midfield. P/A’s Demetrius Bergmann racked up 166 yards on the ground and three scores to lead all players, and quarterback Drew Seifert threw for 179 yards and one touchdown.
Blair-Taylor got 112 yards on the ground from Shramek and were led in the receiving department with a seven-catch, 97-yard performance from Evan Nehring. Bryan Rogstad led the Wildcats on defense with 11 tackles.
Blair-Taylor closed the scoring with a late touchdown, this time a 45-yard pass from Knisley to Nehring.
“We knew we couldn’t afford to make mistakes in any phase of the game, and we did. I don’t know that there was one moment where we thought there was a turning point. It was gonna be a battle all night,” Nehring said.
Despite the loss, Nehring told his team that there is no shame in losing to a strong team such as Pepin/Alma. Nehring and the group prepared for another conference challenge this week at Cochrane-Fountain City (5-0 Dairyland).
The focus will be on small details this week for the Wildcats, and they won’t dwell on last week’s loss.
“Let’s together as a group acknowledge the fact that, ‘Yeah, we lost.’ Let’s be honest about it and move on,” Nehring said before later adding in an email: “We tickled the tail of the dragon and got smacked. We’ll learn from it and get better next week.”
B-T—
Rushing (att./yds.)—Shramek 24/112, Knisley 9/27.
Receiving (rec./yds.)—Nehring 7/97, Ga. Armitage 2/25, Shramek 1/15.
Passing (comp./att./yds.)—Knisley 10/19/127.
Tackles (solo/total)—Rogstad 8/11, Elvaker 2/8, G. Koxlien 5/6, Gr. Armitage 4/6, Nehring 3/6, Nitek 4/5, Ga. Armitage 1/4, Lien 1/2, Turner 1/2, Jahr 1/1, Knisley 1/1, Shramek 1/1, Smith 0/1, C. Koxlien 0/1.
