Bulldogs corner Cadets in 35-0 season-opening victory
Running back Wyatt Powell bursts into the end zone for the first of his two touchdowns in MFL MarMac’s 35-0 win over Crestwood in the Aug. 25 football season opener. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Brayden Gordon (left) and Tristen Koehn were part of a stellar MFL MarMac defense that kept the Cadets off the scoreboard.
Bulldog quarterback Carver Blietz-Bentien was an efficient 5-11 for 72 yards and two touchdowns, and he scored once himself.
Kade McElwaine closes in on a Cadet runner in the MFL MarMac victory.
Fullback Quinn McGeough paves the way for wing back Bryce Radloff, who compiled 55 rushing yards on five touches.
Dalton Krause brings down a Crestwood runner in the Bulldogs' season opening win.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
MFL MarMac defeated Crestwood 35-0 in the Aug. 25 football season opener. It was a convincing victory over a 2A opponent for the Bulldogs, who came into the match-up ranked third in Class 1A.
“We were capitalizing when we needed to, putting points on the board when we needed to and played great defense the whole time. It never felt like we had our backs against the wall,” said head coach Dan Anderson.
A short run by Wyatt Powell—followed by an extra point from Ben Krambeer—started the scoring for MFL MarMac in the first quarter. The Bulldogs struck next on a 33-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Carver Blietz-Bentien to tight end Kade McElwaine that upped the lead to 14-0.
The team scored twice more with less than three minutes remaining before halftime, when Powell broke away for his second touchdown, then MFL MarMac capitalized on a botched Cadet punt snap that put the ball just four yards from the end zone. Blietz-Bentien took it in himself, and Krambeer’s point after gave the Bulldogs a solid 27-0 advantage.
“It was great to get that lead,” Anderson said. “There in the second half, we told the boys, if we get a stop and drive down and score, you’re going to find somebody’s breaking point. It took quite awhile to get that score because we had too many penalties shooting us in the foot and driving us back.”
There were over 20 penalties combined for the teams Friday night, making for what Anderson called “a pretty sloppy game.”
“But we were still able to overcome that,” he said. “The guys made plays when they needed to and we got the first downs and methodically moved the ball downfield and scored.”
MFL MarMac’s final points were courtesy of an 18-yard reception by wing back Bryce Radloff. Despite fumbling the extra point attempt, the team was able to punch in a two-point conversion with receiver Brandon Christofferson, sealing the 35-0 win.
Blietz-Bentien was an efficient 5-11 for 72 yards and two touchdowns, and he scored once himself. Christofferson caught two passes for 17 yards and Radloff two for 22 yards. McElwaine had the single catch for 33 yards.
Powell led the Bulldog ground attack with 94 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Radloff added 55 yards on five touches, while fullback Quinn McGeough toughed out 36 yards on 10 attempts.
“It was a pretty balanced attack,” Anderson said.
The MFL MarMac defense was even more impressive, limiting Crestwood to under 140 yards of total offense—98 on the ground and 41 in the air.
“The defense played well all night long. Defense was flying to the football,” Anderson said. “We didn’t give them much at all. I don’t think they completed more than a couple passes the whole game—a couple screens.”
Tristen Koehn collected a team-high 9.5 tackles, 6 of which were solo efforts and 4 for a loss. McElwaine and Powell each picked up 8.5, and Radloff came in at 5.5 and McGeough 3.5.
Anderson praised the play of the linebacker corps, including seniors McElwaine, Powell and Blietz-Bentien, but also credited first-time starter and junior Brayden Gordon.
“[He] played really well on defense. He was really physical up front,” the coach said.
The win was an overall team effort, according to Anderson.
“Every player on the sidelines got in and contributed to that win. They made some plays out there too. It was great,” he shared.
Heading into the Sept. 1 match-up against another Class 2A opponent, Waukon, MFL MarMac will have to clean a few things up, though.
“That’s the good thing. You can win 35-0 over a good team that was in the quarterfinals last year in 2A and we had a lot of mistakes. The guys know that and have to be hungry for the next one. We’ll have a good week of practice and work on cleaning up our mistakes. I was pleased with the effort and outcome,” Anderson said.
