By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor
PACKWOOD — The Durant Wildcats have done it. An undefeated district run. Durant completed the run with a 35-7 win at Pekin last Friday to improve to 7-2 overall and 5-0 in district play. The win clinched the outright district title for Durant and a spot in the 2018 playoffs. The Wildcats will play a home playoff game for the first time in school history Friday. Durant is making the playoffs for just the third time in school history.
“They were playing for a playoff spot too, as remote as it was, but I was happy with how the kids stayed focused tonight. We did what we had to do to be successful and we earned a tough road win,” said Durant football coach Joel Diedrichs.
“We punched our ticket last week for the playoffs and guaranteed a playoff spot, this week we took care of business and are the outright champions. It’s the first time that Durant has won a district title. It’s a long time coming and the boys worked very hard for this,” he said.
Durant scored first in the game on their first drive of the game. A 24-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Lafrenz to Mason Compton gave Durant a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. That 7-0 score stood after the first quarter.
Pekin scored their only points in the second quarter, 4:46 left before halftime on a Tanner Bainbridge 3-yard run, tying the game at 7-7. Durant would retake the lead right before halftime when Tristan Hughes scored from three yards out, giving Durant a halftime lead of 14-7.
Durant put the game away in the second half, scoring 21 unanswered points on three touchdowns. Third quarter touchdown passes by Bryce Lafrenz to Marcus Engstler and Mason Compton gave Durant a 28-7 lead after three quarters. The second Lafrenz pass to Compton was set up by a turnover when the Panthers coughed up the football on one of their four fumbles in the game.
Tristan Hughes rushed for a 1-yard score with 4:37 left in the game to put the final score at 35-7. Mason Compton led Durant in receiving with six receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Marcus Engstler caught two passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Durant was led in tackles by Tristan Hughes with 12, Bryce Lafrenz with 8, and Zac Badtram with 7. The Durant defense held the district’s leading rusher, Dayne Eckley, to just 34 yards on nine carries.
Caleb Comstock passed for 99 yards on five completions. Connor Reed caught four passes for 95 yards. Comstock led Pekin in rushing with 39 yards on six carries.
Durant senior quarterback Bryce Lafrenz broke the school record for most passing yards in a season. He needed nine yards to get the record. He got 179 on 9 completions with 3 touchdowns and an interception. Lafrenz now has thrown for 1,586 yards and 19 touchdowns on the year.
Tristan Hughes topped the 1,000-yard mark after rushing for 128 yards. Hughes now has 1,011 yards and 9 touchdowns on the season.
The Wildcats moved up to No. 7 in the final Associated Press Iowa High School Football Class 1A poll. It’s the highest ranking Durant has had this season. Another district team, BGM, finishes the season ranked No. 10 in the same 1A poll. The top-3 teams in Class 1A in the final poll were Hudson No. 1, AHSTW, Avoca No. 2, and Algona Garrigan No. 3.
Durant will now move to the playoffs and will begin with a home game against a familiar foe. The Wildcats will host fellow district foe Highland. The two teams met in week seven in Highland, where the Wildcats won in a 14-0 rain-soaked contest. The Huskies won their two games to finish the season after losing to Durant. Highland beat Cardinal 46-0 and Belle Plaine 33-8. Highland finished the regular season 7-2 and 3-2 in district play. Highland won their first four games of the season and their last two games of the regular season.
Highland quarterback Trey Lasek leads Highland in passing and rushing. Lasek has passed for 904 yards and 10 touchdowns and has rushed for 1,055 yards and 15 touchdowns with a 7.5-yard average. Cory Stewart and Mason McFarland are Highland’s leading receivers with 324 and 292 receiving yards. Defensively, Highland’s top tackle leaders are Brady Hahn with 108 and Cole Adamson with 72. Lasek has a team-high six interceptions for 205 yards and a touchdown and he is one of four Huskies with at least two interceptions.
If the Wildcats beat the Huskies Friday, they would play on Friday, November 2 against the winner of Hudson (9-0) and Lynnville-Sully (7-2). The winner of that game would advance to the Class A semifinals played at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. The Wildcats finished 5th in the final RPI rankings and were ranked No. 7 in the final Associated Press Class A poll of the year.
Quarter Scores:
1 2 3 4 Final
Durant 7 7 14 7 35
Pekin 0 7 0 0 7
Scoring Summary:
1st Qtr - 9:34 - D - Bryce Lafrenz 24-yard TD pass to Mason Compton (Hector Gonzales kick)
2nd Qtr - 4:46 - P - Tanner Bainbridge 3-yard run (Levi Rohr PAT Good)
2nd Qtr - 1:15 - D - Tristan Hughes 3-yard Run (Hector Gonzales kick)
3rd Qtr - 8:47 - D - Marcus Engstler 58-yard pass from Bryce Lafrenz (Hector Gonzales kick)
3rd Qtr - 6:59 - D - Mason Compton 28-yard pass from Bryce Lafrenz (Hector Gonzales kick)
4th Qtr - 4:37 - D - Tristan Hughes 1-yard run (Hector Gonzales kick)
Individual Statistics:
Rushing: Durant - Tristan Hughes 30-128, Bryce Lafrenz 4-(-15), Zac Badtram 3-20, Drew DeLong 3-8, Jake Willkomm 2-27. Pekin - Tanner Bainbridge 10-26, Dayne Eckley 9-34, Zach Hammes 8-29, Caleb Comstock 6-39.
Passing: Durant - Bryce Lafrenz 9-for-18 179 yards, 3 TD’s, 1 INT. Pekin - Caleb Comstock 5-for-12 99 yards, 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s.
Receiving: Durant - Mason Compton 6-114, Marcus Engstler 2-58, Zac Badram 1-7. Pekin - Connor Reed 4-95, Zach Hammes 1-4.
Defensive Statistics:
Tackles (S-A-T): Durant - Tristan Hughes 8-4 12, Bryce Lafrenz 2-6 8, Zac Badtram 4-3 7, Cameron Ruggiero 4-2 6, Marcus Engstler 3-2 5, Joe Lilienthal 2-3 5, Drew DeLong 2-2 4, Jake Willkomm 3-0 3, Mason Compton 1-2 3, Tony Dillabough 1-1 2, Kegan Head 2-0 2, Brendan Paper 0-2 2, Ethan Schlapkohl 1-1 2, Jonah Werth 1-1 2, Will Lossi 0-1 1, Ben Orr 0-1 1.
Tackles for loss: Durant - Cameron Ruggiero 1, Will Lossi 1, Drew DeLong 1.
Pekin - N/A.
Fumble Recoveries: Durant - Marcus Engstler 2, Tristan Hughes 1, Drew DeLong 1.
Interceptions: Pekin - Lathe Crochet 1.
Kicking Statistics:
Kick-Offs: Durant - Hector Gonzales 6-308 yards. Pekin - Levi Rohr 2-110 yards.
Kick-Off Returns: Durant - Mason Compton 1-19 yards. Pekin - Dayne Eckley 2-23, Zach Hammes 1-16.
Punts: Durant - Bryce Lafrenz 2-82 yards, 41.0-ave. Pekin - Caleb Comstock 3-105 yards, 35.0-ave.
Punt Returns: Durant - Mason Compton 1-18. Pekin - N/A.
No comments:
Post a Comment