By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor
RIVERSIDE — The Durant Wildcats traveled to Class A No. 10 Highland for a district 6 game with the Huskies. There, the Wildcats upset the 10th ranked team in the latest Associated Press poll by a score of 14-0. The Wildcats improved to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in district play with the win. Highland fell to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in district play. The Wildcats came into the game knowing the Huskie defense was stout, as they were only one of two district 6 teams that had not allowed over 100 points on the season to opposing offenses.
Durant also stopped the Huskies shutout streak at 19 games. Highland had not been shutout in nearly two years to the date in the loss Friday. Highland’s last shutout loss was on September 23, 2016, in a 36-0 loss to Iowa City Regina. The Huskies went the final four games that year, the entire 2017 season, and the first six games this year before the Durant game Friday. It is quite an accomplishment to score points in 19 straight games especially since Highland was 2-7 just last season.
Tristan Hughes led the Wildcat offense on a soppy and soggy night. Hughes rushed for 262 yards on 38 carries for a 6.9-yard average. He moved into fourth place in district 6 in rushing with 544 yards, a 7.4-yard average and 4 touchdowns in district play. He has 816 yards overall and is 184 yards away from 1,000. Durant did not pass much in the game, attempting only 12 passes. Bryce Lafrenz was 5-for-12 for 47 yards and a touchdown. Five receivers caught one pass with Marcus Engstler scoring on an 18-yard pass. Mason Compton had only one catch in the game for zero yards. Compton leads class A in receiving yards and is fourth in the state in any class with 785 receiving yards.
Durant got the football first and marched down the field 67 yards in eight plays to scored the games first points, just under four minutes into the game. The Wildcats gained all 67 yards on the ground, showing off their powerful offensive line of Collin Merschman, Joe Lilienthal, Will Lossi, Jonah Werth and Isiah Werthmann.
Durant started the drive on the 33-yard line. On the first play, Tristan Hughes darted through a hole created by Merschmann, Lilienthal and Lossi and another block by Marcus Engstler, on the left side to pick up 22 yards and cross midfield. Two plays later, Hughes gained 25 yards off the right side behind Werth, Ethan Schlapkohl and lead blocks from Engstler and Zac Badtram to scoot for 25 yards to the red zone. A Drew DeLong 12 yard run set the Wildcats up with a first and goal from the 5-yard line. On the next play, Hughes scored the games first points to take a 7-0 lead with 8:09 left in the first quarter.
The Wildcats second drive reached the red zone before penalties set the Wildcats back and a back snap over quarterback Bryce Lafrenz’s head was recovered by Highland in Durant territory at their 37-yard line. The Huskies could not convert. Highland did not pick up a first down and on a 4th and 8, Hughes sacked Highland quarterback Trey Lasek to turn the ball over on downs.
Durant would lead 7-0 after the first quarter. The second quarter saw the skies open up and for most of the quarter, there was a driving rain with off and on downpours. The Wildcats had four possessions in the quarter, four first downs and crossed midfield three times on those possessions. Durant had to punt twice and had one turnover in the quarter. Highland had three possessions and had only one first down and only once did they cross midfield. The Huskies punted twice and had a turnover on downs once.
In the second half, Durant crossed mid-field once on their own and another time from a Highland turnover. In the third quarter, Durant missed a field goal attempt and would take their 7-0 lead to the final quarter.
Durant put the game away in the fourth quarter with 7:39 left to play in the game. There, Bryce Lafrenz threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Engstler to put Durant up 14-0. The yards put Engstler’s receiving total over 100 for the year and put the game out of reach for the Huskies.
Durant held Huskie quarterback Trey Lasek to just 47 passing yards in the game. Lasek came into the game with over 600 passing yards through six games, averaging about 100 yards per game. Lasek led Highland with 75 yards rushing on 15 carries. Jordan Sosa caught three passes for 28 yards. Defensively, Brady Hahn had a team-high 15, and Cole Adamson added 13.
The Wildcats will host BGM this week. The Bears are ranked in class A by most polls (AP, Radio Iowa, Des Moines Register, Cedar Rapids Gazette). The Bears are unbeaten at 7-0 and 3-0 in district play. BGM has not scored fewer than 28 points in any of their games this season and have three shutout wins in their pocket.
Quarterback Scott Tibbetts is fourth in the district with 660 yards and second in touchdown passes with 10. Running back Noah Beck is second in the district with 929 yards and first in touchdowns with 16. He will look to top the 1,000-yard mark for the season in the game. Devon Maxfield is the leading BGM receiver with 11 receptions for 273 yards and 6 touchdowns. Defensively, BGM’s leading tackle leaders are Jordan Kriegel and Kyle Cadden with 63 and 51 respectively. BGM has nine team interceptions led by Beck with three and two others with two each. Beck is a dangerous return man too with over 140 yards each for punt and kick-off returns with a touchdown for each return.
The winner of the game will likely be district champions. The Wildcats will play at Pekin in week nine and BGM will play Cardinal. In this week’s RPI index for class A, district 6 results were: 3. BGM, 6. Durant, 14. Highland, 22. Pekin, 24. Belle Plaine, 28. Cardinal.
Quarter Scores:
1 2 3 4 Final
Durant 7 0 0 7 14
Highland 0 0 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
1st Qtr (8:09) - D - Drew DeLong 5-yard run (Hector Gonzales kick)
4th Qtr (7:39) - D - Marcus Engstler 18-yard pass from Bryce Lafrenz (Hector Gonzales kick)
Individual Statistics:
Rushing: Durant - Tristan Hughes 38-262, Drew DeLong 12-57, Bryace Lafrenz 3-14, Marcus Engstler 1-(-7). Highland - Trey Lasek 15-75, Brady Hahn 6-23, Cole Adamson 5-25, Jordan Sosa 3-14.
Passing: Durant - Bryce Lafrenz 5-for-12 47 yards 1 TD, 0 INT’s. Highland - 5-for-11 47 yards 0 TD’s, 1 INT.
Receiving: Durant - Marcus Engstler 1-18, Zac Badtram 1-14, Jake Willkomm 1-10, Tristan Hughes 1-5, Mason Compton 1-0. Highland - Jordan Sosa 3-28, Owen Donovan 1-10, Brady Hahn 1-9.
Defensive Statistics:
Tackles (S-A-T): Durant - Bryce Lafrenz 5-4 9, Tristan Hughes 5-3 8, Zac Badtram 0-6 6, Marcus Engstler 5-1 6, Will Lossi 2-4 6, Joe Lilienthal 1-5 6, Jonah Werth 0-5 5, Jake Willkomm 1-3 4, Cameron Ruggiero 1-2 3, Mason Compton 1-0 1, Brendan Paper 1-0 1.
Highland - Brady Hahn 3-12 15, Cole Adamson 6-7 13, Trey Lasek 7-2 9, Zach Lasek 4-4 8, Brody Burton 1-6 7, Cory Stewart 2-4 6, Cael Yeggy 1-5 6, Isaac Black 1-3 4, Bradley Rodgers 0-3 3, Jose Cardenas 1-1 2, Jordan Sosa 2-0 2, Bryce Waters 0-1 1.
Tackles For Loss: Durant - Bryce Lafrenz 4, Tristan Hughes 2, Joe LIlienthal 1, Jonah Werth 1. Highland - Cole Adamson 2, Isaac Black 2, Zack Lasek 1, Jose Cardenas 1, Brody Burton 1.
Sacks: Durant - Tristan Hughes 1. Highland - none.
Interceptions: Durant - Jake Willkomm 1. Highland - none.
Fumble Recoveries: Durant - Marcus Engstler 1. Highland - Jose Cardenas 1.
Kicking Statistics (Durant Only):
Kick-Offs: Hector Gonzales 2-91 yards, Marcus Engstler 1-31 yards.
Kick-Off Returns: Marcus Engstler 1-8.
Punts: Bryce Lafrenz 4-133 yards, 33.3-yard ave.
Punt Returns: none.
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