M-S Football moves into Class 5A rankings with win over Charleston
By Fred Kroner
The Bulldogs celebrated their entrance into the state football rankings (No. 10 in Class 5A) with a convincing 48-10 Apollo Conference win on Friday (Sept. 24) at Charleston.
The win was the team’s fifth in a row to start the season, making them playoff-eligible. If M-S gets to six wins, it will have a guaranteed berth in the postseason playoffs.
M-S expanded a 7-3 second-quarter lead into a comfortable 34-3 halftime lead by scoring four touchdowns in the final 5 minutes and 13 seconds of the half.
The scoring outburst started after a flag on Nick Golden for a late hit provided a spark.
“We were kind of flat to start the game,” M-S coach Jon Adkins said. “That flag happening got us fired up and going, and we never looked back.
“We got the throttle going.”
Mitchell Gallier, Dream Eagle (twice) and Valient Walsh accounted for the late second-period TDs.
“We were able to execute like we normally do,” Adkins said. “We’ve been saying our offense is special and we can take what the defense is giving.
“This was another good offensive performance. We felt good on that side.”
While on offense, the Bulldogs were whistled for just one penalty in the road game.
M-S had close to a 50-50 balance on rushing and passing yards, generating 241 yards on the ground and 232 through the air en route to the biggest total yardage output of the season.
Luke Johnson rushed for a game-high 114 yards, his fourth 100-plus rushing effort of the season. Johnson, Brian Nierenhausen and Ryken Kirby all had runs from scrimmage of at least 15 yards.
Nierenhauser scored two TDs.
Wyatt Bohm continued his stellar season. The junior quarterback, who has thrown just one interception in five games, completed 13 of 21 passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns.
For the season, Bohm has passed for 1,262 yards while completing 58 percent of his attempts. Johnson has been the workhorse in the backfield, rolling up 554 yards on the ground while averaging 5.8 yards per carry.
Besides Dream Eagle, Walsh and Johnson turned receptions into TDs against the Trojans.
Those three, plus Nierenhauser and Quenton Rogers have caught passes in each of the team’s first five games.
Kyle Walmer nailed 6 of 7 extra-point placements and has converted 20 of his last 24 attempts.
The M-S offense is averaging 42.6 points per game and hasn’t put up fewer than 35 points yet in a game this season.
With that production, the defense has been the overlooked unit by many, but not by Adkins.
“The way we’re lighting up the scoreboard, the defense gets overshadowed, but the defense continues to be a huge asset, doing everything right and executing the game plan,” Adkins said. “We play fast and we play physical.”
The Bulldogs limited Charleston to 149 yards of total offense, the lowest single-game effort of the season by an oppnent.
The team’s tackling leaders were Golden (eight), Jack Gallier (six), Ashton Heiser (six), Mateo Casillas (four), Marshall Bachar (three) and Kole Morgan (three).
The defense was without defensive lineman Ryan Yancy, a junior who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the homecoming game against Lincoln.
Senior Hayden Marxmiller earned the start at Charleston.
“He was in the rotation and has been doing a great job in practice,” Adkins said.
M-S (5-0) returns to action on Friday (Oct. 1) at Quincy Notre Dame (4-1), which suffered its first loss last week (28-7 to Breese Mater Dei). QND was ranked fifth in Class 4A last week.
“We don’t have an easy game from here on out, including the playoffs,” Adkins said. “With them coming off a loss, the deck will be stacked against us.
“Whether we’re ranked 10th, first or not on the list, our kids will stay hungry for their goals.”
Adkins doesn’t dismiss the benefits of being included in the state poll.
“It’s nice for our kids to get rewarded for the hard work and effort, but there’s still a job to do.”
