Sports
Jacks drudge to ugly homecoming win
Matthew Semisch
10/07/2014
The good news for the Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) football team is that it moved to 5-1 on the season on Saturday thanks to a homecoming game victory over Vermilion (Minn.).
The bad news will make itself abundantly clear when the Lumberjacks’ players and coaches study DCB’s copy of the game film.
The Jacks’ 13-12 win over the Ironmen allowed DCB to remain in second place in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference’s (MCAC) Northern Division.
How that victory came about, though, suggested that the Jacks’ hold on their place in their division is less than firm.
Just about everything that looked good on DCB on Saturday happened in a first quarter that flattered neither team.
The Jacks opened the scoring just 4:25 into the game on what stood up over the final 55:35 as arguably the best-executed play either team’s offense was able to muster.
DCB opened the scoring through a 45-yard touchdown pass over the middle of the field from starting quarterback DeAngelo Orum to wideout Kaian Duverger. That drive had been hampered by offensive penalties, but the score brought to a positive close a three-play, 41-yard drive.
The Jacks’ defense soon helped DCB climb further into the lead. Just over five minutes after Duverger put DCB in front, Jacks defensive back Josh Best intercepted a Trenton White pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.
Best has been a machine in DCB’s defensive backfield thus far this season, and he needed to be again on Saturday. It was then that he took his fourth interception of the season to the house for already his third pick-six of 2014.
In all, though, it was a very sloppy opening quarter for both teams. The Jacks and Ironmen combined for five picks in that first frame - three of them going in DCB’s favor - and one of Orum’s two intercepted passes was snagged in the Vermilion end zone less than a minute before Best scored.
The 13 points DCB scored in that first quarter were the only points the Jacks would score all day. Orum as well as backup quarterbacks Krae Kelso and Austin Ruiz failed to keep the Jacks’ momentum rolling the rest of the way.
Vermilion took advantage of this and got back into the game in the third quarter through two touchdowns 62 seconds apart.
The comeback started with a six-play, 67-yard drive for the Ironmen inside the final two minutes of the frame. Vermilion capped the drive off with a seven-yard pass over the middle from White to wide receiver Khalil Walker to make the score 13-6.
The resulting extra-point kick from Earl Norris was blocked by DCB safety La’Mar Stevenson. That wasn’t the only time Stevenson came up big on Saturday, as he also recorded two interceptions against the Ironmen.
After Vermilion got onto the scoreboard, DCB saw its next offensive drive sputter before they were forced to punt. Drayton Murphy’s ensuing punt was blocked by Ironmen defensive lineman Ashton Elmore before Elmore recovered the ball in the DCB end zone.
Vermilion then attempted a two-point conversion that, if successful, would have tied the game at 13-13. A pass from White, however, fell incomplete.
The Ironmen had chances to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but nothing came of those opportunities. Norris hooked a 27-yard field goal wide right with 10:35 left, and White missed an open receiver in the end zone on a Hail Mary pass as time expired.
Perhaps what happened on the final play of the game shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Between DCB and Vermilion, five quarterbacks played on Saturday and went a combined 16-for-84 passing the ball.
Shoddiness appeared in other aspects of the game, too. The teams together went 3-for-34 on third down conversions on Saturday, and 225 yards’ worth of penalties were handed out on 26 fouls.
Speaking after the game, DCB head coach Tim Pfeifer made very clear his thoughts on what he saw from his team against the Ironmen (3-2).
“It was a terrible game,” Pfeifer said. “I thought our defense played really well in the first quarter, but after the first quarter, I thought our team stunk.
“I didn’t think we did anything well. It just wasn’t good football. We had one drive as an offense and one big play (on defense).”
DCB will take part in its final home game of the 2014 regular season this Saturday against MCAC Northern Division rival Fond du Lac (Minn.).