Sports
Cougars scrap past Braves in opener
Tyler Ohmann
09/03/2013
The Bottineau Braves got all they could handle and more in last Tuesday’s opener against the North Prairie Cougars in Bottineau.
The Cougars out muscled the Braves all night, especially on the line, while the Braves fought back with speed and special teams. In the end though the power running of the Cougars was too much for Bottineau and North Prairie took the game 47-34.
“I thought they wore us down a little bit, but I thought our kids worked hard and played hard and that was a good sign,” said Bottineau head coach Rob Bedlion. “We got a little down and we made some mistakes, and they’ll do that. We had some young kids in some tough spots, but we learned a lot.”
It didn’t begin that way though.
Bottineau kicked off the game with a first down run by Ethan Kerslake. On the second play Bottineau was in the end zone as senior quarterback Andrew Hill found fellow senior Harrison Aide for a 43-yard score to put the Braves up 6-0.
The Cougars answered back with a touchdown of their own to tie the game.
It wouldn’t stay that way for long as Hill found junior Jesse Heil for a 40-yard pass early on the next drive. Aide would score a couple plays later on a seven-yard scamper to put Bottineau up 14-6.North Prairie would draw within two after a five-yard run by Ryan Gailfus.
Bottineau wasn’t done in the first quarter though. Senior John Gohman scored a touchdown on a run that was set up by a strong Aide kick return.
“We did make some plays at first, some big plays, but when their defense figured us out a little bit physically we lost some battles, especially up front,” Bedlion said. “That’s how the game kind of went on from there. We tried to make some adjustments, but we just couldn’t out physical them, and we have to get better at that.”
Jeff Soukup took over from then on as he scored on 48 and 47-yard runs in the second and third quarters to put the Cougars up 33-20.
Bottineau did not give up though as Aide returned a kick 71 yards for a score on an impressive return. A successful two point conversion run by Hill drew the Braves within five.
Another senior stepped up on the next defensive stand as Bottineau managed to strip a Cougars ball carrier and Tanner Bickford scooped up the loose ball from his defensive end spot and returned it 48 yards for a score to get Bottineau back in the lead late in the fourth quarter.
However, the ground and pound of the Cougars caught up with the Braves in the fourth quarter and they regained the lead on a Jalen Pfeifer 10-yard run.
North Prairie looked poised to close out the game as they drove deep in Bottineau territory in the fourth quarter. However, Bottineau forced a fumble and recovered it at the two yard line.
On the ensuing play the Braves fumbled an exchange and were touched down in the end zone for a safety.
The Cougars ran the clock out and sealed the game with a Trevor Gottbreht two-yard run.
“I think we have a lot of kids who can make plays, it is just the consistency on defense and being able to stop long drives and sustain drives of our own,” Bedlion said. “We made some big plays, which are fun to watch, but we need to be able to extend drives and conversely force a few more punts on the defensive side.”
In total the Cougars rushed 57 times for 425 yards, while the Braves managed 87 yards on the ground and 84 yards through the air.
Aide accounted for 317 total yards including his kick and punt returns. He also scored three touchdowns. Hill went 3-for-12 for 84 yards and a score through the air, and had seven carries for 34 yards and two two-point conversions on the ground.
Defensively Kerslake led all tacklers with 12 tackles and a forced fumble. Aide had 11 tackles and forced fumble, while Cody Bedlion had 11 tackles and a fumble recovery.
The 0-1 Braves had last weekend off due to the early game last Tuesday. Their next game is on Sept. 6 at Velva.
Bedlion is looking forward to using the extra time between games to improve.
“I think it is great to have this long break right now,” Bedlion said. “It gives us time to work on some things, and we have a few guys that are banged up right now and it gives them a chance to heal and get ready, and I really think the kids are going to come out and play a good game against Velva.”