Pierce Takes the First Win of the Season
By Brianna Rundell
The Pierce football team played the Aurora Huskies for their first game of the season and finished the night with a 27-21 victory.
During the first quarter of the game, Pierce stood their ground. Ethan Nordby made the first touchdown of the game, but the Bluejays did not make the point after kick. Near the end of the quarter, Aurora scored and completed the 2-point conversion to lead 8-6.
“We played alright, lost our momentum halfway through, but we got it back,” Nordby said.
With 1:24 left in the second quarter, Kaiden Fritz had a 3-yard run that resulted in a touchdown. Pierce was up by six and not giving Aurora a chance to score. Pierce had a healthy lead going into the half, with Aurora being down by six. The end of the second quarter score was 14-8, with the Huskies in possession of the ball.
“I think the number one thing you see is we have a lot to work on, but the best thing I thought was the smile on their faces. Football is a very consuming game in the off-season, I thought we did a good job improving and maintaining our blocks,” coach Darin Suckstorf said.
In the second half of the game, Aurora kicked off to the Bluejays. Fritz made a 58-yard rushing touchdown with a successful PAT by Nordby, making the score 21-8. At the end of the third quarter, Pierce had the ball on their own 3-yard line.
In the final quarter of the game, it was a back-and-forth between the Huskies and Bluejays. Aurora completed a pass for a touchdown and an effective PAT, changing the score to 21-15, with Pierce still in the lead. Shortly after, Pierce made their mark with another rushing touchdown by Ryder Theisen but failed on a two-point conversion. Aurora made another touchdown, but it was not enough for them to win.
The Bluejays took a well-needed first victory of the season with a final score of 27-21.
Fritz led the Jays in yardage, amassing 235 rushing yards. Theisen gathered 72 all purpose yards, gaining 61 rushing and 11 receiving yards.
Defensively, Bryce Lindstrom had nine tackles, while Theisen had seven and Gavin Lubischer had six. Lubischer also had Pierce’s lone fumble recovery. Senior Brock Collison grabbed an interception from the Huskies.
Pierce football will play at Logan View/Scribner-Snyder on September 5.
