Bluejays Fall First Time this Season
By Charlotte Enk
The Bluejays were away on Friday, September 19, at Fort Calhoun, and although Pierce did not come away with the victory, they kept the game close, losing 28-21.
In the first quarter, Pierce added seven to the scoreboard, with a 17-yard touchdown by Kaiden Fritz followed by the point after kick by Tate Wales. However, Fort Calhoun answered back, making the score at the end of the first 7-7.
Pierce answered back with a quarterback keeper by Brock Collison and again the PAT by Wales was good to push the lead to 14-7. Again, the Pioneers answered back as time ran out in the period, making the score tied at 14 to wrap up the half.
In the third quarter the Bluejays were held scoreless, but gave up a touchdown and PAT to the Pioneers, making the score 21-14 after three quarters.
The fourth quarter saw a back and forth defensive battle and the Pioneers scored with 4:41 left in the game. However, a touchdown run by Bryce Lindstrom followed by the PAT by Wales narrowed the margin. The Bluejays had the ball back and were close to scoring, but fell short as time ran out, making the final score 28-21 in favor of the Pioneers.
On the offensive side, Kaiden Fritz led the way for Pierce with 151 rushing yards. He was helped out by teammates Brock Collison, who had 141 yards (102 passing and 39 rushing), Ryder Theisen with 105 yards (57 receiving and 48 rushing), Bryce Lindstrom with 66 rushing yards, Hayden Bauer with 25 receiving yards, Gavin Lubischer with 15 yards (11 receiving and four rushing), Keaton Frazier with nine receiving yards and Jackson Fischer with seven rushing yards.
Lindstrom was active on the defensive side for the Jays, recording 10 tackles, five of which were solos. Also active on defense were Cole DeBoer with six, Theisen with five, and Fritz, Lubischer, Cameron Kuehler and Ethan Nordby with four each.
Theisen managed to pick off two interceptions from the Pioneers.
“Our blocking was perfect, but we need to fix mistakes. We were just tired at the third and fourth quarter, otherwise we could do better,” Hayden Bauer, number 6 on the field, said.
