Bluejays Fall to Eagles
By Zane McKeown
The Pierce Bluejays played the O’Neill Eagles on Friday night and lost 33-21. Pierce had a well-fought game, but just could not come out ahead.
Standout players, Kaiden Fritz and Brock Collison, both sat out during the game with injuries. Ryder Theisen would later join them off the field, being taken out with an early game injury.
Freshman quarterback Brody Scholting led the Bluejays in the air, completing six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Senior Hayden Bauer led the receiving core with 32 yards and a touchdown, followed by senior Keaton Frazier with 41 yards.
On the ground, senior Bryce Lindstrom ran for 61 yards, senior Ryder Theisen added 46 yards and a touchdown before the injury, and Scholting also rushed for 46 yards and a score. In total, the Bluejays racked up 237 rushing yards and 83 receiving yards for 320 yards of offense.
“We ran into a little bit of controversy before and throughout the game; however, we handled it well as a team. The line did their role, and Brody definitely stepped up into a big role,” Frazier said.
On defense, the Bluejays played well, but came up short. Lindstrom led the team with 13 total tackles, followed by junior Cole DeBoer with 12 and senior Cameron Kuehler and senior Christian Nordby with six each. Bauer also recorded a sack for a 14-yard loss. Topping it off, senior Boston Krueger forced a fumble for Pierce as well.
“We came into the game firing off the ball, striking and separating, trying our best to get to the ball. We have been working on trying to get the population to the ball during practice, and I feel like it showed this game,” Lindstrom said.
On special teams, junior Tate Wales kicked three extra points, while Fischer and Theisen made key contributions in the return game, combining for over 90 return yards.
For touchdowns, Scholting and Theisen each scored on the ground, and Bauer added one through the air. Wales finished a perfect 3-for-3 on PATs to lock in the score. Those touchdowns were not quite enough, so the boys came out of the game looking to get a win this week against Wayne.
Next Friday, the Jays will take on the Blue Devils at the Wayne State College stadium. Going into the game with a 4-2 record, Pierce is hoping to do their thing and bring it to a solid 5-2.
