Prep Football: Bertha-Hewitt chews up Verndale, 36-14

Trent Bertram notched three touchdowns and Jared Hoemberg added a pair of first half rushing scores to power Bertha-Hewitt past Pheasant Conference rival Verndale 36-14 Friday night.

Hoemberg capped the Bears opening drive with an eight-yard touchdown run and then followed it up with a one-yard plunge after Bertha-Hewitt recovered a botched punt by the Pirates.

The Bears added 13 yard touchdown pass from Matthew Frethem to Ethan Bertram during a fake field goal just before halftime for the 22-0 lead.

Bertram scored twice in the third quarter to push the Bears lead to 36-0. He capped the Bears opening possession of the second half with a five-yard run and would later score on a 29-yard scamper following a fumble recovery.

The Pirates were able to get on the board in the fourth quarter on a 21-yard run by quarterback Nathan Bart and a three-yard run by Cody Yungbauer.

The Bears controlled the tempo of the game as they outgained the Pirates 334 to 167 in total yards. Frethem led the Bears rushing corps with 102 yards on 20 carries while Bertram notched 112 total yards (59 rush, 53 receiving).

Offensively, the Pirates were led by Yungbauer with 80 yards on 21 rushes and Dustin Motschenbacher with one reception for 28 yards in the loss. Dan Kneisl led the Pirate defense with 14 tackles with Jarden Stinar adding 10 tackles and a quarterback sack. Tim Kern made nine tackles and had a quarterback sack while Colton Moyer notched eight stops.

Verndale (1-2) hosts Hillcrest Lutheran Academy at 7 p.m. Friday.

Verndale at Bertha-Hewitt on September 17
Bears 36, Pirates 14
Verndale 0 0 0 14—14
Bertha-Hewitt 8 14 14 0—36
First Quarter
BH—Jared Hoemberg 8 run (Ethan Bakken pass from Hoemberg)
Second Quarter
BH—Hoemberg 1 run (Trent Bertram pass from Holmberg)
BH—Bertram 13 yard pass from Matthew Frethem (PAT failed)
Third quarter
BH—Bertram 5 run (Bertram pass from Hoemberg)
BH—Bertram 29 run (PAT fail)
Fourth Quarter
V—Nathan Bart 21 run (Cody Yungbauer run)
V—Yungbauer 3 run (pass failed)
Team Stats
Rushes-Yards: V 43-139, BH 52-241
Pass Comp-Att-Int-Yards: V 1-3-0-28, BH 8-11-0-93
Total Offense: V 167, BH 334
First Downs: V 7, BH 16
Penalties-Yards: V 5-40, BH 6-40
Individual Stats
Rushing: V—Cody Yungbauer 21-80; BH—Matthew Fretham 20-102, Trent Bertram 14-59
Passing: V—Nate Bart 1-3-0-28; BH—Jared Hoemberg 7-10-0-80
Receiving: V—Dustin Motschenbacher 1-28; BH—Bertram 7-90