Prep Football: Hillcrest Lutheran streaks past Pirates 27-14 (UPDATED)

Hillcrest Lutheran running back Theo Taylor spoiled Verndale’s homecoming by rushing for 165 yards on 33 carries and scored four touchdowns during the 27-14 Pheasant Conference victory Friday night.

The junior workhorse capped Hillcrest Lutheran’s game-opening drive that took 1:08 off the clock with a 25-yard touchdown run. Taylor Isaac’s extra-point kick was blocked by the Pirates’ Kory Stave, putting the Comets’ early lead at 6-0.

Verndale’s first drive stalled at the Hillcrest 46 yard line and they were forced to punt. Three plays later, the Pirates caught a break when Alex Walsvik recovered a fumble at the Comets 27 yard line.

After being held to one yard on two rushing plays, the Pirates took the air to convert a key third-down play when Pirate quarterback Dillon Card found Dallas Ehrmantraut with a 15-yard strike to the Hillcrest 11. An encroachment penalty on the Comets placed the ball on the six-yard line, and Verndale cashed in on the next play on Andy Bounds’ touchdown run up the middle. The conversion pass was batted away, leaving the score tied at 6-6 with 5:29 left in the opening quarter.

Hillcrest took the lead for good after recovering a Pirate fumble late in the first quarter. The Comets capped the eight-play, 51-yard drive with Taylor’s two yard run at 11:24 of the second quarter. Pirate defensive lineman Grant Grossinger broke through to block the extra-point.

Hillcrest would add another touchdown just before halftime to increase their lead to 20-6. Taylor rushed eight times during the Comets’ 12-play, 60-yard scoring drive and capped it with his third touchdown run of the night, a six-yarder with 4:17 left in the first half.

The Comets’ took advantage of the first of three Verndale interceptions late in the third quarter. With the Pirates driving downfield, Twedt stepped in front of an errant pass from Card and returned it to the Verndale six-yard line. The Pirates defense stood firm, but Taylor was able to punch in for his fourth and final rushing touchdown on a fourth-and-two play with one second left in the stanza.

The next Verndale possession ended in another Card interception by Hillcrest’s Mark Undseth. The Pirates defense made a stand with a pair of quarterback sacks that pushed the Comets deep into their terroritory. Verndale nearly blocked the punt when Colton Moyer was able to get his hands on it—resulting in a dying duck that was downed at the Comet 20.

Two plays later, Stave hauled down a 15-yard touchdown pass and the Pirates successfully converted the conversion to pull within two touchdowns, 27-14, with 6:30 remaining in the game.

After forcing the Comets to punt on their ensuing possession, the Pirates drove to the Hillcrest 24 yard line. But two incomplete passes and a short gain by Card brought up fourth-and-three from the 16 yard line. After a timeout, the Pirates went for it but were denied when Card was sacked for a loss of nine yards.

It’ll be the last opportunity for the Pirates as Hillcrest drove downfield and picked up two key first downs to run out the clock.

For the game, Hillcrest outgained the Pirates 262 yards to 213 with 196 yards coming through their potent ground game, Besides Taylor, the Comets also got 46 yards rushing from Undseth. Tostenson went 9-for-20 for 68 yards passing.

Card finished with 118 yards passing on 10 completions. He was intercepted three times—twice by Undseth—and was held to four yards rushing on eight attempts.
Bounds rushed for 49 yards on 14 carries as the Pirates were held under the century mark with 98 total yards rushing. Erhmantraut had six receptions for 62 yards in the loss.

Defensively, Erhmantraut had 21 tackles for the Pirates while Moyer collected 16 tackles and forced one fumble. Stave registered one and a half quarterback sacks.

Verndale (1-2) will host Pheasant Conference rival Bertha-Hewitt at 7 p.m. Friday.

Hillcrest Lutheran at Verndale on September 23
Comets 27, Pirates 14
Hillcrest Lutheran 6 14 7 0—27
Verndale 6 0 0 8— 14
First Quarter
Hill—Theo Taylor 25 run (kick blocked) 10:31
VER—Andy Bounds 6 run (pass failed) 5:29
Second Quarter
HILL—Taylor 2 run (kick blocked) 11:24
HILL—Taylor 6 run (Gene Twedt pass from Dalton Tostenson) 4:17
Third Quarter
HILL—Taylor 2 run (Taylor Isaac kick) 0:01
Fourth Quarter
VER—Kory Stave 15 pass from Dillon Card (Dallas Ehrmantraut pass fom Card) 6:30

Team Stats
Rushes-Yards: VER 33-98; HILL 45-196
Pass Comp-Att-Int-Yards: VER 10-20-3-118; HILL 9-20-0-68
Total Offense: VER 213; HILL 264
Penalties-Yards: VER 12-120; HILL 14-140
First Downs: VER 9; HILL 11
Fumbles-Lost: VER 1-1; HILL 2-1

Individual Stats
Rushing: VER—Andy Bounds 14-49; Dillon Card 8-4; Colton Moyer 6-31; Dallas Erhmantraut 4-16, Marcos Gomez 1-(-2); HILL—Theo Taylor 33-165; Mark Undseth 7-46; Dalton Tostenson 6-8
Passing: VER—Card 10-20-3-118; HILL—Tostenson 9-20-0-68
Receiving: VER—Erhmantraut 6-62, Bounds 1-14, Kory Stave 2-28, Alex Walsvik 1-12; HILL—Undseth 5-17, Erik Vestol 1-7, Taylor 2-39, Cooper Patch 1-5
Defensive Standouts: VER—Moyer 16 tackles, forced fumble; Erhmantraut 21 tackles; Card 7 tackles; Bounds 9 tackles; James Kveton 7 tackles; Stave 1.5 quarterback sacks, 1 blocked kick; Walsvik 1 quarterback sack, fumble recovery; Travis Lollar 1 quarterback sack; Grant Grossinger 1 blocked kick; HILL—Undseth 2 interceptions; Jason Fox fumble recovery; Gene Twedt 1 interception