LESTER PRAIRIE – If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. That’s the way of thinking for the Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity football team as they head into their matchup against the United South Central Rebels Friday night. The Bulldogs, who enter with a perfect 2-0 record, have done a great job of taking the run away in their first two games, will be looking once again to control the line of scrimmage.
“I think if we can make them pass, we’ve accomplished something,” Bulldogs coach Joe Scoblic said. “They don’t want to pass.”
One key player the Bulldogs’ defense will have to key in on is USC’s Derek Christensen. Christensen, the quarterback for the Rebels, is a tough-nosed runner who has the freedom to run when he wants.
“That quarterback is a really good runner,” Scoblic said. “He’s not as shifty as St. Clair’s, but he reminds me a lot of him. They have designed runs for him. This guy is more of a mauler runner, but fast. They want to run him. They run him on a quarterback dive, they do a boot that’s just designed for him. He doesn’t even look. He just runs around he’s going. If we can make them pass, we’ll have won one of the battles.”
The Rebels aren’t the only team that want to get their running game going. After struggling in the run game Week 1, the Bulldogs got their running game going in Week 2.
“Against St. Clair, we had 300 yards passing and 30 yards running,” Scoblic said. “You got to be able to do one and do the other. That being said, Mike is just playing an unbelievable quarterback right now. He’s so comfortable and cool and calm out there. He’s laying that ball in there when he has to when has to go over a linebacker. We have to establish the run, though. It’s a shame if we don’t. We got two (really) good backs (Dylan Ruzicka and Tyler Scheevel), and they’re fast. We got to get those guys going.”
A big reason for the run game getting going in Week 2 is thanks to the offensive line beginning to gel together.
“We’re still trying to find our line,” Scoblic said. “Nathaniel (Hausladen) got hurt during our first game. He broke his toe, so Beau (Teubert) played last week and he played very well. So it looks like that line is starting to gel a little bit.”
Along with Teubert, the Bulldogs have also got some production from Hunter Lemke on the offensive line.
“Hunter Lemke has stepped in at that right guard spot, and has been solid for two games,” Scoblic said. “All of a sudden, we’re starting to get more solid and more solid. If we get that last tackle spot, and Beau looks like he’s going to earn it, then we should be pretty good.”
The Bulldogs will have some extra excitement around the game as its their first ever Tackle Cancer Night. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game to support breast cancer awareness, and there will be a pulled pork meal served before hand, as well. Proceeds from the night will be donated to the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund.
“We don’t need another homecoming game, but it will be exciting,” Scoblic said. “We’ve never done a “Tackle Cancer” night before. We had a big kickoff on Monday in the gym and each day we wear a different color. It will be fun for the boys, but it’s a serious thing. We had a raise of hands of who all had cancer in their family. We had the whole student body, and I’m sure 80-90 percent of the kids raised their hand that they’ve had something to do with cancer in their lives, so it will be good.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Lester Prairie Friday night with the pulled pork meal before hand.