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Rivermen cruise through week two
By Trenten Scheidegger
Week one was a bit of a nail-biter for the Durand-Pecatonica football team. The Rivermen battled their way to a 32-26 victory over the Stockton Blackhawks. After another week of fine-tuning, Du-Pec hit the field to face off against the Eastland-Pearl City Wildcats in week two.
Coming out of week one, two things were clear about the 2024 Rivermen; the offense hadn’t skipped a beat, and the defense had some holes to fill. Both sides of the ball stepped up against EPC as the Rivermen looked much improved in week two.
Things didn’t start out all that well, however. In the opening quarter, it was the Wildcats who jumped out to the early advantage. A short, five-yard rushing touchdown was followed by a successful two-point conversion. More than halfway through the first quarter, EPC held an 8-0 advantage.
The Wildcats held the lead until late in the second quarter. The Rivermen finally got on the board when Cooper Hoffman plunged in for a one-yard touchdown. A failed two-point try left the Rivermen trailing as they went into half, however.
The good news at the break was that the Rivermen defense was much improved. After allowing a 20-point second quarter last week, Du-Pec allowed just the one score in the first half. They just needed to put it all together, and that’s exactly what they did in the second half.
Struggling through the air, the Rivermen went to the ground attack. A pair of short third quarter rushing touchdowns allowed Du-Pec to get out to a comfortable lead. The EPC offense continued to stumble against the stout Du-Pec defense, who allowed just seven first downs on the night.
In the end, the Rivermen proved to be too much for the Wildcats. The fourth quarter saw a couple of lanes open up for some bigger runs. Justin Anderson had the run of the day as he rumbled his way through multiple broken tackles for a 20-yard touchdown run.
Although the offense put up another 30-point game, it was the defense who stood out in this one. Jordan Gassman had an excellent day with an interception and six tackles, including a tackle-for-loss. Colton Maurer, Dermot Dolan, and JJ Wideman each tallied sacks in the game. Ethan Rager led the team with nine total tackles. All in all, the Rivermen allowed just 132 yards in the game.
Offensively, Dermot Dolan carried the load out of the backfield. On 24 carries, Dolan rushed for 141 yards and a score. Lukas Rossow provided some power in the backfield as he rushed for 95 yards and a pair of scores. Hoffman had 37 yards and a score, while Anderson tallied the final rushing touchdown for the Rivermen.
Du-Pec hits the road in week three as they travel to take on the Dakota Indians on Friday, Sept. 13. Dakota didn’t score a single point in either of their first two games of 2024. The 2-0 Rivermen are the early favorites over the 0-2 Indians.
