HUMPHREY — Opening night for the Wolfpack football team proved to be a success as they steamrolled Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family 52 to 28.
The Wolfpack generated 521 yards of total offense en route to seven touchdowns. The score could have been even more lopsided as the Wolfpack lost three fumbles, one at the one-yard line.
Leading up to the game, Coach Randy Eisenhauer and his assistants stressed “energy” and that’s just what the Wolfpack did as they bolted out to a 32-point lead in the first quarter.
Playing on FieldTurf for the first time in years, the Wolfpack went 50 yards in seven plays with the opening kickoff to score. Senior Andrew Fangman carried the ball four times on the drive, the last for 10 yards and the touchdown.
A turnover set up the Wolfpack’s second touchdown. Just past midfield, Fangman took a pitch from Seth Schumacher and skirted 35 yards for the touchdown. Schumacher then connected with end Austin Meis for the two-point conversion.
Fangman’s third touchdown of the quarter came at the 4:29 mark on an eight-yard run. Chad Bode added the two-point conversion.
The last score of the quarter for the Wolfpack was set up when Meis dislodged the ball from Bulldog quarterback Duncan Hanzel which was then recovered by Liam Heithoff. One play later, the Wolfpack were in the endzone when Schumacher connected with Dylan Behnk on a 26-yard touchdown strike.
The Bulldogs came back to score before the end of the quarter when Hanzel found Logan Beller in the endzone.
After the first quarter, the rest of the game was competitive between the two teams. The Wolfpack added another Schu-macher to Behnk touch-down pass before halftime. The Bull-dogs added a touchdown before halftime.
Forcing a three-and-out, the Wolfpack began their first drive of the second half on their own 10-yard line. What ensued was a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive accomplished all on the ground. Fangman, Bode, Kyle Kallhoff and Schumacher took turns running the ball. Bode capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown run.
The Wolfpack defense kept the Bulldogs out of the endzone until the 1:28 mark in the quarter when Hanzel threaded a needle with a pass caught by Brock Wiese.
Fumbles ended the Wolfpack’s next two possessions, then they got one back when Schumacher made his third interception of the night against Hanzel. Two plays later, backup quarterback Hunter Reestman put the ball into the hands of Kyle Schumacher and he did the rest, darting five yards for the final touchdown of the night.
“We’re happy. It’s a win,” Coach Eisenhauer said. He said the team will work on eliminating penalties (eight) and turnovers (three fumbles) in preparation for a big game Friday night — the home opener against Creighton. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
Fangman led the Wolfpack with 246 yards rushing on 22 carries, Kallhoff had 84 yards on 11 carries. Behnk led receivers with three catches for 59 yards.
On defense, Moser led tacklers with 15 tackles, Fangman had 14, Bode added 13 and Behnk had 10. From his safety position, Schumacher had three interceptions, Fangman added one.
Wolfpack 52, Bulldogs 28
Wolfpack………..32 8 6 6 — 52
Bulldogs…………8 6 6 8 — 28
EPPJ — Andrew Fangman 10 run (Fangman run)
EPPJ — Fangman 35 run (Seth Schumacher pass to Austin Meis)
EPPJ — Fangman 8 run (Chad Bode run)
EPPJ — Schumacher 26 pass to Dylan Behnk (Bode run)
HLHF — Duncan Hanzel 9 pass to Logan Beller (PAT good)
EPPJ — Schumacher 28 pass to Behnk (Schumacher run)
HLHF — Hanzel 1 run (PAT failed)
EPPJ — Bode 4 run (PAT failed)
HLHF — Hanzel 18 pass to Brock Wiese (PAT failed)
HLHF — Hanzel 30 pass to Derek Hanis (PAT good)
EPPJ — Kyle Schumacher 5 run (PAT failed)
EPPJ Team Statistics EPPJ
First Downs 16
Total Plays 71
Rushing Yds 56/434
Passing Yds 6/15/0 – 87
Total Yds 521
Penalties/Yds 8/45
Individual Statistics
Rushing — Kyle Schumacher 2/8, Kyle Kallhoff 11/84, Chad Bode 16/52, Andrew Fangman 22/246, Seth Schumacher 5/44
Receiving — Dylan Behnk 3/59, Kyle Kallhoff 2/24, Chad Bode 1/4
Passing — Seth Schumacher 6/25/0 – 87
Tackles (solo/asst) — Dylan Behnk 4/6, Kyle Kallhoff 4/6, Austin Meis 2/6, Chad Bode 8/5, Chase Preister 0/1, Scott Moser 4/11, Liam Heithoff 2/4, Hayes Miller 1/1, Kalin Henn 2/3, Andrew Fangman 3/11, Seth Schumacher 3/1
Quarterback Sacks — Dylan Behnk 1, Austin Meis 1, Scott Moser 1
Interceptions — Seth Schumacher 3, Andrew Fangman 1
Fumble Recoveries — Liam Heithoff 1
