MFL MarMac earns dominant win over Waukon
Quarterback Carver Blietz-Bentien not only threw a touchdown in the win over Waukon, but scored two rushing touchdowns. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Brandon Christofferson (3) and Bryce Radloff (27) team up on a tackle in the Bulldogs’ 34-12 victory at Waukon on Sept. 1.
The MFL MarMac offensive line paves the way for fullback Quinn McGeough in the Bulldog victory.
Kade McElwaine wraps up an interception, one of two Waukon turnovers that resulted in points for the Bulldogs.
Ben Krambeer completed all his extra point attempts but one, which was blocked.
Tristen Koehn slams into an Indian runner in MFL MarMac's dominant win on Sept. 1.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The MFL MarMac football team improved to 2-0 Sept. 1, with a 34-12 non-district victory at Waukon. It was also the second win over a Class 2A opponent for the Bulldogs, who came into the match-up ranked second in 1A.
“On the outside, you might see 34-12 and maybe think it wasn’t a bad game. But I think people who were here know we dominated this football game,” said head coach Dan Anderson. “We had a good game plan, I thought. The kids came out ready to go. They felt like they had something to prove. We’re going against a bigger school again, with all this tradition, on the road in a hostile environment with a good crowd on both sides.”
MFL MarMac punted on its opening drive, but soon got the ball back, after Tristen Koehn recovered a fumble on the Waukon 24 yard line. Fullback Quinn McGeough punched the ball in from four yards out with 4:44 remaining in the first quarter, and a Ben Krambeer extra point gave the team a 7-0 lead.
That increased to 14-0 two minutes later, as running back Wyatt Powell slipped past the Indian defense on a 52-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive. Krambeer’s point after was again successful.
“We had to punt right away, but it didn’t rattle them. The defense came out and got a stop right away, then we scored and got another stop right away. It felt like we settled in after that,” Anderson said.
Powell tallied his second touchdown of the night with under five minutes remaining in the second quarter, capitalizing on a Kade McElwaine interception that set MFL MarMac up at the Waukon 9 yard line. A blocked extra point left the Bulldogs up 20-0.
They weren’t done scoring, though. Right before halftime, quarterback Carver Blietz-Bentien secured a 12-yard touchdown, and Krambeer capped the drive off to give MFL MarMac a 27-0 advantage.
The Bulldogs took it to 34-0 early in the second half, this time on an 11-yard scoring run by Blietz-Bentien, followed by a Krambeer point after.
Waukon didn’t get on the board until the six-minute mark in the fourth quarter, on their own quarterback sneak. The Indians scored again with 35 seconds left in the game, making it 34-12.
“I don’t even know if they had 25 yards of total offense until the fourth quarter,” estimated Anderson. “Great effort by our boys. It was a pretty dominant performance until the very end. They didn’t pull any of their starters.”
“The guys wanted the shut out, and of course I did too, but teams are going to score,” he added.
The Indians managed just 126 yards of total offense, and their two quarterbacks completed only a handful of passes. McElwaine’s 9 tackles led the Bulldogs. Seven were solo efforts and 4 for a loss. Koehn totaled 7.5 tackles, Blietz-Bentien 6.5 and Bryce Diehl 6. Diehl also recorded a sack. Powell and Elias Hatt each had 4.5 tackles.
MFL MarMac’s offense, on the other hand, was still able to put up points despite Waukon limiting Powell to 64 yards on nine carries. Most of that came on a single play.
“It was hard to keep consistency running the ball. They had a lot of guys up in the box. They were going to stop Powell,” Anderson explained. “But we were able to run our sweep. We knew they were keying our guards hard, so when Powell scored on that long run, we pull our guards in the opposite direction so those linebackers fly the other way. That play worked well to try to break some of their keys.”
McGeough carried the ball 13 times for 62 yards and a touchdown, and Blietz-Bentien added 56 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. He was also 3-10 passing for 29 yards and a touchdown. Two of those catches—for 20 yards—were by receiver Brandon Christofferson.
In those seven incompletions, the Bulldogs left a lot of points on the field, according to Anderson.
“We didn’t throw it a ton, but we overthrew a couple and dropped a couple that hit us right in the hands and probably would have put a few more points on the board,” he said. “To win a state championship, we can’t drop those passes.”
“But we got the win. That’s the most important thing,” Anderson stressed. “And everybody got in there and played and contributed. Everybody is still getting better. They’re not satisfied with just winning. They want to get better.”
MFL MarMac will wrap up the non-district portion of its schedule this week, hosting New Hampton (0-2)—another Class 2A opponent—on Friday, Sept. 8. Anderson said playing larger schools has prepared the Bulldogs for a demanding district schedule.
“But it’s kind of a double edged sword,” he acknowledged. “You want good competition, but you also don’t want to be beat up by district play. As long as we stay healthy and we’re able to play well in district play and make the playoffs.”
Community support is also boosting the Bulldogs, Anderson added.
“Maybe we’re just a 1A school, but our crowd sure does travel well. I hear our student section and I think they’re doing an awesome job,” he said. “Our kids appreciate the fans and all the people who come to our games. The community support has been great, and hopefully we’re on a magical run.”
