Waukon runs past MFL MarMac
MFL MarMac quarterback Carter Stoddard hands the ball off to Eli Hanson in the Sept. 6 loss to Waukon. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Keith Anderson (52) and Parker Kuehl (9) work together to tackle an Indian player.
Quinn McGeough searches for a hole in the defense during the first half of last Friday's game.
Brock Hackett (10) and Ty Echard (64) wrap up Waukon quarterback Jaxon Brinkman.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
Waukon ran through the MFL MarMac defense in a dominant 28-12 win in Monona on Sept. 6.
Bulldog head coach Dan Anderson expected Class 2A Waukon, returning a number of players from a district championship team, would be tough—and perhaps a little angry after MFL MarMac pinned a loss on them a season ago.
“They punched us in the mouth that first half, and most of the game really,” Anderson said.
The Indians reached the end zone on their opening drive of the game and increased the lead to 8-0 on a two-point conversion. They capitalized on a Bulldog turnover early in the second quarter to go up 14-0, then made it 20-0 before halftime.
Anderson said Waukon’s backs “out-physicaled” the Bulldogs.
“Their backs ran extremely hard. They really executed their game plan well and found seams in our defense,” he said. “Our linebackers and DBs were catching their guys. Usually, our guys are hitting and knocking guys backward. That just wasn’t happening tonight. They were getting positive yardage every carry and kept the chains moving.”
At the start of the second half, Anderson urged his players to be more physical. But when the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs after stalling out at the Waukon 15 yardline, the Indians continued to have their way. A touchdown and two-point conversion late in the third quarter pushed the advantage to 28-0.
MFL MarMac didn’t score until early in the fourth quarter, on a run by quarterback Carter Stoddard. He snuck into the end zone again with five minutes remaining, trimming Waukon’s advantage to 28-12.
The second half scoring wasn’t a result of different plays, according to Anderson.
“Our backs ran harder. Our linemen stayed on their blocks better. They didn’t make the mistakes they made in the first half,” he explained. “Even then, yards were hard to come by. Holes were closing fast.”
The Bulldogs were held to just 116 rushing yards overall, 62 coming from Quinn McGeough on 14 carries. Stoddard picked up 18 yards and a pair of touchdowns on eight carries and was 7-11 passing for 87 yards. McGeough caught two passes and Brock Hackett three.
Waukon, meanwhile, amassed 264 rushing yards, including 151 by senior quarterback Jaxon Brinkman.
Keith Anderson was MFL MarMac’s top tackler, with 6 total. Parker Kuehl added 5.5 tackles, Hackett 4.5 and Brayden Gordon 4.
Anderson said tackling will be a focus in practice this week.
“We need to spend more time driving our legs and hitting low and tackling better,” he said. “But it’s a fine line you have to run in practice because, if you’re too physical with your guys, you get them beat up before you play on a Friday night.”
He won’t dwell on the loss, calling Waukon a better football right now. A non-district loss won’t impact the Bulldogs’ playoff chances.
“Look at last year: we lost a game at homecoming and it woke our guys up a little bit and we played extremely well after that the rest of the season. I’d like to think that’s going to happen again this year,” Anderson said. “These guys realize we’re good enough to win a lot of games, but we’re not good enough to win a game unless we’re playing our best football.”
The Bulldogs will play their final non-district game this Friday, Sept. 13, at New Hampton.
