Ridgewater handles NCTC

Pioneersí offense, defense takes a beating, 54-7

ÝÝÝNorthland stepped onto the Thief River Falls Multi-Events Center turf for the first time this fall Saturday sporting colorful new uniforms. Unfortunately, the Pioneers did not play as well as they looked. Ridgewater dominated the Minnesota Community College Conference football game 54-7.

ÝÝÝWhile the visitors were putting eight touchdowns on the board and accumulating 426 yards worth of offense, Northland failed to produce a first half first down and netted a mere 20 yards. The Pioneers' lone opportunity to celebrate came on a 1-yard touchdown by Steve Stene with six minutes to play. But even that highlight was quickly squashed when Chad Strike returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a score.

ÝÝÝThe Pioneers lost five fumbles and three quarterbacks were sacked five times. Adding to the misery, they lost fullback Davon Gilmore, a 6-0, 250-pound sophomore from Columbia Md., to a broken leg midway through the second quarter.

ÝÝÝStrike, in addition to his kickoff return touchdown, carried the ball 19 times for 194 yards. The 5-11, 180-pound sophomore from Kingsland High School in Spring Valley, scored on scrimmage runs of 32 and 33 yards.

ÝÝÝThe two teams dropped season-opening MCCC Kickoff Classic games at St. Cloud State in similar fashion - Northland falling to Rochester 35-6 and Ridgewater losing to Mesabi Range 32-7. But prospects of an even Week 2 match-up went out the window when the Willmar school jumped out to a 20-0 first quarter lead and went into halftime with a 34-0 cushion.

ÝÝÝ"We got throttled," admitted Northland coach Guy Finstrom. "If anything could go wrong, it did. They capitalized on our mistakes."

ÝÝÝRidgewater opened the game with a 14-play, 67-yard touchdown drive that ended with Curt Grabmeier going through a hole off right tackle from three yards out.

ÝÝÝSecond Ridgewater possession stalled at the Northland 31, but a first-snap fumble gave the ball right back at the Pioneers' 28. Two plays later Sam Neubauer broke through the left side on 30-yard touchdown run.

ÝÝÝFour runs netting double-digit yards added up to a 67-yard touchdown march that made it 20-0 as Pascal Pierre-Louis went 12 yards untouched off left tackle with 52.3 seconds left in the first quarter.

ÝÝÝNorthland lost another fumble - this one at the Pioneers' 17 - that was converted into a touchdown on the very next play by Neubauer, who broke tackles on a straight dive.

ÝÝÝA high snap forced Northland punter Nick Jorstad to chase down the ball and kick on the run - a combination that wound up as a 6-yard pop-up to the Northland 32. A second straight one-play Ridgewater scoring possession hiked the difference to 34-0 as Strike broke through off right tackle and ran out of the arms of the Pioneers' secondary with 8:39 to play in the first half.

ÝÝÝRidgewater did not score in the third quarter, but the winners did make it 41-0 on the first play of the final period as Strike shredded tacklers on a 33-yard run through the middle.

ÝÝÝNorthland recovered a fumble at the Ridgewater 46 with 11:15 remaining in the game and 11 plays later Stene took a dive into the end zone.

ÝÝÝStrike, however, rebuilt the six-touchdown spread on the kickoff.

ÝÝÝThird Northland fumble on an exchange between the center and the quarterback - one by each signal caller used by Finstrom - gave Ridgewater the ball at the Pioneers' 25 and led to the final touchdown of the day as Sam Lindemeier went straight ahead on a five-yard run with 2:33 on the clock.

ÝÝÝNorthland will play at Fergus Falls Saturday. The Pioneers will be back at the Multi-Events Center Sept. 18 for a 1:30 p.m. homecoming game against Minnesota West.

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Statistics

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝNCTCÝÝÝRCC

First downsÝÝÝÝÝÝ4ÝÝÝ15

ÝÝÝby rushingÝÝÝÝÝÝ3ÝÝÝ12ÝÝÝ

ÝÝÝby passingÝÝÝÝÝÝ1ÝÝÝ2

ÝÝÝby penaltyÝÝÝÝÝÝ0ÝÝÝ1

Rushing attempts-yardsÝÝÝÝÝÝ43-6ÝÝÝ57-341

Pass att-comp-intÝÝÝÝÝÝ11-2-0 ÝÝÝ15-8-0

Yards PassingÝÝÝÝÝÝ14ÝÝÝ85

Total offensive yardsÝÝÝÝÝÝ20ÝÝÝ426

Fumbles-fumbles lostÝÝÝÝÝÝ6-5ÝÝÝ1-1

Penalties-yardsÝÝÝÝÝÝ4-20ÝÝÝ11-85

Punts-averageÝÝÝÝÝÝ9-31.0ÝÝÝ3-30.7

Scoring

ÝÝÝÝÝÝ1ÝÝÝ2ÝÝÝ3ÝÝÝ4ÝÝÝT

RidgewaterÝÝÝ20ÝÝÝ14ÝÝÝ0ÝÝÝ20ÝÝÝ54

NorthlandÝÝÝ0ÝÝÝ0ÝÝÝ0ÝÝÝ7ÝÝÝ7

ÝÝÝRidgewater - Curt Grabmeier, 3-yard run; Pascal Pierre-Louis kick.

ÝÝÝRidgewater - Sam Neubauer, 30-yard run; Pierre-Louis kick.

ÝÝÝRidgewater - Pierre-Louis, 12-yard run; kick failed.

ÝÝÝRidgewater - Neubauer, 17-yard run; Lee Foemmel pass from Aaron Minter.

ÝÝÝRidgewater - Chad Strike, 32-yard run; kick failed.

ÝÝÝRidgewater - Strike, 33-yard run; Pierre-Louis kick.

ÝÝÝNorthland - Steve Stene, 1-yard run; Austin Johnson kick.

ÝÝÝRidgewater - Strike, 90-yard kickoff return; Pierre-Louis kick.

ÝÝÝRidgewater - Sam Lindemeier, 5-yard run; kick failed.

Individuals

ÝÝÝn Rushing (Ridgewater) Chad Strike 19-194; Pascal Pierre-Louis 12-72; Sam Neubauer 16-70; Sam Lindemeier 3-9; Curt Grabmeier, 1-3; Alex Brown 1-2; Aaron Minter 5-(-)9; (Northland) Steve Stene 8-32; Davon Gilmore 4-12; Micah Gordon 13-10; Carl Hardwick 2-4; William Leetch 2-(-4); Nathan Bennet 1-(-6); Seth Whitlock 4-(-9); Nick Ross 5-(-16); Mario Foley 4-(-17).

ÝÝÝn Passing - (Ridgewater) Aaron Minter 5-for-8, 54 yards, 0 interceptions; Alex Brown 3-for-7, 31 yards, 0 interceptions; (Northland) Nick Ross 2-for-8, 14 yards, 0 interceptions; Seth Whitlock 0-for-2, 0 yards, 0 interceptions; Mario Foley 0-for-1, 0 yards, 0 interceptions.

ÝÝÝn Receiving - (Ridgewater) Sam Lindemeier 3-39; JJ Hornung 3-25; Chad Strike 1-17; Chad Minnette 1-4; (Northland) Derek Shropshire 1-8; Steve Stene 1-6.

Ridgewater receiver Lee Foemmel hauled in this pass in front of Northland defensive back Wayne Cabell for an eight-yard gain on the first drive of Saturdayís college football game in Thief River Falls. The Pioneersí Dane Kjono (22) came over to help out on the play. Ridgewater won 54-7.

Defensive tackle Marcus Benjamin of Ridgewater sacked Northland quarterback Mario Foley for a four-yard loss in the first quarter of Saturdayís college football game in Thief River Falls. The Pioneers lost their 2004 home opener 54-7.