Dawgs Down the Huskies for First Victory of the Season

The Milbank Bulldogs came away with a 42-12 football victory over the Wahpeton, North Dakota, Huskies in a road game Friday, August 30. The win evens Milbank’s record to 1-1. “It was a good game for us,” stated Bulldog head coach Adolph Shepardson. “We played better in all facets and the kids got excited.”

The teams exchanged punts on each of their first offensive series to start the contest. Milbank then settled in a little bit and scored on a solid 23-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Kaden Krause to senior receiver Max McCulloch. The extra point kick attempt by Carlos Ramirez was not good, giving Milbank the early 6-0 lead. Wahpeton answered with a touchdown of their own. The Huskies steadily moved the ball down the field and found the end zone on a 38-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion failed knotting the score up at 6-6. The Dawgs battled away and didn’t let the score get them down. Milbank marched the ball down the field with long runs by Krause, Michael Karges, and Dillion Schneck and a completed pass to McCulloch. That set up a misdirection handoff to senior JD Lusk who scurried into the end zone from seven yards out for the score. The extra point kick was good, giving
Milbank the 13-6 advantage. Wahpeton started the second quarter with an impressive drive downfield. The Huskies
were knocking on the door when sophomore Bennett Schwenn intercepted a Huskie pass in the end zone to bring them to a halt.

Milbank took their time and slowly moved the chains several times. Facing a fourth down and one yard to go, Krause kept the ball and scrambled for a first down to keep the drive moving. Senior Brodie Holtquist capped the drive off with a two-yard run into the end zone. The Ramirez kick failed, but Milbank remained ahead 19-6. Milbank would score again in the second quarter. After the Huskies turned the ball over to the Dawgs on downs, Milbank scored on a reverse play to Karges to widen the gap to 25-6 at the midway mark.

The Bulldogs’ defense worked its magic by forcing Wahpeton to punt to start the second half. Milbank also punted the ball back on their first series of the half. Just when it looked like Wahpeton was going to find the end zone again, Milbank came up with a safety to move the score to 27-6. The Dawgs got the ball right back and scored again. Krause connected with McCulloch on a 24-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion pass from Krause to McColloch was successful giving Milbank the 35-6 lead to wrap up the third period.

Milbank would strike again in the third quarter. With the offense working on all cylinders, freshman Sawyer Gauer waltzed into the end zone untouched for an eight-yard touchdown. The Ramirez kick was good, giving the Dawgs a 42-6 advantage.

Both teams made several substitutions in the final quarter of play as the clock ran continuously because of the point spread. Wahpeton converted on an eight-yard touchdown run to finish out the scoring for the game at 42-12.
“We gained some confidence with this win,” noted Coach Shepardson. “Our no-huddle offense wore them out. We have some little things we still need to clean up this week.”

Milbank ended the game with 317 total yards of offense. Krause went 10-11 passing for 168 yards and one touchdown. He also added 36 yards rushing on five carries. Holtquist added 48 yards running on 10 carries and Karges had 25 yards on three totes and one catch for 11 yards. McColloch collected 122 yards on five receptions. Schneck hauled in three catches for 22 yards, and Will Cummins had one catch for 13 yards.

For the defense, Schwenn led the team with nine tackles. Schneck and Alex Schuelke followed with four tackles each. Evan Hausauer, Holtquist, McCulloch, and Karson Weber each were credited with three tackles.

Photo – sophomore quarterback Kaden Krause