Schulenburg looked to spoil the first ever “Blackout” game for the Ganado Indians, but a strong second half from the Indian defense propelled them past the Shorthorns by a score of 42-20.
Ganado Head Coach Josh Ervin credited the Shorthorn offense, “Schulenburg came out fast and took advantage of some things and jumped up on us 14-0.”
Additionally, he spoke of the resiliency of his defense in the second half, “They dealt with the adversity so well, we were down 14-0 and ended the first half on top 21-20. They adjusted so well to what the coaches were showing them and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Schulenburg received the opening kickoff after Ganado opted to defer.
The Shorthorns moved the ball efficiently, mixing in the run and passing game before setting themselves up just outside the goal line. Then, the Shorthorn quarterback get a good push at the line and gave Schulenburg the 7-0 on the tush push touchdown.
On the ensuing kickoff, the ball would bounce out of the hands of an Indian receiver and bounce into the hands of a Schulenburg player to get them the ball back and steal an offensive possession from Ganado. Following the recovery, Schulenburg moved into the redzone quickly, and would find the endzone again on another quarterback run when it looked like he would be tackled short of a first down.
Ganado’s offense hadn’t touched the ball the entire first quarter, and with a couple of minutes gone from the second quarter, they needed to find some points to keep pace with the Shorthorn offense.
Logan Bures would find the chunk plays the Indians needed, then Landyn Arriaga would connect with Austen Pena in the endzone for the short touchdown pass and make it a 14-7 game.
Schulenburg’s offense took the field but were quickly forced into a fourth down. However, a fake punt in their own territory succeeded and moved them to the Indians’ side of the field.
They would capitalize on the fake punt by scoring a 36-yard touchdown run on the following play to give themselves a 20-6 lead through the middle of the second quarter.
Schulenburg was looking to separate themselves in the game, but Logan Bures would have different plans as he returned the ensuing kickoff 77-yards for the touchdown to cut the Shorthorn lead to one score.
On their next drive, Schulenburg would find themselves facing a fourth down near midfield and opted to go for it, but this time, the Ganado defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs. The Indian offense took over with good field position and went to work. After picking up three first downs, they were set up at the Shorthorn goal line, when Landyn Arriaga would pull the ball and sprint to the corner of the endzone to give Ganado the 21-20 lead with two seconds left in the first half.
Ganado’s momentum from the end of the first half would carry over into the second half as Sean Willis would recover a fumble on the kickoff and take it all the way to the endzone for the touchdown. Following the touchdown, Ganado’s defense would force a quick three-andout from the Shorthorn offense, but Schulenburg would return the favor and force a punt out of the Indian offense.
Schulenburg’s offense took the field again with a chance to pull themselves within one point of Ganado, but they were met again by a stout Indian defense and punted the ball away.
Ganado went back to work on offense, moving from their 43 to the Schulenburg 3, picking up several first downs en route. Arriaga finished off the drive with another short rushing touchdown to give the Indians a 35-20 lead at the top of the fourth quarter.
After moving into Ganado territory, the Shorthorns were forced into a fourth down situation, and the pass attempt would fall incomplete and Ganado would take over.
Arriaga would put the final nail in the coffin and tack on his third rushing touchdown of the game as he dashed 60-yards for the endzone on the first play back on offense, making it a 4220 game. Following the touchdown, Schulenburg would again find themselves facing fourth down in their own territory, and again, Ganado’s defense would foil the attempt and get the ball back for the offense and run out the clock.
Michael Tristan spoke about the adjustments the defense made in the second half, “We fixed some stuff like moving lineman and linebackers, and we also took some calls out.”
Arriaga added, “We went back to the drawing board at the half and fixed some stuff, and we also executed a lot better in the second half.”
When talking about the mindset of the team going into the final two games of district play, Austen Pena said “We have to focus one every game, but next game is especially important because we could win the district title, but we just have to stay focused and rested up”.
Ganado moves to to 4-0 in district play and 7-1 on the season overall, and after the bye week, they could see themselves in the driver’s seat for first place and the district title come final whistle in Bloomington.
