In the Win Column
SPENCER — It took a big second quarter and a solid second half defensive effort for the Vikings football team to break into the win column this fall.
A 22-6 burst in the 12 minutes before halftime gave Wausa a 30-6 halftime lead in Spencer and the Vikings then went on to cruise to a 36- 14 win at Boyd County Thursday.
“I felt like we came out and played physical from the opening kickoff,” Wausa coach Adrian Alonso said. “We put a quick score on the board and our defense played aggressive assignment football.”
Wausa only allowed 14 yards passing and Boyd County managed 177 on the ground.
“Josh Wattier showed up big for us returning a kickoff for a touchdown, getting an interception and recovering a fumble of our own for a touchdown.”
Steel Claussen led the Wausa defense with 16 total tackles, Wyatt Hoppe added 13 tackles and Carson Barney did his part with 13 tackles and an interception for a score.
Jaxson Claussen threw for 45 yards while Steel Claussen’s lone completion went for a 40- yard touchdown hookup with his quarterbacking brethren.
Steel Claussen also ran for 124 yards on 20 carries and a 45-yard touchdown run.
Hoppe stood out to Alonso as the senior MLB/OL continues to play much bigger than his listed 5-9, 150-pound frame would indicate.
He was pleased with the team’s ability to bounce back from a tough defeat against Osceola the previous week.
“It was pretty exciting for a first win and we worked hard for it,” Hoppe said. “We just started midweek and fought our way through (the loss) and got a victory under our belt. We all just had each other’s back and didn’t let each other down. We kept fighting.”
As for Hoppe, he has gotten better and better because of his work ethic and a strong approach to the game.
“I just worked for it hard enough and never gave up,” Hoppe said. “I put a lot of time into it, showed up for every practice and then just worked my hardest. I understood more about how to play the line and the coaches taught me a lot of that. The coaches were teaching more about it in practice and I went to summer weights and lifted all summer.”
He has enjoyed playing middle linebacker, but also enjoyed playing on the defensive line when he used to take up residence there.
“I like that the defense relies on you to make the tackle and you get more chances to get to the ball as a linebacker,” Hoppe said.
The team is beginning to click, Coach Alonso said.
“As a team we are buying in that we are a running team, we have the lineman and skill players to establish that,” he said.
The team has some things to fix, though, Alonso said.
“We continue to struggle with little penalties here and there, we need to be more disciplined and not give away yards.” he said. “ We are looking forward to the challenge Humphrey Saint Francis will bring.”
That’s who is up next as Wausa will host the undefeated defending state champions at 7 p.m. Friday with a chance to really make the season special.
“We will have to carry over some momentum from this win,” Alonso said. “HSF has been and still is one of the best teams in the state. We will have our work cut out for us, but I feel that we can compete if we prepare like I know we can.”
PASSING Wausa - Jaxson Claussen, 5-14-45; Steel Claussen, 1-3-40. Boyd County - Ethan McBride, 1-6-14; T. Atkinson, 0-2-0.
RUSHING Wausa - Steel Claussen, 20-124; Jaxson Claussen, 8-43; Josh Wattier, 2-7; Cashe Carlson, 5-5; Carson Barney, 2-0. Boyd County - Kolt Boettcher, 18-93; T. Atkinson, 18-60; Ethan McBride, 8-21; Dillon Koenig, 1-3.
RECEIVING Wausa - Steel Claussen, 3-44; Jaxon Claussen, 1-40; Carson Barney, 1-3; Josh Watter, 1- -2. Boyd County - Zander Kluckman, 1-14.
TACKLES Wausa - Steel Claussen, 16; Carson Barney, 13; Wyatt Hoppe, 13; Josh Wattier,10; Cashe Carlson, 9; J. Anderson, 6; B. Kristensen, 5; Tug Dawson, 4; Jaxson Claussen, 3; Davey Timmerman, 1. Boyd County - Kolt Bottcher, 12; Dillon Koenig, 11; T. Atkinson, 8; Simon Arellano, 8; Ethan McBride, 5; Zander Kluckman, 3; Zac Rihanek, 2; Hunter Mizner, 2; Camden Brewer, 1.
Stay in the know!
To get news alerts on your cell phone, get the Cedar County News app in the ITunes store or in the Google Play Store.
