Tigers tame Lions in homecoming win

By Danielle Strenke
The Tigers came out ready to play and showed why they are in contention for the Great River Conference title in last weekís Homecoming game.
The excitement of the homecoming game in front of an enthusiastic crowd may have been the reason behind a Rush City fumble on the opening kickoff.
The team calmed down, however, and stopped Ogilvie after the Lions recovered the fumble. The Tiger defense allowed no yards on the subsequent possession by the Lions.
On its next possession, Rush City used its third play of the game to run Tim Karnick, whose fast feet quickly outdistanced the Ogilvie defenders for a 66-yard touchdown run. Tim Morris kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Rush City lead.
The Tigers defense pounded Ogilvie once again, forcing a 4-and-out series.
Rush City followed the strong defensive showing with another touchdown, looking very similiar to its first run. This time, Karnick carried it 40 yards down the sideline for the score. Morrisís PAT made it 14-0 for Rush City.
The Lions answered with a 9-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but a pass attempt for the two-point conversion failed, leaving them with 6 on the try.
On Rush Cityís first possession of the second quarter, Willie Barth took a wobbly Ogilvie kick and ran it 65 yards for the score. Morris added 1 on the kick, for a 21-6 Rush City lead at the half.
Neither team was able to score in the third quarter, as the Tiger defense continued to hold Ogilvie to minimal yards on every series.
The Tigers put together an impressive series in the fourth quarter, combining solid running and passing.
Kris Guentzel caught two passes for 24 and 13 yards on the drive. Karnick combined two runs for the score, a 22-yard run and a 7-yard run. Karnick continued to run on the two-point conversion, finding the endzone once again, for a 29-6 Tiger lead.
Ogilvie came back and scored a second touchdown with less than three minutes remaining, and failed on the two-point attempt for a 29-12 Rush City win.
ìBoth offensively and defensively the kids were ready to play,î Head Coach Gary Wendorf said. ìThey were really up for homecoming and proved it by the second and third offensive series.î
The Tiger defense gave up only 60 yards rushing and 30 yards passing in the game. Kevin Bengtson was a key to the teamís defense, picking off two Ogilvie passes.
Karnick led the offense with 178 total yards and 3 TDs, Barth added 124 yards and 1 TD.
Rush City improved to 4-1 overall, and 4-0 in the Great River Conference with the win. The record is good enough for second place in the tough GRC race.
This week, the Tigers face its biggest competition so far, as the squad prepares to face first place East Central. The Eagles are 5-0 on the season and 3-0 in the GRC. The game will be at East Central Friday at 7:00 p.m. Rush City winds out its conference schedule Oct. 10 with a home game against Braham.

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