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Tigers battle Jags
RC picks up 28-15 win

By Danielle Strenke
The Tiger defense shut out Hinckley-Finlayson through much of the first half, on the way to a 28-15 Rush City win last Friday at Saloka Field.
Rush Cityís defense looked tough throughout the contest, forcing three fumbles and one interception.
Both teams failed to put points on the board in the first quarter. The Tigers came close when Tim Morris attempted a 15-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked.
Tim Karnick started things for the Tigers in the second, with a 54-yard run to the 2 yard line. He took the hand-off from Brent Freeman and ran in for the score. The extra point was good for a 7-0 Tigers lead.
Later in the quarter, Freeman found Kris Guentzel, who then ran it in 16 yards for the second Rush City touchdown. Morris added a point for a 14-0 score.
Hinckley came back in the quarter by returning the subsequent kick-off to the 1 yard line and followed it with a TD run. The quarter ended with a 14-7 Rush City edge.
In the third quarter, Freemanís 52-yard pass to Kevin Bengtson was good for a third Rush City touchdown, followed by a failed extra point kick.
The Tigers sealed the win with another TD in the fourth quarter, coming on the end of a successful drive that included an 11-yard run from Karnick and three runs from Willie Barth totalling 24 yards. Freeman passed to Barth for a successful two-point conversion, for a 28-7 lead.
The Tigers junior varsity players took over for much of the fourth quarter, playing well. The Jaguars added 8 with less than a minute remaining in the game, for a 28-15 Rush City win.
The Tigers played solid football on both sides of the ball, allowing no turnovers while forcing 4 Hinckley turnovers. Ray Grabau, Ben Rustad and Guentzel picked up the fumble recoveries and Adam Best had an interception.
Barth led in rushing with 78 yards, followed by Karnick with 77. Dan Gamache was the teamís defensive leader, picking up 10 assisted tackles and 3 solo tackles.
ìThe defense did a great job shutting down Hinckley in the first half, giving the offense good field position throughout the game,î Head Coach Gary Wendorf said.
Rush Cityís defense held Hinckley to under 100 yards rushing through the first three quarters.
He said despite the 14-7 lead at the half, the team was down because they allowed a long kick-off return to set up a Hinckley score late in the half.
ìBut they took the opening kickoff and moved the ball well to score a TD and boost their confidence,î Wendorf said.
The win improves Rush City to 2-0 in the conference, 2-1 overall. This week, the Tigers travel to Onamia before returning for the Homecoming game Sept. 26 against Ogilvie.

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