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By Cynthia Scott
The Rush City Tigers knew when they took the field Friday night that they would have to play flawless football in order to defeat their archrival Braham, who was undefeated and ranked #5 in the state.
And for the first half of the game, the Tigersí play wasnít just flawless. It was inspired. They held the defending Great River Conference champs to negative rushing yards and no points in taking a 0-0 tie into halftime.
But inspiration gave way to frustration in the second half, as six Tiger turnovers gave Braham the opportunities they needed to turn the game around and ultimately come out on top, 30-0.
ìWhen you play a ranked team, you canít have that many mistakes,î said Coach Gary Wendorf, who was nonetheless pleased with his teamís gritty performance.
The Tigersí offense was their best defense in the first half, as they mounted a ball control game that kept Brahamís potent offense on the sidelines. But Brahamís defense prevented the Tigers from converting possessions into points, and the score was 0-0 at halftime.
The tide began to turn early in the third quarter when the Bombers scored the gameís first touchdown on a questionable non-call. Wide receiver Isaiah Dahlman appeared to jump, but there was no call and the play went 40 yards into the end zone.
ìThat was unfortunate, but you have to be able to roll with those things,î said Wendorf.
The Tigersí offensive game unraveled in the second half, as Braham picked off five passes and recovered one fumble.
Offensively for the game, Jacob Bosman threw 18 of 35 for 193 yards and Adam Best had 2 of 3 for 50 yards. As for receptions, Best made 9 catches for 93 yards; Josh Beck 4 for 90 yards; Joe Hophan 2 for 35 yards; and Jeff Jennings 3 for 45 yards.
Defensively, Jerred Nelson led the way with 6 solo tackles and 5 assists; Adam Morris, 2 solos and 11 assists; Andy Anderson 1 solo and 6 asists. Wendorf praised the play of Jeremy Marty and Adam Best, who teamed up to limit the effectdiveness of Brahamís 6'7" wide receiver Isaiah Dahlman. Best had 3 solo tackles and 6 assists while Marty had 5 solos and 4 assists.
The Tigersí next opponent is Duluth Marshall, a 0-5 team from the Polar Conference. This will be their first-ever meeting. They play at Rush City on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
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