Rushford-Peterson Trojans celebrate 2021 section title. Photo: TJ Leverentz
(KWNO)- The Rushford-Peterson football team opened their 2022 campaign with a win, despite only scoring 14 points.
The Trojans topped the Medford Tigers 14-0 as the defense dominated, while a new offense worked through its growing pains.
The game opened with Rushford starting with the football. The first drive of the game was promising for Rushford until all the momentum earned while driving 49 yards in five plays was washed away by a fumble from sophomore Jonah Bunke at the 1-yard-line.
The offensive struggles continued in the first half for the Trojans and it wasn’t until the 3rd quarter that Riley Tesch was able to find Grady Hengle on the right side of the field for an easy touchdown. From then on, the Trojans kept the lead, controlling the game and time of possession.
Head Coach for the Trojans, Davin Thompson, said of the victory, “I thought our kids played really hard, we were able to be gritty.”
Although the fumble, Bunke dazzled thereafter. Finishing with 91 yards on 11 attempts, including a 35-yard sprint for six, Bunke proved to the Trojan faithful that he has the ability to be a workhorse back. Not to mention that Trojan faithful can watch a different Bunke succeed on the field this year.
Riley Tesch, the first QB that Rushford fields after the departure of Malachi Bunke, had a solid first showing. Tesch reached 125 yards through the air while completing 12 of his 15 pass attempts including the aforementioned touchdown,
“You know I thought he started off well…He did miss some throws…I think if you asked Riley he’d say he’s gotta play better, you know and I would agree but, I thought he did a good job, made the throws when he had to, you know we didn’t think he ever looked rattled, he’s just gotta get more experience and more experience and more experience. He’s a good QB, you’ll see that throughout the year,” Thompson said of his QB.
The afterthought in this game is shockingly Grady Hengle. Hengle had the first touchdown yes, but only garnered two catches for 18 yards. Hengle did return a punt for a touchdown, but it was brought back due to an illegal block. The point is, Hengle must touch the ball more, he is without a doubt the most explosive player on the team, and when he has the ball in space, is virtually untouchable. Thompson is well aware of this, and is certainly looking to make improvements,
“We have to [get him the ball more], you’re exactly right, he’s so dynamic, you saw that with the return…We gotta find more ways, and we will this week [to get him the ball], he’s gotta touch the ball 10, 15 times a game,” said Thompson when asked about Hengle’s lack of touches.
Rushford-Peterson walks away from their week 1 matchup happy with a win, but with many improvements to be made before facing a much tougher opponent in Fillmore Central.
That matchup will kick off on Friday, Sept. 9th at 7:00 p.m. as the Trojans will host Fillmore Central in their 2022 home opener. Coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the Balling in the Bluffs pre-game show, only on the Winona Sports Network, 99.3 FM.
The full interview with Davin Thompson can be listened to below.
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