(KWMN)- The Rushford-Peterson Trojan football team saw their season come to an end as they fell short in the section semi-finals to Bethlehem Academy (BA), losing 42-20.
It was one of those contests where the ball happened to bounce in favor of BA time and time again. From the opening coin-toss, the good fortune favored BA.
The wind was howling all night long and winning the opening coin-toss allowed for BA to choose the direction in which they’ll be kicking and running the offense. That caused fits for the Trojans from the opening kick, as they had trouble corralling the kickoff, which led to a quick opening possession, and great starting field position for BA.
BA scored on their first chance with the ball and the Trojans again struggled to receive the ensuing kickoff, leading to another quick punt and another possession for BA with excellent starting field position. BA scored again, making their lead 14-0 early in the first quarter.
Although the Trojans fought hard, the deficit was too mighty to overcome. The Trojans made it close at the half, cutting the lead to 14-6, but a huge 3rd quarter from BA made the effort obsolete as BA turned on the jets to put the Trojans out of reach, winning 42-20.
Head coach for the Trojans, Davin Thompson said of the loss,
“BA had a really good plan for us…proud of our kids, kind of dug, stayed in it…just weren’t able to stop ’em…weren’t able to convert (on their opportunities).”
The season comes to a close earlier than the Trojans would’ve hoped. That shouldn’t take anything away from the season, however. The Trojans came into the 2022 season after seeing 11 seniors depart from a team that reached the state semi-finals. Players that were deep reserves had to jump into key roles and new faces altogether had to do the same. Riley Tesch hadn’t played a meaningful snap at quarterback until this season, and he had to replace the likes of Malachi Bunke, expectations that few, if any, could meet.
This is a Trojan team that started the season with minimal experience that lacked a true identity. Through the season, there was improvement in every sector of the game week in and week out, and the Trojan faithful saw this team grow into a section contender. To label the season anything short of success would be unfair.
“Just proud of them for how much they grew…just so proud of ’em for staying together, trusting the process, getting better week by week by week. You know it’s sad, we didn’t play our best football on Saturday, and that’s 100% on me, but just to see ’em keep growing…just how much they grew as a football team and individuals throughout the season. Just proud of ’em,” Thompson said when asked about the season as a whole.
The Trojans will now say goodbye to a solid group of seniors, as they do every season. Riley Tesch, Grady Hengel, Dalton Hoel, Jackson Bergan, Owen Fenske, Andrew Wilkemeyer and Miles Anderson will all graduate come this spring. All of whom played key, meaningful roles throughout this season. Thompson said of his seniors,
“Honestly, didn’t know exactly what we were going to get this year (from his seniors) but was totally blown away by the way they were able to lead this football team. Just by example and with their words and on the field…I told them they left the program better than they found it. I’m proud of them for that and the men they’ve become.”
With the departure of the aforementioned seniors, Davin Thompson and the rest of the Trojan coaching staff will head into the offseason determined to create a plan that will allow the Trojans to pick up right where they left off. Thompson told the Winona Sports Network that he has already watched some film from the game Saturday and from throughout the season to gauge what needs to be fixed, changed and a start a plan to move forward.
The message Thompson had to his returning players was simple, “we got work to do.”
As the season closes and the offseason begins, Thompson is confident and committed to bringing this Trojan football back to the bank. With returning players like Jonah Bunke and Sampson Wilkemeyer, to name just a couple, Thompson will bring back enough talent to do just that. The big question mark of course will be the quarterback position. After deploying Malachi Bunke for three seasons behind center, Thompson will now have his second straight season with the task of replacing the quarterback. Caden Johnson is a name to remember heading into next season. The sophomore, who will be a junior come next season, stands tall at 6’1 and is the only returning QB on the roster that received snaps this season. Luckily for Thompson, similar to this year, he’ll have plenty of weapons to surround whoever earns the coveted QB1 title.
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