Bears are bit by Pendragons in 50-21 loss

PENDER - Pender played its first football game ever at the new Pendragon Athletic Complex Friday night and the Pendragons broke in the new digs in fine fashion with a 50-21 win over Laurel-Concord- Coleridge.

“It was important that we start things off here the right way,” said Pender head coach Cody Volk. “After dropping a game last week it was even more important to get the win here today, we took care of our business and got the job done.”

Pender went up 15-0 after the opening 12 minutes on a pass from Zander Welsh to Ryan Krueger and a Welsh 1-yard plunge and after a Trevor Trimble conversion run following the first score and an Easton Dutcher kick after the second score, the Pendragons were up, 15-0 with 3:08 left in the first frame.

Drey Puppe and the Bears responded after the teams traded a couple of possessions.

The LCC defense turned the ball over on downs and got the ball at their own 26 Puppe led a three-play drive, including a 44-yard completion and a 9-yard run which set the Bears up with a second-and-goal at the 1.

Puppe hit Kyle Rasmussen for the final yard then hit Paxton Hoeppner for two points and with 3:00 left in the first half, LCC was back in it, 15-8.

The Pendragons scored one more time in the first half on a 9-yard run by Reece Heineman and the home team expanded its lead to 22-8.

The Bears opened the third quarter with another score when Puppe hooked up with Tanner Thompson on a 43-yard pass play to hit paydirt. After the conversion run was no good, the Bears were back in the game, 22-14.

“I really thought we had turned the corner there after that score,” first-year LCC coach Izac Reifenrath said. “They answered right away and we just seemed to give up.”

Welsh hit Heineman from 15 yards out and after a Dutcher kick, the score was 29-14.

“We answered every time they came at us,” said Volk. “I was really happy with the way we showed our heart, we just kept playing.”

“We need to play with more urgency, more purpose,” said firstyear Laurel-Concord-Coleridge coach, Izac Reifenrath. “It seemed like when they scored that touchdown in the third quarter, we just quit, lost our intensity.”

Pender would score back-to-back touchdowns to end the third and open the fourth on an Owen Larsen 1-yard run and then Jake Schuster hit Grant Geisert from the five and the score went up to 43-14 with 10:12 left in the final 12 minutes. “This was our homecoming and we wanted to make sure we started things off the right way here at our new field,” said Pender senior Trevor Trimble. “It turned out pretty good, about like we had planned.” Another Pender touchdown put the 35-point rule into effect on a Schuster 27-yard scamper with 7:55 left in the game, but the Bears scored on an Ian Sohler 5-yard dash with 1:42 left to end the scoring on the night. The Bears will be back in action Sept. 12 when they travel to Tri County Northeast to take on the Wolfpack.

LCC 0 8 6 7 - 21 PEN 15 7 14 14 - 50

FIRST QUARTER

PEN: Ryan Krueger 10 pass from Zander Welsh, Trevor Trimble run, 8:52. 8-0. PEN: Welsh 1 run, Easton Dutcher kick, 3:08. 15-0.

SECOND QUARTER

LCC: Kyle Rasmussen 1 pass from Drey Puppe, Paxton Hoeppner pass from Puppe, 3:00. 15-8. PEN: Reece Heineman 9 run, Dutcher kick, 0:30. 22-8.

THIRD QUARTER

LCC: Tanner Thompson 37 pass from Puppe, conversion no good, 10:56. 22-14. PEN: Heineman 25 pass from Welsh, Dutcher kick, 8:09. 29-14. PEN: Owen Larsen, 1 run, Dutcher kick, 3:07. 36-14.

FOURTH QUARTER

PEN: Grant Geisert 5 pass from Jake Schuster, Dutcher kick, 10:12. 43-14. PEN: Schuster 27 run, Dutcher kick, 7:55. 50-14. LCC: Ian Sohler 5 run, Puppe kick, 1:42. 50-21. LCC Pender Passing 12-19-161 15-18-202 Rushing 31-76 37-208 Total Yds: 237 410

LCC Passing: Drey Puppe 7-12 114 2TD; Paxton Hoeppner 4-6 34; Talon Carson 1-1 13.

LCC Rushing: Drey Puppe 11-39; Paxton Hoeppner 2-18; Dayton Korth 9-17; Parker Hoeppner 2-14; Ian Sohler 3-2 1TD; Talon Carson 1-(-5); Tyler Boysen 3-(-9).

LCC Receiving: Tanner Thompson 3-100 1TD; Tyler Boysen 4-26; Talon Carson 3-24; Drey Puppe 1-10; Kyle Rasmussen 1-1 1TD.

LCC Tackles: Drey Puppe 19; Tyler Boysen 10; Dayton Korth 8; Tanner Thompson 9; Kyle Rasmussen 4; Talon Carson 1; Kolten Settje 5; Blake Hansen 2; Turner Thompson 1; Paxton Hoeppner 1; Cade Johnson 1; Jake Lipp 1.