Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Banner County freshman, Gage Alenander, 35, ran the ball for a total of 354 yards with five touchdowns. Potter-Dix defenders, Aaron Crawford, 45, (left) and Connor Williams, 32, (right), attempt to stop Alenander's advance.
After two tough losses to begin the season, the Banner County Wildcats walked away with their first win over the Potter-Dix Coyotes on Friday, Sept. 9.
"The game was a good battle, both teams played. In the end, I thought we made enough plays to come out ahead," head coach Charles Jones said. "It was good for our team to be in a situation to win a game, it has been a long time and I thought our kids handled that well. We still need to work on things on defense to improve on that side of the ball."
Payton Wick was the leader for tackles with seven solo and four assists, followed by Seth Dvorak with five each, and Gage Alenander with five solo and four assists.
Senior Cole Blanke racked up two solo tackles and assisted with four while Brandon Blickensderfer was credited with three solo tackles and two assists.
Alenander, the 6'0" freshman quarterback for the Cats, completed five of fourteen pass attempts for a total of 101 yards with four touchdowns. Alenander also carried a total of 38 times for 354 yards and five touchdowns.
"We were able to move the ball well on offense, I felt that we still can improve on what we do on both sides of the ball," Jones said. "Our practices are improving on our focus and attention to detail."
Top receivers for Alenander were Brandon Blickensderfer and Wick, each with two touchdowns. Wick was further credited with 220 kickoff return yards.
"I felt that all of our players made contributions to the game, Payton Wick, Brandon Blickensderfer and Gage Alenander had really good games for us," Jones said. "We will continue to work on things in practice that we need to improve on. Our kids know they need to improve and they can see the improvements that are being made."
The Wildcats will continue focusing throughout practices as they prepare to host Minatare (0-3) this Friday, Sept. 16.
"I was really impressed with our teams composure-- we got down early and did not quit playing, I felt that our play and effort won the game for us," he concluded. "Potter Dix played very well and did not quit playing during the entire game, that made our kids have to raise their level to match what they did."
