Chris Caporale, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Chris Caporale Gresham/Bowler quarterback Nathan Montez looks for an open receiver on a fourth-down pass attempt during Friday’s loss to Green Bay NEW Lutheran.
Leader Photo by Chris Caporale Gresham/Bowler running back JJ Church looks for a hole in the defense during Friday night’s loss to Green Bay NEW Lutheran. Church scored the only touchdown for the Cats in a 68-8 defeat.
As Gresham/Bowler junior running back J.J. Church took a direct snap to the left side of his offensive line, he found his biggest hole of the night, shaking one defender and sprinting past another for a 23-yard score.
The Cats (1-5, 1-3 Great 8-North) mobbed him in the end zone with 2:21 remaining in the fourth quarter to celebrate their lone score in a 68-8 blowout at the hands of Green Bay NEW Lutheran (6-0, 4-0 Great 8-North) Friday night.
“(The touchdown) showed that when we are out there, if we do everything right, we can score, and that will put us in the game with a lot of the other teams we play against,” Gresham/Bowler head coach Andrew Meverden said.
The bigger and stronger Blazers, who are used to playing smash-mouth football, ran over Gresham/Bowler all night, which led to Gabe Lloyd’s three 40-plus-yard touchdowns on five carries.
Junior Brock Reisler added 159 yards on two carries, including two long touchdowns for Green Bay NEW Lutheran.
“The great thing about it is our running backs don’t get touched,” Green Bay NEW Lutheran head coach Dick Hasseler said. “The blocking, our front line, we’re not big, but we are good as far as fundamentals. The holes are there for my guys.”
On the first play from scrimmage, Cats quarterback Nathan Montez found senior Bryton Kratwell for a 15-yard gain before throwing an interception, and then losing 6 yards on the next possession.
In the second quarter, though, the Cats found their rhythm, extending drives into opposing territory on both possessions, but turning the ball over on downs each time.
Church finished the game with 112 rushing yards for the Cats.
“I’m not real happy about the way they ran up the middle on us, but you’ve got to give something up,” Hasseler said.
With his team trailing in the second quarter, Meverden promised his team a lighter workout at practice Monday if they could score a touchdown or stop the Blazers from scoring on a drive.
The incentive seemed to energize his players, sustaining those two drives in the second quarter and leading to higher energy late in the game, resulting in the scoring drive.
The Cats were driving again in the final minute of the game but were stopped just inside of the red zone as time ran out.
“This is probably one of the first games we actually played as a team,” Meverden said. “Hopefully, with the majority of them being sophomores and freshmen, the next two years, they can try to improve on the record and football and get some wins, and hopefully make the playoffs.”
Scoring Summary
NEW Lutheran 20 14 20 14 — 68
Gresham/Bowler 0 0 0 8 — 8
First quarter
NL: Lloyd 45-yard run (conversion missed) 11:18.
NL: James Lana 12-yard run (conversion good) 6:58.
NL: Tanner Natzke 49-yard reception (conversion missed) 3:31.
Second quarter
NL: Lloyd 44-yard run (conversion good) 11:49.
NL: Reisler 75-yard run (conversion missed) 6:17.
Third quarter
NL: Luke Bukowski 62-yard run (conversion good) 10:57.
NL: Lloyd 49-yard run (conversion missed) 5:33.
NL: Bukowski 25-yard run (conversion missed) 1:46.
Fourth quarter
NL: Bukowski 11-yard run (conversion good) 7:38.
G/B: Church 23-yard run (conversion good) 2:21.
NL: Reisler 84-yard run (conversion missed) 0:51.