NL-S managed a touchdown after the Bulldogs turned the ball over in their own 27-yard line. The Wildcats kicked the extra point which brought the final score to NL-S 16, Paynesville 8.
The Paynesville football team found out against New London-Spicer on Friday night that you cannot turn the ball over seven times and expect to win a football game. The Bulldogs finally found a little offense, but just couldn't hang on to the football Friday. The Dogs outgained the Wildcats by over 70 total yards on the night, but came up short on the scoreboard by a score of 16-8, as a result of five fumbles and two interceptions.
Josh Trees (41) makes a tackle in the backfield against NLS. Trees also led the Bulldogs in rushing with 63 yards on 22 carries.
The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the second quarter after a great punt return by Jeremy Fuchs. Fuchs took a NL-S punt back 30 yards to the Wildcats' nine-yard line. From there, the Bulldogs offense stalled until Logan Louis hit T.J. Schultz on a four-yard, fourth-down pass to put the Bulldogs ahead 6-0. Louis connected with Schultz again for the two-point conversion.
The Bulldogs' defense let the Wildcats back in the game, as the Cats drove 69 yards in seven plays to score. The Paynesville defense stopped the Wildcats on the extra point attempt which made the score: Paynesville 8, NL-S 6.
The Paynesville defense held NL-S to a negative 11 yards for the rest of the second quarter to keep the halftime score at 8-6.
The third quarter saw the Bulldogs' offense do nothing because of turnovers and penalties. During the third quarter, the Bulldogs could not move the ball with any consistency. They only had one first down the whole quarter.
The Wildcats managed a 26-yard field goal during the third quarter to take a 9-8 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Paynesville offense came to life as they racked up 111 yards of offense and six first downs. The problem was the Bulldogs also had four turnovers during the quarter, which killed any chances of them scoring.
NL-S managed a touchdown after the Bulldogs turned the ball over in their own 27-yard line. The Wildcats kicked the extra point which brought the final score to NL-S 16, Paynesville 8.
Even after that score, the Bulldogs had chances to score a touchdown. With another two-point conversion, the Bulldogs would have tied the score. But turnovers ended the Bulldogs' chances.
After making one of his four catches, T.J. Schultz (82) drags a New London-Spicer tackler while attempting to gain yards for the Bulldogs. He caught four passes for 55 yards and one touchdown.
The Paynesville offense finally showed a little spark as they had 250 yards in total offense. Louis had a good night passing for the Dogs as he completed eight of 13 attempts for 104 yards.
Josh Trees led the Bulldogs in the rushing department for the third straight game as he had 63 yards in 22 carries. Sophomore Chris Fuchs started for the Bulldogs at quarterback and did a nice job running the option offense for the Bulldogs.
Paynesville will travel to Benson on Friday to take on the Braves, who are 0-3, just like the Dogs. This will be the first conference game for the Bulldogs, who are now in the West Central South. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
NL-S 0 6 3 7 - 16
Paynesville 0 8 0 0 - 8
Scoring summary
Pay-T.J. Schultz 4 pass from Logan Louis (Schultz pass from Louis);
NL-S- Sam Tait 12 run (run failed);
NL-S- Spencer Johnson 26 field goal;
NL-S- Andy Freeland 10 run (Johnson kick).
Individual statistics
Rushing (attempts-yards): Josh Trees 22-63; Adam Schaefer 4-26; Milan Virant 7-28; Chris Fuchs 6-12; Logan Louis 2-4;
Passing (completions-attempts-yards-TDs): Louis 8-13-104-1;
Receiving (receptions-yards-TDs): T.J. Schultz 4-55-1; Nic Glenz 3-41; Milan Virant 1-8.
Team statistics
Paynesville
Rushes-Yards 41-133
Passing yards 9-14-107
Total offense 55-240
Total first downs 11
Penalties 3-35
Fumbles 5
Interceptions 2
New London-Spicer
Rushes-Yards 43-122
Passing yards 3-13-49
Total offense 56-171
Total first downs 6
Penalties 2-15
Fumbles 0
Interceptions 0