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Paynesville Press - October 4, 2006

Morris rallies past Dogs 45-40

By Michael Jacobson

The Paynesville Bulldogs built a 26-7 halftime lead at Morris on Friday night, but the Tigers rallied with five second-half touchdowns to win 45-40, keeping the Dogs winless in the WCC South.

The Dogs rushed for 411 yards against the Tigers, including 232 yards in the first half.

The Bulldogs hit paydirt on their second drive, when senior wingback Matt Hansen scored on a 25-yard pass from junior quarterback Ted Hoffman. But the Dogs missed the extra-point kick, and Morris made theirs, taking a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Dogs dominated behind their running game, keeping 20 of 21 plays on the ground as they gained 148 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Senior Randy Leyendecker returned to action and capped their first drive of the second quarter with a two-yard run for a 12-7 lead. Hoffman scored next on a one-yard run, making it 20-7. And senior Aaron Burris scored the final touchdown of the quarter, giving the Dogs a 26-7 lead at halftime.

Running the ball and keeping it away from the high-powered Morris offense was the team's strategy, said coach Ted Nett, and it worked well in the second quarter. "We just wore time off the clock by sustaining drives," he said. "That was the game plan."

The Dogs' defense, meanwhile, forced Morris senior quarterback Taylor Witt to throw six straight incompletions in the second quarter and held the Tigers without a first down in the quarter, forcing Morris to punt three times.

In the third quarter, the Dogs' jamming of Morris receivers were called penalties, said Nett, and the Dogs did not adjust as Witt completed 11 passes in the quarter, leading Morris to four touchdowns.

Morris cut the lead to 26-13, but the Dogs answered with a 48-yard touchdown run by junior halfback Brett Savelkoul, putting the Dogs ahead 34-13 again. After Morris scored again, Savelkoul scored again on an 80-yard run, giving the Dogs a 40-21 lead again.

After Morris scored for a third time, the Dogs fumbled deep in their territory, and Morris scored again on the next play to give them three scores within five minutes and make the score 40-37 in Paynes-ville's favor entering the fourth quarter.

As the Dogs punted twice to start the fourth quarter, Morris took the lead midway thru the quarter on Witt's fourth touchdown pass. Witt threw for over 300 yards.

The Dogs tried to extend another drive with a fake punt, but the run came up short. Time expired during the Dogs' final drive.

Savelkoul rushed 15 times for 217 yards to lead the Dogs. Burris, who suffered a concussion, rushed for 91 yards, and Leyendecker rushed for 88 yards.

The Dogs (0-4 in the WCC South and 1-4 overall) will host BOLD on Friday at PAHS.

Paynesville--6 20 140-- 40
Morris--7 0 308 -- 45

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Pay-Matt Hansen 25 pass from Ted Hoffman (kick failed);
Mor-Craig Knochenmus 3 pass from Taylor Witt (kick good);

Second Quarter
Pay-Randy Leyendecker 2 run (run failed);
Pay-Hoffman 1 run (Leyendecker run);
Pay-Aaron Burris 3 run (pass failed);

Third Quarter
Mor-Knochenmus 12 pass from Witt (PAT failed);
Pay-Brett Savelkoul 48 run (Sam Bayer pass from Hoffman);
Mor-Travis Moser 3 run (2-point conversion good);
Pay-Savelkoul 80 run (run failed);
Mor-Witt 1 run (2-point conversion good);
Mor-Justin Lund 12 pass from Witt (2-point conversion good);

Fourth Quarter
Mor-Knochenmus 3 pass from Witt (2-point conversion good).

Individual Statistics
Rushing (attempts-yards-TDs): Brett Savelkoul 15-217-2; Aaron Burris 12-91-1; Randy Leyendecker 12-88; Kevin Klein 1-6; Sam Bayer 2-6; Justin Wendlandt 2-5; Ted Hoffman 4-4-1; Matt Hansen 3-(-2);
Passing (completions-attempts-yards-TDs): Hoffman 5-12-61-1;
Receiving (receptions-yards-TDs): Hansen 3-37-1; Burris 1-15; Alex Naujokas 1-9;
Kickoffs: Bayer 6-280;
Kickoff Returns: Savelkoul 2-23; Wendlandt 1-12; Leyendecker 1-8;
Punts: Burris 2-56; Klein 1-50.



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