During the past three years Paynesville has played Sauk Centre during homecoming week. With this year's win at home and the previous two year's wins there, the Bulldogs have won all the meetings.
The Bulldogs started off strong on their first drive. Brandon Wensmann had runs of nine yards, eight yards and 13 yards. The Streeters stopped the Bulldogs on the next two plays, but Darren Michaelis caught a pass on the next play for a 19-yard gain.
This set the Bulldogs up for a touchdown. Wensmann ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Bulldogs their first touchdown in about 10 quarters. Paynesville missed the extra point play because the pass to Jim Mages was incomplete.
The Streeters came out fast, getting four first downs before the Bulldogs stopped them on Paynesville's 16-yard line.
On the Bulldogs' next drive Paynesville fumbled and gave the ball to the Streeters on the Paynesville 26-yard line. The Streeters' first play resulted in a 26-yard touchdown run. This gave Sauk Centre an 8-6 lead, but Paynesville was quick to come back.
On the Bulldogs' next three drives they scored two touchdowns. One resulted from a nine-yard pass to Michaelis, and the other from a five-yard touchdown run by Jesse Spates. Spates was hurt on the play and Noah Bruntlett came in and played quarterback for the rest of the game. Both conversions were made after the touchdowns so the halftime score was 22-8.
The Bulldogs came out just as motivated in the second half as they were in the first half. The Bulldogs didn't score in the third quarter. The Streeters scored on a 10-yard run.
The Bulldogs came back, scoring three times in the fourth quarter: once on a 51- yard run by Michaelis, once on a 28-yard run by Seth Elmhorst, and the third on a 58-yard run by Brett Aagesen. All point-afters were missed, but the score was 40-14. The Streeters scored two touchdowns before the game ended, bringing the score to 40-28.
The Bulldogs' next game is against Wadena-Deer Creek next Friday, Oct. 11, at home. It is Parents' Night.
Paynesville 6 16 0 18ñ 40
Sauk Centre 0 8 6 14ñ 28
Individual statistics
Rushing (att-yds-TDs):
Wensmann 15-72-1; Michaelis 11-66-1; Aagesen 6-66-1; Spates 3-14-1; Elmhorst 1-28-1;
Receiving (rec-yds-TDs):
Michaelis 2-47-1;
Passing (comps-att-yds-TDs-ints):
Spates 2-4-47-1-0;
Punting (att-yds-avg):
Mages 1-39-39;
Punt returns (att-yds-avg):
Michaelis 1-0-0;
Kicking (att-yds-avg):
Mages 7-344-49.1;
Interceptions:
Michaelis 1;
Sacks:
Hiltner 2; Elmhorst 1.
Team statistics Pay-Opp
Total yards 389, 414
Scrimmage yards 301, 292
Return yards 88, 122
RushesñYards 41-254, 41-218
Avg/carry 6.2, 5.5
CompletionsñAttempts 3-6, 6-16
Passing yards 47, 74
Avg/attempt 7.8, 4.6
Total first downs 7, 13
PuntsñAvg yards 1-39.0, 3-25.0
ReturnsñAvg yards 1-0, 1-2.0
KickoffsñAvg yards 7-49.1, 5-32.2
ReturnsñAvg yards 4-15.8, 7-17.1
PenaltiesñYards 4-30, 3-13
FumblesñLost 4-2, 0
Passes intercepted 0, 1
Conference standings - overall
Albany 4-0, 6-0
Litchfield 3-1, 5-1
Melrose 3-1, 4-2
Paynesville 2-3, 2-4
LPGE 1-3, 3-3
Cathedral 1-3, 1-5
Sauk Centre 1-4, 1-5