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The Bulldogs normally play in the West Central Conference North, but the conference is divided by enrollment size for football, with the Dogs playing against the smaller schools in the south half.

This year, Paynesville finished 2-3 in the WCC South, good for fourth place. The Dogs were 2-7 overall.

Butkofski, a center and nose tackle, helped pave the way for the Dogs' running game, which gained 1,869 yards this fall, or 208 yards per game, and was fifth in total tackles and fourth in defensive points.

He also served as punter and kicker for the Dogs and averaged 50 yards per kickoff and 34.3 yards per punt. He made one field goal and six PATs.

Mueller, a linebacker and fullback, was second on the team in total tackles (108) and second in defensive points. He led the team with three fumble recoveries and had the highest rushing average of the Dogs' regular running backs (5.8 yards per carry).

Overall, he ran 78 times for 456 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team with 11 pass receptions, for 143 yards.

Utsch, a linebacker and end, led the team in solo tackles (20), total tackles (125), and defensive points. At end, he caught only one pass for six yards, but the Dogs used his blocking for their rushing attack.

Sophomores Matt Hansen and Randy Leyendecker earned honorable mention awards from the WCC South. Hansen, a halfback and cornerback, led the Dogs with seven touchdowns. He rushed 78 times for 358 yards and six touchdowns and also had a touchdown reception among his ten catches. He also averaged 27.1 yards per kickoff return and led the team with two interceptions.

Leyendecker led the Dogs by rushing for 654 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry in 127 attempts. He also rushed for five touchdowns, despite missing several games due to an ankle sprain.

Other awards announced at the team's banquet on Sunday night were senior tackle Josh Binsfeld and junior halfback/linebacker Aaron Bachman being named to the All Section team. The Dogs lost 15-8 to ACGC in the first round of the Section 5AA playoffs.

For the season, the Dogs were outscored 253 to 141. While the Dogs fared pretty well in the second half, only being outscored 91 to 76, their opponents enjoyed a great advantage in first halves. In the first quarters alone this fall, the Dogs were outscored 93 to 19 and they were outscored by nearly 100 points in the first half.

The Dogs' opponents outgained Paynesville 3,170 yards to 2,502. The Dogs, however, enjoyed a positive turnover margin, creating 15 takeaways (12 fumble recoveries and three interceptions) while committing only 11 turnovers (six fumbles and five interceptions).

Other team leaders were junior quarterback Jamie Paul, throwing for 594 yards; senior cornerback Eric Hansen with three pass breakups (tied with his brother Matt); and junior defensive end Sean Glenz with 2.5 sacks and 16 pass hurries.

Opponents--	93	69	42	49	-- 253
Paynesville--	19	46	32	44	-- 141

Individual Statistics
Rushing (attempts-yards-AVG-TDs): Randy Leyendecker 127-654-5.1-5; Mike Mueller 78-456-5.8-2; Matt Hansen 78-358-4.6-6; Aaron Bachman 54-235-4.4-2; Jamie Paul 43-61-1.4-1; Alex Naujokas 3-60-20.0-1; Keith Klein 12-41-3.4-0; Oliver Johnson 3-7-2.3-0; Max Lahr 2-3-1.5-0; Steve Gerding 2-2-1.0-0; Sean Glenz 2-1-0.5-0;

Passing (completions-attempts-yards-INTs-TDs): Paul 43-87-594-5-4; Glenz 1-7-39-0-1; Naujokas 0-1;

Receiving (receptions-yards-AVG- TDs): Hansen 10-148-14.8-1; Mueller 11-143-13.0-0; Leyendecker 9-127-14.1-0; Aaron Braun 3-100-33.3-2; Glenz 5-89-17.8-0; Isaac Jones 1-20-20.0-0; Bachman 3-15-5.0-2; Dustin Utsch 1-6-6.0-0; Klein 1-(-7)-(-7.0)-0;

Scoring: Hansen 46 points (7 TDs, 2 PAT-2); Leyendecker 30 points (5 TDs); Bachman 26 points (4 TDs, 1 PAT-2); Braun 14 points (2 TDs, 1 PAT-2); Mueller 12 points (2 TDs); Justin Butkofski 9 points (1 FG, 6 PAT-1); Naujokas 6 points (1 TD);

Kickoffs: Butkofski 29-1,450-50.0;

Kickoff Returns (attempts-yards-AVG): Hansen 13-352-27.1; Naujokas 9-157-17.4; Leyendecker 2-33-16.5; Klein 2-11-5.5; Joel Kerzman 1-7-7.0; Eric Hansen 1-5-5.0;

Punts: Butkofski 30-1,030-34.3;

Punt Returns (attempts-yards-AVG): Naujokas 3-15-5.0; Jamie Paul 1-3-3.0;

Interceptions: Hansen 2; Naujokas 1;

Pass Breakups: Eric Hansen 3; Matt Hansen 3; Bachman 1; Kerzman 1; Klein 1; Naujokas 1;

Sacks: Glenz 2.5; Butkofski 2.0; Bachman 1.5; Utsch 1.5; Jimmy Jansen 1.0; Mike Berry 0.5; Josh Tebben 0.5;

Pass Hurries: Glenz 16; Butkofski 8; Mike Berry 6; Tebben 4; Utsch 4; Jansen 3; Bachman 2; Braun 2; Cody Flanders 2; Casey Kussatz 2; Mueller 2; Josh Binsfeld 1; Cole Kampsen 1;

Fumbles Caused: Tony Ahrens 1; Bachman 1; Braun 1; Butkofski 1; Matt Hansen 1; Utsch 1;

Fumbles Recovered: Mueller 3; Jansen 2; Jones 2; Klein 2; Bachman 1; Sam Bayer 1; Flanders 1; Tebben 1;

Tackles (solo-assists-total): Utsch 20-105-125; Mueller 16-92-108; Klein 10-87-97; Bachman 8-52-60; Butkofski 9-58-67; Berry 8-44-52; Eric Hansen 19-30-49; Tebben 1-42-43; Glenz 9-28-37; Matt Hansen 7-16-23; Naujokas 5-18-23; Josh Binsfeld 1-22-23; Kerzman 3-18-21; Kampsen 1-16-17; Flanders 1-14-15; Jansen 1-12-13; Bayer 1-9-10; Jones 1-9-10;

Defensive Points (Top Ten): Utsch 156; Mueller 145; Klein 126; Butkofski 100; Bachman 86; Glenz 85; Eric Hansen 74; Berry 73; Tebben 59; Matt Hansen 51.

Team Statistics

	Pay	Opp
Points	141	253
Rushes-Yards	403-1,869	382-2,018
Passes-Yards	44-95-633	61-109-1,152
Total Offense	496-2,502	491-3,170
Total First Downs	116	129
Penalties	41-313	30-252
Fumbles Lost	6	12
Interceptions Thrown	5	3