The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Jaxon Schaefer surges forward for a few extra yards on this pass completion while trying to slip through the grasp of Bottineau's Tukker Fedje. Schaefer had 23 yards on three receptions, and played a solid game in the secondary.
McKade Zink, left, gets a celebratory bump from Ryder Bickett after scoring his first touchdown of the game. Zink would add another in the fourth quarter, and finished with six catches for 143 yards.
Junior quarterback Josh Bickett threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns, all career highs, in the two-point loss.
Carrington stepped onto the turf for the first game of 2023, with a team short on depth, but high on potential playmaking ability.
And according to the stat sheet, they accomplished the second part of that equation.
However, the Bottineau Braves had just enough game-changers of their own to take a narrow 36-34 win in Carrington Friday night, August 18.
In spite of 330 yards passing by Cardinal quarterback Josh Bickett, including four touchdowns, the Braves came out on top in the entertaining shootout.
"Bottineau has some terrific athletes," CHS Head Coach Kyle Smith said. "I knew they'd be very athletic, but their team speed is what really impressed me."
The Cards had a chance to steal the win late following a highlight reel play on the team's final drive.
On third down and 15 with just over a minute remaining, Bickett threw a quick pass to Grady Shipman as he was being upended by a Brave tackler. Shipman had the presence of mind to lateral the ball to a breaking Logan Weninger, who cut across the middle following a big gain into field goal range.
On fourth down in the final minute, the Cards lined up for a 39-yard field goal attempt, and Shipman, this year's kicker, appeared to loft the ball through the uprights with his strike.
Unfortunately for the home team, the officials ruled that the ball was not set up for play yet, triggering a re-kick.
The second attempt was blocked by the Braves' Khaliel Abdurrahman, sealing the victory for Bottineau.
On the first attempt, Smith said, "It was a clutch kick for that situation, if it had counted. It's nice to know we have that weapon if we need it."
Abdurrahman, the Braves' junior speedster, gave the Braves the lead with a 74-yard catch and run late in the game from quarterback Carson Haerer. He caught the ball on the flat, made one Cardinal miss, and was clear to the end zone.
He also figured in the first touchdown of the game, snaring a long pass to set up Easton Freeman's seven-yard run. The two-point conversion made the score 8-0, BHS.
"They're both really quick, and capable of big plays," said Smith of the Freeman-Abdurrahman combo.
But it was Haerer's legs that ultimately proved to be the matchup problem.
Haerer answered a CHS score with a 68-yard scamper, and also added an 80-yard touchdown in the pivotal fourth quarter. He would finish with 195 yards on 12 carries, and though he struggled with accuracy, converted 4-of-17 passing for 128 yards.
"He's explosive, smart, and tough to deal with on both sides of the ball," said Smith.
In the course of the game, the Cards discovered a new speed weapon, along with Weninger, that could give defenses a second look.
Sophomore back McKade Zink put that elusiveness on display with a 42-yard touchdown on a screen pass to put CHS on the board. He would also add a 74-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, and would put up totals of 143 yards receiving on six catches.
Bottineau's defense capped a 22-point first quarter for the Braves with an interception return for touchdown by Tye Marum on an errant screen from Bickett.
Aside from the first and fourth quarters, the Cardinal defense held serve, shutting down Bottineau.
"We had kids that had great agames that won't show up as much in stats, but nonetheless, we'd have been in trouble without their gritty performances," Smith said.
In particular, Smith singled out the play of senior Jaxon Schaefer, who made some impressive plays in coverage along with his offensive contributions.
As expected, Weninger was one of the big contributors, with 200 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Shipman gave the Cards the lead at 34-30 with an eight-yard touchdown catch, and Smith praised his efforts in the kickoff game as well.
"Grady had three touchbacks, fielded every punt, had a couple huge catches, played well at safety, and had some excellent blocks on the edge," the coach said.
Smith noted that the first game mistakes are correctable ones, and was very complimentary of Bottineau as a team.
"They're very disciplined, and they will be a tough out in our region if they stay healthy," he said.
While the Cards were disheartened by the result, Smith says the team will build on the positives.
"It was a game that really came down to which team could make one more big play than the other. I like the fact that we battled and gutted it out for four quarters against a good team. We left everything on the field, and that's all you can ask."
Carrington took on Rugby last Friday night in the team's first road matchup of the year. The Panthers were defeated by HWC, 38-14, in their first week matchup (see related article on page 7).
Next up will be Region 2 newcomer Cavalier coming to the Central City, with kickoff at 7 p.m. Friday, September 1.
Class 11B Region 2 Football
Bottineau 36, Carrington 34
Botno 22 0 0 14 - 36
Cgtn. 6 8 6 14 - 34
First Quarter
Bottineau: Easton Freeman 7 yard run (Tye Marum pass from Carson Haerer)
Carrington: McKade Zink 42 yard pass from Josh Bickett (run failed)
Bottineau: Haerer 68 yard run (pass failed)
Bottineau: Marum 22 yard interception return (Haerer run)
Second Quarter
Carrington: Logan Weninger 78 yard pass from J. Bickett (Jaxon Schaefer run)
Third Quarter
Carrington: Weninger 4 yard run (pass failed)
Fourth Quarter
Carrington: Mc. Zink 74 yard pass from J. Bickett (run failed)
Bottineau: Haerer 80 yard run (Freeman run)
Carrington: Grady Shipman 8 yard pass from J. Bickett (Weninger run)
Bottineau: Khaliel Abdurrahman 74 yard pass from Haerer (pass failed)
Carrington Statistics
Offense
Passing: J. Bickett 17-24-330 yards-4 TD-INT; Shipman 0-2-0
Rushing: Weninger 13-55-TD; Corbin Clifton 5-38; Ryder Bickett 1-17; J. Bickett 7-7; Jaxon Schaefer 2-5; Mc. Zink 2-1
Receiving: Mc. Zink 6-143-2 TD; Weninger 3-113-TD; Shipman 3-29-TD; Schaefer 3-23; Clifton 3-12; R. Bickett 1-11
Defense
Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Jake Otto (5-5); Brock Jungels (4-4); Clifton (4-4); Mc. Zink (4-4); Weninger (3-1); Maverick Zink (3-0); Schaefer (2-1); Carson Ova (2-4); Shipman (1-1); R. Bickett (1-3); Tate Wolsky (1-1)
Sack: Otto, Ova, Mc. Zink
Tackles for Loss: Jungels, Otto
Bottineau Statistics
Offense
Passing: Haerer 4-17-128 yards-TD
Rushing: Haerer 12-195-2 TD; Freeman 13-51-TD; Abdurrahman 2-46; Nick Barbot 1-(-3)
Receiving: Abdurrahman 3-114-TD; Freeman 1-14
Defense
Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Abdurrahman (8-3); Haerer (4-2); Marum (2-6); Bud Wilkie (2-4); Tukker Fedje (2-2); Will Demontigny (2-2); Jake Hennings (1-9); Barbot (1-6); Travis Pederson (1-6); Cooper Beckman (1-1); Wyatt Campbell (1-0); Owen Wilmot (1-0); Noah Bedlion (0-5)
Sacks (Assisted): Bedlion, Hennings, Wilkie
Tackles for Loss: Haerer 2, Abdurrahman, Marum
Interception: Marum
