Braves outpace Cards in finale

Two of the four Class A – Region 2 seeds were spoken for with one result in the books the previous evening, so the Carrington football team's main goal in their Oct. 18 regular season finale at Bottineau was to give themselves a more favorable first-round postseason matchup.

The Braves were in the same boat as the Cards, and the efforts of the home team ended up winning out in the end.

In a shootout, Bottineau held on for a 35-28 victory over CHS at Les Christian Field, and consigned the Cards to a trip to top-ranked and undefeated Kindred this past Saturday, Oct. 26.

The game featured over 400 yards of total offense in just the first half, and Carrington had problems throughout the game containing one player in particular between the 20-yard lines.

Even while not scoring, senior receiver Khaliel Abdurrahman of the Braves finished with 186 yards of receiving on eight catches, and his quarterback, sophomore Emerson Marum, passed for 299 yards.

Carrington got on the board first on Josh Bickett's nine-yard touchdown run and Tate Wolsky's two-point conversion, but the second quarter belonged to Bottineau with a 21-point output.

The Braves drew to within 8-7 via a six-yard pass from Marum to Landen Solberg and Nik Halvorson's kick. The Cards responded with a 66-yard scoring burst from Ryder Bickett in the backfield and Peyton Harrington extra point to make it 15-7 in the second quarter.

Bottineau finished the first half with a flourish, getting 14 points on a Wyatt Campbell two-yard touchdown and another Marum strike to Toby George covering five yards and a 21-15 half advantage.

Picking up where they left off in the first 24 minutes, the Braves went to the air once again, this time to Tukker Fedje for a six-yard score to go up by 13, 28-15.

The Cards now faced their largest deficit to overcome all season, and drew within six at 28-22 on a Josh Bickett five-yard run and Harrington extra point.

Still, Bottineau was not done, as Solberg struck a big blow with a 19-yard touchdown catch from Marum to retake the 13-point lead.

CHS got within a touchdown on McKade Zink's 36-yard touchdown catch, and actually had two chances to tie the game late that were stifled on a pair of Bottineau interceptions.

Bickett would finish at 12-for-23 for 206 yards, one touchdown and three picks. He was the leading rusher for the Cards with 82 yards on 15 attempts.

Zink had a strong receiving effort in the loss with eight catches for 149 yards. On defense, Wolsky recorded 12 solo tackles, a sack and tackle for loss, and Gabe Clifton and Alec Threadgold had nine combined tackles. Drew Matt also added a sack.

Carrington (6-3) took on the Kindred Vikings (9-0) in the first round, while Bottineau (6-3) traveled to take on Central Cass (8-1).

Other first round matchups involving Region 2 teams had Langdon Area/Munich (7-2), the number six overall seed, hosting Oakes (3-5), and HWC (6-3) entertained Ellendale/Edgeley/Kulm (7-2).

Class A - Region 2 Football

Bottineau 35, Carrington 28

Cgtn. 8 7 7 6 – 28

Botno 0 21 14 0 – 35

First Quarter

Carrington: Josh Bickett 9 yard run (Tate Wolsky run)

Second Quarter

Bottineau: Landen Solberg 6 yard pass from Emerson Marum (Nik Halvorson kick)

Carrington: Ryder Bickett 66 yard run (Peyton Harrington kick)

Bottineau: Wyatt Campbell 2 yard run (Halvorson kick)

Bottineau: Toby George 5 yard pass from Marum (Halvorson kick)

Third Quarter

Bottineau: Tukker Fedje 6 yard pass from Marum (Halvorson kick)

Carrington: J. Bickett 5 yard run (Harrington kick)

Bottineau: Solberg 19 yard pass from Marum (Halvorson kick)

Fourth Quarter

Carrington: McKade Zink 36 yard pass from J. Bickett (kick failed)

Carrington Statistics

Offense

Passing: J. Bickett 12-23-206 yards-TD-3 INT

Rushing: J. Bickett 15-82-2 TD; R. Bickett 5-68-TD; Wolsky 5-24; Zink 7-20; Harrington 2-4

Receiving: Zink 8-149-TD; Wolsky 2-46; R. Bickett 2-11

Defense

Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Wolsky (12-2); R. Bickett (5-1); Gabe Clifton (5-4); Alec Threadgold (4-5); Zink (3-1); Drew Matt (3-1); Cody Otto (3-2); Harrington (2-0); J. Bickett (1-1); Jacob Hinrichs (1-1); Maddox McIlonie (1-1); Ethan Roller (1-1); Dylan Bachmeier (0-1)

Sacks: Matt, Wolsky

Tackles for Loss: R. Bickett, Clifton, Wolsky