Unbeaten Deuel won the battle in the trenches and blanked Groton Area 20-0 in football action on Friday.
The Cardinals, now 4-0, piled up 185 yards on the ground, averaging 4.1 yards per carry, compared to just 36 yards on 27 tries for the Tigers, who fell to 1-4. Both teams completed just two passes and Deuel won the total yardage battle 215-53.
Groton Area will host Clark-Willow Lake on Friday, and the Cyclones will bring a 3-1 record to town.
“Clark-Willow Lake will be another good test for us,” said GA boss Shaun Wanner. “They have a lot of kids returning from last year.”
Wanner felt his club showed improvement in its latest outing.
“The kids keep playing hard and learning their roles. I felt we played a lot better than we did against Milbank. Defensively we played well enough to win. Offensively we need to execute a little better when we get into the red zone. The weather wasn’t ideal for a passing game and that kind of hurt our game plan. Our run game is getting better.”
Deuel found paydirt midway through the opening period on a one-yard run and then grabbed a 14-0 halftime lead on an 80-yard interception return for a score in the second stanza. Neither team scored in the third quarter and the Cardinals put the game away with a four-yard scoring run with 5:14 to play in the contest.
FOR FULL STATS, SEE THIS WEEK'S JOURNAL
