November 4, 2009

Wolves take on Velva for right to play at State

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

In what could very well be the State championship game in Class A football, the Watford City Wolves will take on the Velva Aggies in semifinal football action at 2 p.m. in Velva.
Watford City and Velva, who are ranked as No. 1 and No. 2, respectively in the final Class A football poll, enter Saturday’s semifinal game with perfect 10-0 records this year.
“Velva will give us the toughest test of the year,” states Fred Fridley, Wolves head coach. “The Aggies have a very good running, passing game and a defense that will be the best we have faced.”
The Wolves earned the right to advance to the State Class A semifinal game against Velva with a hard-fought 13-6 win over Williams County last Saturday afternoon.
The Wolves got on the scoreboard first when Karson Knudtson recovered a Williams County fumble at mid-field, which set up Watford City’s first score. Trey Jacobson capped off  the scoring drive when he hit Tyler Flatland on a 28-yard touchdown pass on 4th and 18 with 8:17 to play in the first quarter. Kalin Mogen added the PAT and the Wolves led 7-0.
But Williams County came right back on Jared Vejtasa’s four-yard touchdown run to make the score 7-6 after one quarter.
Flatland was again on the receiving end of a touchdown when he caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jacobson on fourth and goal on the opening play of the second quarter to make it 13-6 at halftime.
The second half was a defensive struggle with Williams County’s best chance to score coming midway through the fourth quarter when they intercepted a third-down pass to give the Firestorm the ball at their own 38. But the Watford City defense held, forcing Williams County to punt the ball away after three offensive plays.
“Our defense was outstanding,” stated Fridley. “After the first quarter, our defense only allowed the Firestorm five yards of offense.”
Offensively, Watford City rushed for 218 yards and passed for 147 yards for a total of 365 offensive yards. Williams County had a total of 70 yards.
Watford City’s defense was led by Kalin Mogen, Ben Haugeberg, and Karson Knudtson.
Brady Lund was the Wolves’ offensive leader rushing for 195 yards on 31 carries.
“We hurt ourselves with penalties,” stated Fridley. “We had two touchdowns called back in the second half because of penalties.”
Individual Statistics:
Rushing: Brady Lund, 31-195 yards; Trey Jacobson, 14-15 yards; Derek Thompson, 2-2 yards; Nick Liebel, 3-6 yards.
Passing: Trey Jacobson, 10 of 17 for 147 yards.
Receiving: Tyler Flatland, 2-38 yards; Nick Liebel, 4-45 yards; Brady Lund, 2-37 yards; Adam Brenna, 1-18 yards; Shawn Fulwider, 1-9 yards.
Fumble Recoveries: Karson Knudtson, 1; Trey Jacobson, 1.
Defensive Points: Kalin Mogen, 28; Ben Haugeberg, 17; Karson Knudtson, 16; Douglas Nordby, 10; Adam Brenna, 10; Derek Thompson, 9; Blake Wold, 8; Trey Jacobson, 7; Brady Lund, 7; Nolan Kalberer, 6; Shawn Fulwider, 6; Nick Liebel, 4; Sterling Ross, 3; Tyler Flatland, 1.

WATFORD CITY WEATHER