Starting the game shorthanded due to injuries, the Cowboys welcomed the #1 ranked Enterprise Wolves last Friday night. The Cowboys came into the game without their starting runningback, and quarterback out due to injuries, with Junior Cooper Anderson getting the start at QB. While the offense struggled to get going in the first quarter, the defense was stout, keeping the Wolves out of the endzone in the first quarter, starting the second quarter 0-0.
Left to right, photos by Jeremy Houston:
Sophomore QB Brogun Virostko escapes a Wolves defender and launches a bomb to Dreyden Stubbs for some positive yardage.
Junior Cooper Anderson takes a handoff around the corner looking for some daylight.
The Wolves finally got on the board after a long drive to start the second quarter 6-0. Sophomore Brogun Virostko came in at QB and escaped a tackle, and launches a beautiful bomb to Dr. Dreydon Stubbs to get the Cowboys offense giddy-upping Kramer style. Coach Quaernberg said of the younger players stepping up because of injuries, “Sophomore Brogun Virostko came in and played tough at QB, he will start next week against Duchesne. He is a great kid and we believe in him. Sophomore Kolton Blomquist got the start at middle linebacker and led in tackles. Sophomore Braden Johnson has been impactful up front. Senior Bo Park in his first ever start did not allow a completion. We will keep building and improving.”
After the Cowboys moved the ball with precision, they came up just short on fourth and three yards and turned it over to the Wolves. The Wolves pushed the ball down into Cowboy territory until the Cowboys defense came up with a huge fourth down stop of their own getting the ball back with 2:23 left in the half. The Cowboys offense stalled and gave the ball back to the Wolves who found a way to punch it in to extend the lead to 14-0. The boys wouldn’t be deferred as Virostko went back to work and found a streaking Kash Kabonic down the sidelines with his clothes still on. With :33 seconds left, Virostko rewarded a beautiful route by Kabonic, and rolled out to find him in the end zone for the Cowboys first touchdown of the game to make it 14-6, before tragedy struck on the extra point try. Newly welcomed foreign exchange student and amazing kicker Owen Bergmann kicked it through the upright when a Wolves defender fell into his extended leg, causing a bad break.
The game was delayed to pay their respect to Owen as he was carted off the field on his way to the hospital. Coach Quarnberg said of Owen, “Owen dreamed of playing football in America and he got the full experience. It was awesome to see him put in a ton of work to find a way to help us and get on the field. He is applying that same toughness to get through the surgeries and his recovery. His coaches and teammates love him and we are glad he is part of our team.”
The Wolves came out in the third, with a long-extended drive, running almost eight minutes off the clock and scored, but failing to convert the PAT, to push the lead to 20-7. The Cowboys offense wasn’t able to get much going the second half against the tough Enterprise defense, while the Wolves added two more scores, ending the game 32-7. Quarnberg continued, “We are competing tough for two quarters against these top programs in our region, so we feel like we are in a good place to keep improving and trying to find ways to become the team we want to be. A number of players are getting the chance to step up, which will help our program.”
