DAKOTA — It didn’t take long after the final handshakes for all Orangeville fans to storm the field in jubilation of what the Broncos had just accomplished.
The Broncos ended the Indians’ 23-game winning streak in the first round of the playoffs, 20-7.
Orangeville coach Toby Golembiewski admitted minutes after the game that he was touched by the win, and what it meant beyond the team.
“I just can’t believe it. I was in tears a little bit on the sidelines,” he said. “This is so huge — not just for the players, but for our town. Our town.
This is one of the biggest things, and not just (because) of the playoff win. A playoff win against this team, this school with this record. And at their place after losing ... this is where it’s at.”
The Broncos started at their own 40-yard line on their opening drive after shutting down Dakota’s highly-touted run offense on fourth and two.
Orangeville drove down the field in 10 plays and scored the first touchdown on a four-yard pass to receiver Alex Zimmerman (four catches, 28 yards) from quarterback Trace Hanson (5-for-12, 36 yards and a touchdown).
The passing game early in the first half put the Indians on their heels.
“We knew that we had to pass and they were ready to defend it,” Orangeville receiver Austin Cramer said. “We didn’t run it as well as we wanted. ... Alex has always been a great receiver. They’ve (Dakota) been keying on me, but Zimmerman has equal talent. It was great to see that we have other receivers to make plays.”
A third and eight pass to Zimmerman for 20 yards set up the Broncos’ first scoring drive that led to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter.
Dakota responded on an Evan Dornink (19 carries, 144 yards) 60-yard run for a score on the Indians’ third possession. The extra point by
Todd Rupnow gave Dakota its first and only lead with 2:27 left in the first quarter.
But in the second quarter, everything changed. After turning the ball over on Orangeville’s previous possession in that quarter, the Broncos compiled a six-play 50-yard drive that concluded with six-yard touchdown run by Riley Kubatzke (22 carries, 131 yards) for a 12-7 lead.
One play and three penalties later, Dakota backup quarterback Cody Maddox (4-for-14, 92 yards, one interception) threw an interception to Caleb Carr that was returned 45 yards for a score. The pass was tipped in the air and Carr snatched the ball and ran it back.
Carr’s (eight carries for 47 yards) then scored the two-point conversion. Two-point conversion all but sealed the game with 7:15 remaining in the first half.
“It was just a huge momentum swing for us,” Carr said. “Things just went our way. We worked hard for it.”
In Week 7, a turnover resulted in touchdown for Dakota at the start of the game. Golembiewski said Friday after practice that a play like that could determine the outcome of the game.
Golembiewski added: “That was the thing we talked about that would put it in our favor. That takes a lot of wind out of an opponent’s sails when that happens to that team.”
Throughout the rest of the game, Dakota had trouble making key tackles late in the game to get the Broncos off the field. The Indians couldn’t stop any of the Broncos’ runners on consecutive plays, and the offense sputtered on otherwise successful drives.
“Their offensive and defensive lines were dominating us,” Dakota coach Jerry Lano said. “That’s where you win or lose games, at the offensive and defensive lines.”
Despite Dakota losing two offensive players to injury, and Dornink playing with an ankle injury throughout the game, Lano wasn’t about blame injuries for the loss.
“Orangeville came in and wanted this real bad,” Lano said. “They played excellent football and I wish them and their fans luck.
“Once you get into the playoffs, you need a little bit of luck. And I guess with our luck the past four or five years, I guess it was our turn (to be on the other side of luck).”
- Joey Baskerville, GateHouse News Service
