STOCKTON – For the third straight week, Stockton was unable to put a point on the board. In a game far closer than the final score would indicate, East Dubuque came away with a 22-0 victory.
Until the final minutes of the game, Stockton fought East Dubuque to a tough defensive standstill, holding the Warriors to a single touchdown since the 4:40 mark in the first quarter. A steady rain produced conditions that slowed both teams on offense, but the sloppy field did not contribute to any major turnovers.
East Dubuque put together an impressive drive on its first possession with Drew Weber picking up 62 of the team’s 69 yards, capped by a Gunner Liebold 8-yard pass to WR Tyler McLane for the TD and an extra point kick by Keith Hayes, 7-0 East Dubuque.
The turning point of the game occurred near the end of the third quarter. Arand and Brandon Wampfler combined to drive the Blackhawks 35 yards and three first downs to the Warrior 16-yard line. QB Grant Pierce lofted a pass over tackle that was picked off by Warrior safety Dusty Digman at the 5-yard line.
Following an East Dubuque three and out, third-string punter Jeremiah Sullivan put the Blackhawks back in a hole with a 45-yard punt that was not returned. The third quarter ended with East Dubuque clinging to a 7-0 lead.
With 2:10 left in the fourth quarter the Warriors put together a 42-yard drive dominated by bruising off tackle runs by RB Drew Weber who completed the march by taking it in on a clean 12-yard burst. Kyle Huseman muscled his way to a 2-point conversion. East Dubuque 15–0.
With just 40 seconds remaining the Warrior’s Matt Hoppman picked off a Grant Pierce pass sweeping 60 yards for the final score and a kick by Hayes, East Dubuque 22-0
Stockton head coach Chris Thornton said he wanted to see his team come together and play hard in the Stockton tradition. They did just that with strong defensive line play led by junior Brandon Westaby, and senior Josh Yeager. Jordan Arand was the workhorse for the Blackhawks on offense, breaking tackles and cutting back for 62 yards on 17 carries.
Warrior Coach Terry Breitback praised the Blackhawks for a hard fought game. “Stockton never gave up, Breitback said. “I told Coach Thornton he should be proud of the way his team has improved. This was a big win for us here at Stockton.”
- Mike Cowan, journalstandard.com
