Dike-New Hartford overpowers West Branch

WEST BRANCH -- Trent Johnson made just one mistake in a record-breaking performance for Dike-New Hartford as the Wolverines beat West Branch 35-18 in a 1A second-round playoff game.

En route to a 55-yard touchdown run late in the game he raised his hand in celebration and promptly drew a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalty nullified the touchdown and put the ball back at the Bear 25.

'I have to go apologize to my mom,” he said. 'She doesn't like that. I looked up in the stands and she was staring at me.”

Johnson rushed for 355 yards on 36 carries. It was the most any Bears team has ever given up to one running back, behind an offensive line that took control from the opening drive. It was also Johnson's career best.

'I'm going to buy those guys a steak dinner,” Johnson said after the game. 'Running is our bread and butter, so we just ran the ball and kept on going.”

Johnson tried to describe what it looked like to follow his line.

'It wasn't there and then all of a sudden whoosh,” he said, spreading his hands wide. 'It's like when you open a curtain. It was open and my eyes got wide open.”

The Bears simply couldn't stop the Wolverines' ground game. They also made a few costly mistakes, particularly in the first half when the Wolverines took a 14-0 lead.

'I don't think they can be much better. They came out ready to play,” DNH quarterback Connor McCleeary said. 'We have big trust in (our line). Coming into the game we knew West Branch would be a hard team to beat. After we scored those two touchdowns we had plenty of momentum.”

'They beat us up front,” West Branch coach Butch Pedersen said. 'We had some early penalties and some turnovers that really hurt us. We spotted them 14 points and you can't do that. We ran like five different defenses. I don't have any more to run. They just out-powered us up front and when that happens you're going to get beat.”

'One thing they couldn't take away from us was our heart. We played hard all season long. We won 10 straight games and we won the district title.”