Back-against-the-wall stops push Alburnett past West Branch, 20-17

ALBURNETT — It’s called “7-Shot,” and it’s a regular part of the Alburnett Pirates’ weekly Wednesday practice regimen.

“We line up our starting offense against our reserve defense from the 2-yard line,” Coach Nick Wooldrik said. “They need to (convert) all seven times.

“Then we flip it. We put our starting defense against the reserve offense, and the defense needs to hold all seven times.”

The consequence of failure, in that setting, is conditioning. Friday night, it would have been defeat.

Instead, Alburnett’s defense held tight — twice — in first-and-goal situations, and the 10th-ranked Pirates edged No. 9 West Branch, 20-17, in a Class 2A District 5 football game at the Jim Carver Field.

“We all put our nose into battle,” lineman Hunter Sauer said. “We all had jobs to do.

“I think this puts us on the map. West Branch, it seems, is always close to getting to the Dome. They’re a physical team, and we showed what we can do.”

Alburnett (4-1 overall, 2-0 district) prevailed despite a limited Laken Caves, who still managed 144 rushing yards (including an 87-yard touchdown) despite a sprained ankle.

Sophomore Owen Henriksen carried much of the load offensively, carrying 26 times for 109 yards.

“That’s a big step up,” Henriksen said. “It was a big responsibility. I had trust in my teammates, and we really put it together tonight.”

The Pirates owned a 270-146 advantage in yardage, and forced the Bears (3-2, 1-1) into four turnovers. But those two goal-line stops ... those were the difference.

With Alburnett up 13-7 early in the third quarter, Brandon Pedersen’s long punt return put West Branch in business. After a first down, the Bears had first-and-goal at the 5.

Hunter Frey’s second-down interception gave the ball back to Alburnett, setting the stage for Caves’ long touchdown jaunt.

“I saw a cutback, made a guy miss and took it to the crib,” he said.

Instead of trailing 14-13, Alburnett led 20-7.

“That was huge,” Wooldrik said. “On 1 1/2 legs ... he’s a gamer that loves football. He saw a seam. That was huge.”

But the Pirates weren’t out of the woods yet.

Brennen Dale connected with Conner Capper for a 26-yard scoring strike (on fourth-and-4) to bring the Bears within 20-14.

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With 7:28 left in the game, West Branch’s Lincoln Naber blocked a punt and returned it to the Alburnett 1.

A gimme touchdown, right?

The Pirates stopped a quarterback sneak on first down, then the Bears were called for illegal procedure to make it second-and-goal from the 6.

After a short gain and an incomplete pass, West Branch settled for Reese Gingerich’s 22-yard field goal with 6:08 to go.

The Bears’ last gasp ended with Cash Varner’s interception with 1:40 remaining.

“This win, it’s a step in the right direction,” Henriksen said. “Now our full focus is on Bellevue next week.”

Alburnett built a 13-0 lead on touchdowns from Caves (21 yards) and Henricksen (8 yards), and ultimately won without completing a pass.

Dale’s 2-yard run shortly before halftime cut the margin to 13-7.

Alburnett 20, West Branch 17

At Alburnett

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: WB 8, ALB 15

Rushes-yards: WB 24-102, ALB 51-270

Passing yards: WB 42, ALB 0

Passing: WB 5-16-1, ALB 0-7-1

Total yards: WB 146, ALB 270

Fumbles-lost: WB 2-2, ALB 1-0

Punts-average: WB 4-40.7, ALB 5-18.8

Penalties-yards: WB 4-45, ALB 9-79

SCORING SUMMARY

West Branch 0 7 7 3 — 17

Alburnett 7 6 7 0 — 20

ALB — Laken Caves 21 run (Reis Moore kick)

ALB — Owen Henriksen 8 run (run failed)

WB — Brennan Dale 2 run (Reese Gingerich kick)

ALB — Laken Caves 87 run (Moore kick)

WB — Conner Capper 26 pass from Dale (Gingerich kick),

WB — FG Gingerich 22

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

West Branch — Keaton Gates 12-68, Brennen Dale 10-40, Cooper Gates 2-(minus 6). Alburnett — Laken Caves 13-144, Owen Henriksen 26-109, Cooper Franklin 5-20, Brody Kaestner 5-2, Team 2-(minus 5).

Passing

West Branch — Dale 5-16-1-42. Alburnett — Kaestner 0-6-1-0, Team 0-1-0-0.

Receiving

West Branch — Conner Capper 3-37, Brandon Pedersen 2-5.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com