Cascade’s aerial assault marches on

CASCADE - The high-flying, high-scoring aerial attack of the Cascade Cougars is based on rhythm.

The wind couldn't break it. Neither could Camanche.

Derek Lieurance passed for 381 yards and four touchdowns, and the ninth-ranked Cougars raced past Camanche, 48-19, in a Class 2A District 4 football game Friday night at James O'Meara Field.

'It feels like when we're clicking, we're a very tough team to stop,” Lieurance said. 'We've got a solid running game. We've got five good receivers. When we're in rhythm, we are close to unstoppable.”

Lieurance has committed to play baseball at Western Illinois University. He says he'll miss football, and why not?

Though modest in size (he's listed at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds), Lieurance came into Friday's game with the state's best completion rate (77.5 percent) among 11-man quarterbacks and was ranked in the top 10 in yards, touchdowns and pass efficiency.

He hurt his standing in none of those categories Friday, completing 21 of 26 passes. All this despite strong winds out of the north.

Seven completions and 148 yards went to Nate Bergfeld, who upped his season totals to 41 catches for 841 yards.

Bergfeld also ran a kickoff back 92 yards for the Cougars' final touchdown.

'I think most people can see that Nate's who I look for first,” Lieurance said. 'When I drop back and see him, I know something good is going to happen. The level of trust I have in him, it's awesome.”

Cascade (5-1 overall, 3-0 district) scored on all five of its first-half possessions. Luke Recker started it with a 1-yard TD run, then Lieurance found Mitch Recker from a yard away, then Kurt Trumm on a 14-yarder.

Luke Recker scored on another short run, then Bergfeld got into the act with a 29-yard catch just before intermission, putting the Cougars up, 34-12.

'We've got a lot of guys we can use as weapons,” Bergfeld said. 'If somebody gets doubled up, it's going to make it easier for somebody else.”

Evan Simon added five catches for 77 yards. Luke Recker and Mitch Recker caught three balls apiece, Trumm two. Luke Recker rushed for 50 yards, and Cascade finished with 479 yards of total offense.

The Cougars are at Monticello next week, then close the regular season with home dates against Mount Vernon and Anamosa, both of which were unbeaten in league play prior to Friday.

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