by Shelby Jones
On Saturday, the Sierra Lutheran Falcons battled fiercely again the Smith Valley Bulldogs. It was a tough game, played in the wind and rain at Smith’s home field. Smith Valley won the coin toss, choosing to start on offense during their homecoming game.
The Falcons had a great start. The ball was turned over several times, until the Bulldogs scored a touchdown and a conversion. Back on offense, the Bulldogs held them back and soon the ball was turned over. Once the Falcons obtained the ball again, Alex Westre ran roughly 60 yards during that time but was eventually stopped by the Bulldogs. Smith Valley made a run for it, but Zach Ferenz managed to tackle them at the 10 yard line. In the next play the Bulldogs scored another touchdown. However, the Falcons weren’t about to give up; Falcon Jake Cummings caught a pass and ran a touchdown. The potential kick was blocked and Sierra switched to defense. Sterling Funk tackled the ball carrier, causing a fumble, which was recovered by Logan Schinzing.
At the start of the second quarter, the score was 6-14. Right away, Smith Valley made a touchdown and conversion. At kick off, the ball went out of bounds without being touched, making it Sierra’s ball, but it was turned over. Back on defense, Zach Ferenz managed to intercept a pass and carry it to the 36 yard line. The Bulldogs completed another touchdown, but no conversion as the pass was tipped by Falcon Cole Contreras. Unfortunately, Sierra lost the ball and went back on defense. Smith completed another touchdown and conversion, making the score 36-6. With the score looking grim, spectators started leaving, thinking it was going to be one more defeat for the books. But the Falcons were just getting started. Eventually, Jake Cummings made another fantastic receiving touchdown and Alex Westre completed the conversion. Now the score stood at 14-36.
During the third quarter, Falcon Ryan Salerno threw the pass to Cole Contreras for another touchdown. Again, both teams swapped off offense and defense till the end of the quarter. Sierra managed to successfully hold the Bulldogs every time, not allowing a single point, and showed persistence throughout the quarter.
Fourth quarter was crunch time for Sierra. It was a dismal score of 20-36. The Falcons started on defense, stubbornly strong. Sterling Funk and Zach Ferenz racked up tackle after tackle and eventually got a turnover. On offense, Ryan Salerno made an impressive rushing touchdown. After the kickoff, the Bulldogs fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Zach McCullough. Alex Westre ran a touchdown and Logan Schinzing made the kick that raised the score to 33-36. Defense held the Bulldogs back once again, with Sterling Funk and Zach Ferenz making tackles left and right. As it came down to 48 seconds left on the clock the question on everyone’s mind was could Sierra pull off a win?
They did. Ryan Salerno made a pass to Jake Cummings, who made the touchdown, the crowd following him on the sidelines. For the final touch, Logan Schinzing kicked a very impressive PAT, finalizing the score at 40-36. Head Coach Jacob Schumacher reports that the game was one of the best comebacks he’d ever been a part of. “Every play, they played hard,” Schumacher relates, “I am so proud of their desire to keep working hard, and it is nice when a game reflects the dedication of the team.”
Stats: Ryan Salerno had 179 passing yards and 107 rushing yards. Jake Cummings had 167 receiving yards, along with 3 touchdowns. Zach Ferenz completed 22 tackles, 15 solo, 7 assisted, and 1 interception, earning 27 yards. Ferenz also caused one fumble and recovered one. Sterling Funk wasn’t far behind with 19 tackles, 12 solo, 7 assisted, 2 fumbles caused, and 2 passes defended. Alex Westre had 104 rushing yards, 23 receiving, 2 passes defended, 1 fumble caused, 1 touchdown, and one conversion. Nathan Waite and Tyrale Luken both had 3 sacks.
