Bulldogs pick off four passes, overwhelm Postville

MONONA — MFL MarMac intercepted four Postville passes on its way to a 42-7 victory over the Pirates in its home opener last Friday.

The Bulldogs (1-1) out-gained the Pirates by more than 300 yards while winning for the first time since defeating Postville last year.

Defense and possession were keys for MFL MarMac. Its four interceptions were the most it has had in a game since at least the 2007 season and it did not have a turnover in a game for the first time in nearly two years. The Bulldogs only allowed Postville to cross midfield twice and gave up just 37 passing yards while intercepting more of Pirate quarterback Harrison Dehning’s passes than he completed. In its first two games, MFL MarMac’s defense has held opposing passers to a 27 percent completion rate.

The Bulldog offense was again balanced. Junior quarterback Cedrick Drahn threw for a career-high 158 yards and was not intercepted. Three Bulldog runners were major contributors to a 295-yard effort, with Garret Keehner gaining 95 yards, Kutter Anderson 89 and Dylan Corlett 47. Jamarr Tanniehill emerged as a big-play threat with both a long scoring run and a long scoring catch.

After seeing their first two drives stall, the Bulldogs found the end zone early in the second quarter after freshman Gabe McGeough gave them the ball in Postville territory with his first career interception. After seeing the inside consistently jammed, the Bulldogs found success running outside with Tanniehill on counters and sweeps from the wingback position. Tanniehill’s first two runs of the day put the Bulldogs in position to pick up first downs and his third went the distance, 16 yards, with Zach Trudo’s kick making it a 7-0 game.

Six minutes later a second Bulldog interception, this one by sophomore Max Havlicek (his first career takeaway), set up another score, as Anderson capped a four-play drive with a 12-yard run. Late in the half the ‘Dogs executed a perfect two-minute drill, capping a 62-yard drive as Drahn found Anderson in the flat for a 16-yard score.

Postville made things more interesting early in the third quarter when a 62-yard Gabe Loera punt return and subsequent 28-yard pass completion set up a one-yard sneak by quarterback Harrison Dehning. The point-after kick made it a 21-7 game, though the Pirate momentum did not last long. Just five plays later, on second-and-long, Drahn executed a perfect play-action fake that allowed Tanniehill to sprint past the Postville secondary and break free for a 61-yard touchdown.

Postville            0          0          7          0          —         7

MFL MarMac     0          21         14         7          —         42

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

M — Jamarr Tanniehill 16 run (Zach Trudo kick); 7-0

M — Kutter Anderson 12 run (Trudo kick); 14-0

M — Anderson 16 pass from Cedrick Drahn (Trudo kick); 21-0

Third Quarter

P — Harrison Dehning 1 run (Carlos Cruz kick); 7-21

M — Tanniehill 61 pass from Drahn (Trudo kick); 28-7

M — Anderson 1 run (Trudo kick); 35-7

Fourth Quarter

M — Garret Keehner 12 run (Trudo kick); 42-7

 

Team Totals            P         MFL MM

First downs             10             21

Rushes-yards         31-90        51-295

Pass yards               37             158

Comp.-Att.-Int.    3-16-4        7-14-0

Total offense          127            453

Punts-avg.           5-27.4        2-41.0

Fumbles-lost          1-0            1-0

Penalties-yards       8-48          10-95

Individuals

Rushing — MFL MarMac: Garret Keehner 11-93, 1 TD; Kutter Anderson 13-89, 2 TDs; Dylan Corlett 12-47; Jamarr Tanniehill 4-29, 1 TD; Gabe McGeough 4-27; Cullen McShane 4-16; Cedrick Drahn 3-(minus 6). Postville: Robert White 13-73; Gabe Loera 7-15; Harrison Dehning 8-9, 1 TD; Enzo Jochola 1-2; Caleb Hughes 1-(minus 1).

Passing — MFL MarMac: Drahn 7-of-13 for 158 yards, 2 TDs; Team 0-of-1. Postville: Dehning 3-of-16 for 37 yards, 4 interceptions.

Receiving — MFL MarMac: Zach Trudo 2-39; Anderson 2-24, 1 TD; Tanniehill 1-61, 1 TD; Max Havlicek 1-32; Keehner 1-2. Postville: Noe Gonzalez 1-29; Loera 1-5, Collin Bacon 1-4.

Tackle leaders — MFL MarMac: Riley Wille 6 (2 solo tackles for loss); McGeough 5.5; Havlicek 4.5; Tanniehill 4.0.

Interceptions — Cayden Ball, Corlett, Havlicek, McGeough.

The Outlook Newspaper

The Outlook Newspaper
104 W. Center St.
PO Box 310
Monona, IA 52159
Phone: 563-539-4554

Mid-America Publishing

This newspaper is part of the Mid-America Publishing Family. Please visit www.midampublishing.com for more information.