Rough second half hurts Cadets during 23-6 loss to Vikings

DECORAH - After falling behind Decorah, 6-0, at halftime, the Crestwood varsity football team surrendered two second half touchdowns and a field goal to the Vikings as Decorah notched a 23-6 victory on Friday, Sept. 14 in Decorah.
The loss, which was Crestwood’s third straight, dropped its overall record to 1-3 while Decorah improved to 2-2. Crestwood will start district play on Friday, Sept. 21 as they travel to Iowa Falls to take on the Iowa Falls-Alden Cadets (1-3).
Even though the Cadets racked up 147 yards rushing and tallied 111 yards through the air, a handful of big plays by the Vikings gave them the edge. Decorah finished with 290 yards rushing and added 71 yards passing.
“We just got beat,” Crestwood Head Coach Skip Eckhardt said. “Decorah was better than us. We were ready to play, but Decorah just played better. They out-coached us and out-played us. Usually when that happens, the other team wins.”
When asked what areas the Cadets can improve upon for next week, Eckhardt noted, “probably everything.”
Midway through the first quarter, Crestwood’s Shane Vokaty recovered a Decorah fumble at the Cadets’ 20-yard line. However, the Cadets could only move the ball to their own 43 before they were forced to punt.
Early in the second quarter, the Cadets fumbled the ball on a punt attempt, which allowed Decorah to take over at the Crestwood 37-yard line. Five plays later, Viking running back Drake Shelton scampered 24 yards up the middle to paydirt with 8:25 left in the second to give Decorah a 6-0 lead. The point after kick was no good.
Decorah received the second half kickoff and started at its own 20. The Vikes utilized 11 running plays and one pass to move the ball to the Cadets’ 14-yard line before the drive stalled. On fourth down, Viking kicker Cameron DeLong nailed a 31-yard field goal to give Decorah a 9-0 lead with 5:55 remaining in the third.
Late in the third quarter, Decorah quarterback Jace Johnson connected on a 37-yard pass to Matthew Franzen down to the Cadets’ 23-yard line. One play later, Shelton raced 23 yards up the middle for a touchdown with 1:58 left. DeLong kicked the extra point to give Decorah a 16-0 lead.
With just under eight minutes left in the fourth, Cadet senior Zackary Lane recovered a Decorah fumble at the Cadets’ 37-yard line. After two running plays moved the ball to the Vikings’ 35, Crestwood quarterback Jon Henry connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Carter Henry down the left sidelines with 7:00 left in the game to cut the Vikes’ lead to 16-6. The two-point conversion pass failed.
Crestwood got the ball back with 3:48 remaining, but it could only move the ball to its own 31 before turning the ball over on downs. One play later, Decorah’s Kailer McCabe raced 31 yards to the end zone with 1:35 left. DeLong nailed the extra point to give Decorah a 23-6 advantage.
Cadet statistics
Crestwood quarterback Jon Henry completed 14 of 23 pass attempts for 111 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
Carter Henry had five receptions for 52 yards and one score. Reece Wilson tallied three catches for 19 yards.
Reece Wilson paced Crestwood’s rushing attack with 116 yards on 23 carries, good for an average of 5.3 yards per carry. Logan Albert and Shane Vokaty each had 23 yards rushing. 
On defense, Bryer Thompson had two solo stops and nine assisted tackles. Logan Albert had three solo and seven assisted tackles. Mason Peter had one solo stop, five assisted tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. Colby Frazer had three solo and four assisted stops. 
Kade Munkel had four punts for 142 yards. Albert had two punt returns for 18 yards. Gabe Grabau had two kick returns for 35 yards.

Cresco Times

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