Bluejays Fall To Cardinals
by Morgan Crist
The Pierce High Bluejays ended their season as they fell to the Boone Central/Newman Grove Cardinals in the semifinal round of playoffs on Friday, November 10, at the home of the Cardinals with a final score of 25-42.
In the first quarter of the game, senior Collin Tinker started things off for the Jays and scored a four-yard touchdown to put Pierce up by 6. BCNG answered with a touchdown of their own, and with a failed PAT, the score was tied at 6 after one.
During the second quarter, Dalton Freeman had a one-yard touchdown run followed by a successful PAT kicked by Devan Roth. The Cardinals scored two more touchdowns with good PATs, but the Jays persisted as Dalton Freeman threw a touchdown pass to Devan Roth of eleven yards. To finish off the half, the Cardinals scored one more touchdown and PAT to go up 19-27.
Neither team scored during the third quarter, but for the fourth and final quarter, Boone Central/Newman Grove had two more touchdowns with one failed PAT and one successful PAT. Pierce put up one more touchdown scored by Collin Tinker for three yards with a failed two-point conversion. This resulted in the end of the Bluejays’ 2017-2018 season as the Cardinals took the game 25-42.
The Tinkers led the team in rushing. Elder brother Collin Tinker gained 126 yards with 25 carries while Brett Tinker had six carries to gain 53 yards. Receiving for the Bluejays was Carson Oestreich with two catches resulting in 30 yards gained. Devan Roth had one touchdown catch for 11 yards while Gavin Larson had another catch of 12 yards. For takeaways, Oestreich had one interception, and Ashton Wragge had a fumble recovery. Leading in tackling for Pierce was Brett Tinker with 12 tackles and one sack. Jacob Meier followed closely behind with 11 tackles and two sacks. Jadon Magdanz and Collin Tinker each had eight tackles during the game. Wragge had six tackles, as did Dylan Delka. Right behind them was Carter Rohrich with five tackles.
Coach Mark Brahmer said of the Bluejay season, “I was very proud of our young men and the job they did throughout the season. Their hard work, dedication, and time led to our success this year and allowed us to develop into a tough football team. I will forever be in debt to this senior class of young men.”
The Jays finished their season 7-5.
