KCC beats Northern Freeze

By Asst. Coach Mark Bernstrom
Bearcats took on the Northern Freeze in Lancaster last Friday. KCC was looking to keep building off the win they had against G/G. With the way the games have been going this year, the Bearcats were expecting a battle and they got one.
KCC started out strong in the first quarter with a strong defense and kept the Freeze out of the end zone with some short field possessions. The offense was able to take good field position and march down to take a 6-0 lead, by an Adam Gustafson 6-yard run. This woke up the offense as they started to find a better rhythm.  In the second quarter, Kaleb Whitlock was able to hook up with Jacob Rice on a big 90-yard strike to double the lead. Then Whitlock found Matthew Stewart for the 2-point conversion to take a 14-0 lead.  The offense kept going with another score by Adam Gustafson and a successful PAT to take a 21-0 lead going into half time.
In the second half the Freeze made some adjustments and found some rhythm of their own as they had the only score in the third quarter. Ty Anderson had a 5-yard TD run, and tacked on the 2-point conversion to cut the lead 21-8. In the fourth quarter, the Bearcats broke through with another big play. Zach Vig busted out for a 64-yard TD run to extend the lead back to a 3-possession game 27-8. The Freeze did not back down as they went on their own scoring drive, as George Cruz Jr. hit Hayden Bakke for a 26-yard TD to make it a 27-14 game. That is where the game stood as the Bearcat defense stopped the Freeze’s last possession, and was able to run out the clock the rest of the way. The turnovers were a big part in the win again as KCC forced 4 and gave up only 1 during the game. KCC’s next game is on the road against Park Christian in Moorhead on next Friday, Sept. 20.

STATS
Total Yards
KCC-331  Freeze-258
Offensive leaders
Passing: Kaleb Whitlock- 7/14 att. 164 yds, 1 TD, 1Int
Rec: Jacob Rice- 1 rec., 90 yds, 1TD; Zach Vig- 2 rec., 52 yds
Rushing: Zach Vig- 8 att., 81 yds, 1 TD; Adam Gustafson- 15 att., 66yds, 2 TD
Defensive leaders
Zach Vig-  14 Tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT