KCC Bearcat football team defeat BGMR Gators at Badger

By Nick Johnson, Assistant Coach
KCC 35 – BGMR 28
The KCC Bearcats took on the Gators of Badger/Greenbush-Middle River in Badger on Friday, Sept. 12. The Bearcats entered the game an unbeaten 3-0, while the Gators came into the contest with a record of 1-2. This Section 8, 9-man matchup had highs and lows for both teams, leading to an entertaining back-and-forth affair.
The Bearcats came out hot to open the game, scoring twice in just a few minutes. Ashton Knutson intercepted a pass from Gator quarterback Will Foss setting up the Bearcat offense. A few plays later Eli Peterson scored his first touchdown of the game on a 51-yard touchdown run, giving the Bearcats a 7-0 lead.
KCC got the ball back quickly, thanks to a forced fumble by James Cerkowniak on the kickoff, which the Bearcats recovered deep in Gator territory. One play later, Eli Peterson connected with Kellen Johnson on an 16-yard touchdown pass, making the KCC lead 14-0. The Gators responded to stop the Bearcat momentum by putting together a 12-play scoring drive capped off by a 17-yard touchdown run by Breydon Foss making the score 14-8.
That score didn’t last long, however, because once again special teams provided a spark for the Bearcats. Ashton Knutson took the ensuing kickoff return 85 yards for a touchdown making the score 21-8 at the end of the action-packed first quarter.
The pace of the game slowed down. Defenses started to force punts and force the opposing offenses to adapt. The Gator offense adapted first, putting together another long scoring drive. Breydon Foss again scored for the Gators, this time from 9 yards out, trimming the KCC lead to 21-14 at the half.
To open the second half, both defenses once again stiffened up, forcing punts from both offenses. On their second possession of the half, however, the Bearcats added to their lead. Eli Peterson connected with Eli Muir on a short screen pass, and Muir took it from there, turning in a 27-yard touchdown and extending the lead to 27-14.
The Gators did not go away, and a couple of possessions later, Will Foss connected with Ty Grinsteiner for an 11-yard touchdown pass cutting the Bearcat lead to just 5 points midway through the fourth quarter. The Bearcat offense did what it took to win the game, putting together a tough 60-yard scoring drive with Eli Peterson adding his second rushing touchdown of the day from 5 yards out. The Gators’ offense also had one more score in it as Will Foss scored on a 1-yard rush bringing the game to its final score of 35-28.
The Bearcats moved to 4-0 on the season after a hard-fought victory over the Gators. They will continue their season with an important matchup with the Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzke Chargers in Hallock on Friday, Sept. 19.

Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
Peterson 51-yard touchdown run (Brewer kick good)
Peterson 16-yard touchdown pass to Johnson (Brewer kick good)
B. Foss 1-yard touchdown run (W. Foss run good)
Knutson 85-yard kick return touchdown (Brewer kick good)
KCC 21 – BGMR 8
2nd Quarter
B. Foss 9-yard touchdown run (W. Foss pass no good)
KCC 21 – BGMR 14
3rd Quarter
Peterson 27-yard touchdown pass to Muir (Brewer kick no good)
KCC 27 – BGMR 14
4th Quarter
W. Foss 11-yard touchdown pass to Grinsteiner (W. Foss run good)
Peterson 5-yard touchdown run (Peterson run good)
W. Foss 1-yard touchdown run (W. Foss run no good)
Final
KCC 35 – BGMR 28

KCC Offensive Leaders
Passing:
Eli Peterson – 4/5, 46 yds, 1 TD
Rushing:
Eli Peterson – 11 att, 93 yds, 2 TD
Eli Muir – 11 att, 48 yds
Ashton Knutson – 16 att, 78 yds
Receiving:
Eli Muir – 1 rec, 27 yds, 1 TD
Kellen Johnson – 3 rec, 29 yds, 1 TD

KCC Defensive Leaders
Brody Scalese – 5 tkls, 6 ast, 0.5 tfl
Aiden Campbell – 3 tkls, 5 ast
Track Folland – 4 tkls, 2 ast
Ashton Knutson – 3 tkls, 2 ast, 1 int
Brock Scalese – 2 tkls, 2 ast, 1 pd
Eli Muir – 3 tkls, 1 ast, 1 tfl, 1 pd
Kellen Johnson – 3 tkls, 1 ast, 0.5 tfl
Willie Nelson – 4 tkls, 1 tfl
James Cerkowniak – 1 sack, 1 ff

ashton Knutson on one of his carries during the Bearcats’ 35-28 win over the BGMR Gators. Knutson had 16 carries for a total of 78 yards.
(Photo courtesy of Sideline Lindsey)

Keaton Brewer kicks the ball for the Bearcats. Brewer scored 3 extra-point kicks for the Bearcats. (Photo courtesy of Sideline Lindsey)