Cards fall to Spirit Lake in final game of the year

by Michelle Watson

It was a long night for the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura football team Friday.  First, a long bus ride to Spirit Lake, where they faced the 6-2 Indians.   Second, they had to endure a high-scoring romp that ended their season.

Spirit Lake scored on their first possession of the game then, a Cardinal fumble set up a 29-yard pass, putting the Indians in the end zone again.  It was another pass, this time a 57-yard completion, that allowed the Indians to score again, 20-0.  The Cardinals put together a nice drive to end the first quarter, but couldn’t make it to the end zone.

Spirit Lake put together a long drive on their first possession of the second quarter and scored on a 19-yard pass.  Following that play, the Cardinals fumbled the kick-off, turning the ball once again over to the Indians.  Spirit Lake capitalized on that mistake and scored again, 33-0.  It must have been deja vu for the Cardinals, as another fumble on the kickoff led to another Indian TD, 40-0.

The Cardinals did have a bright spot just before halftime.  Isaac Knutson got things rolling with a 37-yard gain on the kickoff.  GHV ground out the yards, and with :43 seconds remaining, Landon Dalbeck completed a 13-yard pass to Jared Shaw.  The two-point conversion play failed, for a halftime score of 40-6.

Spirit Lake opened the second half with a 30-yard field goal on their first possession.  The Cardinal defense stepped it up and held the Indians to only those three points in the third quarter.  GHV put together a nice possession that ended with Jared Shaw completing a 12-yard pass to Sam Umbarger.  Jace Pringnitz’s PAT run was no good, 43-12.

Spirit Lake scored one more time in the fourth quarter, 50-12.  The Cardinals didn’t give up.  With 2:18 remaining in the game, Brock Gouge ran in on a four-yard gain.  Pringnitz’s PAT run was good for the final score, 50-20.

“Although we were down pretty big early, the team never quit and continued to battle through the entire game,” said Coach Scott Van Dusseldorp.

The two teams were actually close on a number of statistics.  They both had 18 first downs.  Rushing yardage was also close, with GHV rushing for 200, compared to Spirit Lake’s 216.  There was a difference in the game in passing yards.  Spirit Lake’s quarterback was 15/22 for 282 yards.  Dalbeck was 9/17 passing for 101-yards.

Pringnitz led the team in rushing with 134-yards on 24 attempts.  Gouge collected 29-yards on seven carries and Shaw had 23-yards on four attempts.

Ethan Kale and Umbarger both had three receptions.  Kale had 41-yards and Umbarger had 33-yards.

Jace Pringnitz led the defense with eight tackles, two were for a loss.  Joe Pringnitz had five and one-half tackles.  Gouge and Shaw both had three and one-half tackles. Dalton Graff and Tyler Nielsen had two tackles apiece and one tackle for a loss each.

“This year may not have ended the way we hoped, but I am so proud of this team and their continued desire to improve.  I can say with complete confidence that this team improved each and every week, which is ultimately what every coach strives for,” said  Coach Van Dusseldorp.

The Cardinals ended their season with a record of 3-6.  GHV says good-bye to nine seniors, including their leading rusher, Jace Pringnitz.  On the plus side, the team returns Dalbeck at quarterback and some quality linemen and underclassmen who made some big strides this season.

“We will be losing some great seniors and their shoes will be hard to fill,” said the coach.  “I am looking forward to next year.  If they work hard in the off-season next year is sure to be exciting.”