A 30-yard pass down the field from senior quarterback Mason McDonald to junior tight end Max Richardson early in the second half showed FHC town rivals, FHN, that the Rangers varsity football team would come out on top no matter what.
It was not only Richarson but many other key players, such as senior wide receiver Ty Hudkins, senior running back JT Hartman, and sophomore tight end Matt Sexton, that would secure the win over the Huskies 38-6.
This win, however, would not only be accomplished with these key offensive players. Head coach Tim Rogers gave credit to the FHC defense to shut down the FHN offense.
“We thought they [FHN] did a nice job throwing the ball coming into this game,” Rogers said. “So we wanted to make sure that we kept the ball in front of us so they had no cheap shots over the top of our secondary. We did that; we kept it out in front all day; it was just a matter of could we stop the run, and it was no doubt that we did.”
At the start of the game, both teams ruled in defense in the first series; however, a short punt from the Huskies gave great field position for FHC, which was taken advantage of quickly. McDonald passed to Hudkins for a 45-yard touchdown, and the Rangers took the lead early on with seven minutes left in the first quarter.
To open up the second quarter, the FHC defense stopped much movement from FHN, and the Rangers gained possession of the ball once more. Hartman ran the ball down into the Husky territory with two separate plays, finishing on the 37-yard line. This movement continued with McDonald and a 12-yard gain, an 8-yard gain, then a 4-yard touchdown. The Rangers made the extra point, allowing FHC to extend its lead to 14-0 with 7:11 left in the second quarter.
McDonald liked how the offense came out firing.
“We were just focused on coming out fast, hitting them hard, and everyone just doing their job, one through eleven,” McDonald said.
As the second quarter continued, FHN began to show a little bit of life as they entered FHC territory for the first time that game. This changed when the FHC defense sacked the Huskies quarterback, causing a fumble and the Rangers the ball at the FHC 42-yard line. Hudkins followed this with a 58-yard touchdown with 2:29 left in the half. The two-point conversion failed, but the Rangers led 20-0 at halftime.
Richardson, who had been out for three weeks due to a foot injury, was a difference-maker for the team.
“I was really aggressive,” said Richardson, who is committed to Stanford to continue his football career. “I was hoping we would pound the rock. We did it quite a bit, but we split out a bit.”
McDonald was also able to see how much the offense was able to open up now with Richardson being back.
“It’s great having Max back,” McDonald said. “He is a big target, he blocks well, a physical guy, love to have him back.”
Rogers plans to slowly get Richardson back not only offensively but defensively as well.
“We are going to do it slowly,” Rogers said. “He back, but he is not 100% just yet, so we let him play one side of the ball—he played offense pretty much all game. Slowly but surely, we will get him into both phases of the game, but right now, it is still a slow re-enter rather than just throw him on both sides of the ball.”
FHN took the ball back into its hands; however, that would be short-lived with an interception from Middaugh at the Huskies’ 5-yard line. McDonald followed that with a 6-yard rushing touchdown. The extra point was good, and the Rangers led 35-0 with 3:32 left in the third quarter.
After the 30-yard gain from Richardson, landing the boys on the FHN 12-yard line, McDonald completed a 12-yard pass to Sexton for another touchdown for the Rangers. Hartman ran the ball in for a two-point conversion, extending FHC’s lead 28-0 with 5:57 left in the third quarter.
Junior kicker Eli Lipke, who also plays for the soccer team, extended the Rangers lead with a 35-yard field goal with 7:25 left in the fourth quarter.
The Huskies managed a touchdown on the final play of the game, but FHC would still walk away with the win 38-6.
Now, with this hometown rivalry behind the FHC varsity football team, Rogers has some plans on the main focuses for this next upcoming game against Bryon Center.
“Conference championship has always gone through Byron Center,” Rogers said. “They are very well coached; kids play really hard. Even though we played a really good football game, we made some mistakes. So we have to go back and see those mistakes, get those fixed, [and] going to have to play start to finish at a very high level in order to beat a very good Byron Center team.”
