Raiders run roughshod over Tigers

KIEL – The 1-2 combo of Derek Fritsch and Matt Meunier carved up the Howards Grove Tigers’ defense for 239 yards rushing and five touchdowns to power Kiel to a 48-13 trouncing here Friday night.

The nonconference football win raised Kiel’s record to 2-0. Howards fell to 0-2.

Fritsch, a 205-pound junior running back, led all rushers with 132 yards on only 16 attempts. Meunier, a 175-pound senior back, gained 107 yards on 17 carries. Fritsch and Meunier displayed an impressive combination of power and speed – breaking tackles and racing past defenders.

“Our offensive line played really well. They were focused and really impressed me,” said Raider new head coach Chris Bennin.

“Derek is going to impress a lot with how he runs hard, and is very quick. Matt is a great, hard runner and has great quickness.

“They [Raiders] met up to par for my expectations. They came out to play. Mentally, we were ready,” said Bennin, a former assistant coach for the Raiders.

Fritsch and Meunier broke the Tigers’ back with long TD dashes in the third quarter that put the game away at 34-6. Fritsch busted up the middle and outraced the defenders for a 60-yard score with 9:36 left in the period.

After the Tigers punted on their next possession, Meunier broke through the heart of the defense on first down and galloped 65 yards to paydirt at the 3:36 mark.

“They have pretty good players and a nice team,” said Tiger head coach David Schmid.

“We’re struggling a lot in our defensive line and that hurts us. They played with more intensity.

“We played well the end of the first quarter and early in the second half. Those two long scores [TD runs by Fritsch and Meunier] were the biggest plays of the game,” Schmid pointed out.

The Tigers’ defense has been hammered thus far this season. In a season-opening 41-27 loss to Poynette, the Tigers gave up 423 yards in total offense. They had poor tackling at times in Friday’s contest.

Isaiah Herzog’s 82-yard kickoff return for a score put the dagger in Howards as it upped Kiel’s lead to 41-13. The TD came after quarterback Eric Dickmyer rifled a 67-yard scoring pass down the right sideline to wide receiver Mike Verfuerth. The TD pulled the Tigers to within 34-13 with 3:00 remaining in the third quarter.

Kiel dominated most of the first half en route to a 21-0 halftime advantage. Meunier had two short scoring plunges and Fritsch, one. The Raiders’ first two TD drives were set up by a short punt and Ethan Field’s fumble recovery, respectively. Both series started near midfield.

The Tigers’ other TD came on a well-executed reverse to Verfuerth who sped 13 yards into the end zone on their first possession of the second half. The score was set up by linebacker Eric Bruesewitz’s interception which gave Howards the ball at the Raider 27.

Bennin was well-pleased with his defense which allowed only 30 yards rushing on 24 attempts and terrorized Dickmyer – sacking him three times.

“Howards Grove is a very quick team and we responded, defensively,” Bennin said.

Schmid was happy with his passing attack and saw some improvement on defense.

“Kiel is a better team than Poynette, and we took a step forward on defense. Even though we gave up a lot of points, we were in the right spots which we weren’t against Poynette,” he said.

“Mike Verfuerth had another good game. Zach Morgen [offensive lineman-linebacker] played well on offense and defense. Chris Klueger [lineman] did a nice job on defense.”

Verfuerth, a senior, had an outstanding seven catches for 125 yards to lead all receivers. Klueger recorded a sack. Defensive back Collin Horness had the Tigers’ other interception.

FOOTBALL
HOWARDS 13
GROVE
KIEL	48

HG Kiel
First downs ….9 13
Rushing Yards……………….….30 310
Passing Yards 178 29
Comp-Att-Int………………12-23-1 3-7-2
Penalties-Yards 5-30 3-25
Punts-Averages 5-28 2-31
Fumbles-Lost………………….…3-2 0-0
Score by Quarters
Howards Grove………….0 0 13 0 – 13
Kiel………………………….7 14 20 7 – 48
Scoring
Kiel – Matt Meunier 1 run (Brandon Riesterer kick)
Kiel – Meunier 4 run (Riesterer kick)
Kiel – Derek Fritsch 2 run (Riesterer kick)
HG – Mike Verfuerth 13 run (kick failed)
Kiel – Fritsch 60 run (kick failed)
Kiel – Meunier 65 run (Riesterer kick)
HG – Verfuerth 67 pass from Eric Dickmyer (Eric Bruesewitz kick)
Kiel – Isaiah Herzog 82 kickoff return (Riesterer kick)
Kiel – Cody Retlich 21 run (Riesterer kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing – Howards Grove, Cole Reinemann 4-40. Kiel, Derek Fritsch 16-132, Matt Meunier 17-107, Ethan Field 4-58.
Passing – Howards Grove, Eric Dickmyer 12-23-1-178. Kiel, Geddy Norby 3-7-2-29.
Receiving – Howards Grove, Mike Verfuerth 7-125, Eric Bruesewitz 2-20. Kiel, Chris Barrette 1-14, Dwayne Hagenow
2-15.