Contributing writer
Friday night the Bluebird football team got off to a great start and Goessel filled up the stat sheet in a 78-40 loss to Solomon.
Trey Schmidt threw for 268 yards and five touchdowns. Buller caught eight passes for 145 yards and four touchdowns. Drake Sterk gained 59 yards on three catches and Showalter caught two balls for 73 yards and one touchdown.
Schmidt connected with Nic Buller on two passes, one for a first down, and one for a 12-yard touchdown. Drake Sterk caught a pass for the two-point conversion and Goessel led 8-0. The Bluebird offense sputtered on the next possession but a punt inside the 15-yard line pinned Solomon deep in their own end of the field. Goessel’s defense held on fourth down and the Bluebirds got the ball at the Gorillas 22-yard line. Again, Schmidt found Buller in the end zone for a 19-yard pass and Goessel celebrated a 14-0 lead.
Solomon scored less than one minute later on a well-executed fake in the backfield and a Goessel fumble gave the ball back to the Gorillas who scored a second touchdown and suddenly the Bluebirds were behind 16-14. Goessel attempted several long passes then called timeout. With two receivers split wide, tight end Zach Showalter collected a lob pass down the middle of the field and sprinted 60 yards for another Bluebird score. Mark Schmidt took the ball around the right side for the two-point conversion and Goessel was ahead 22-16.
Solomon settled on the running game with misdirection in the backfield to score three more rushing touchdowns in the first half and two by passing. The Gorillas went into halftime with a 52-22 lead.
Buller gathered in a long pass and penalties helped the Bluebirds penetrate deep into Solomon territory. Trey Schmidt ran five yards straight ahead for the touchdown to cut the deficit to 52-28. Again Solomon scored twice on runs to take a third-quarter lead 64-28. A 47-yard pass play ended in another score for the Bluebirds as Buller was on the receiving end. The Gorillas matched the touchdown with one of their own, but Buller was the target again as the offensive line and backfield gave Trey Schmidt enough time to find him for a 15-yard score. Solomon scored with four minutes to play on an end around and finished the game with a final score, 78-40.
Defensively, Drake Sterk was credited with 14 tackles, Trey Schmidt and Buller had seven each, Mark Schmidt with six, Kellen Froese five, and Showalter, Joe Campbell and Peter Voth with four each.