Contributing writer
On an October Friday evening, snow was present, the temperature was in the middle 30s, and Goessel got off to a great start at Chase County.
The Bluebirds held Chase County to one touchdown in each of the first two quarters. Goessel managed two scores in the first quarter to go up 12-8. In the second quarter, Kellen Froese was credited with a safety and the Bluebirds scored a touchdown to take a halftime lead, 22-16.
In the third period, Chase County came out with some enthusiasm and scored twice, grabbing the lead 32-22. The Bluebirds would manage one touchdown in the final quarter, but Chase scored two more times to win the game 44-28.
The Bluebird offense was quite balanced with 143 yards on the ground and 110 yards passing. Chase Flaming completed eight passes with Zach Showalter catching six balls for 52 yards. Lucas Hiebert caught two passes for 29 yards, and Michael Rhoades caught one ball for 29 yards.
Kellen Froese carried the ball 20 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Flaming scored once while picking up a total of 26 yards on the ground, and Miguel Guerrero ran for 15 yards and a score.
Goessel’s defense picked up nine tackles for loss. Leading the way for the Bluebird defense was Brian Hiebert with 12 tackles, followed by Mark Schmidt with 11. Guerrero picked up seven stops with Froese and Matt Regier each getting six.
The Bluebirds are now 2-5 overall. Their next game will be at home with White City on Friday. Both teams have identical 2-2 records in district play.