Contributing writer
After winning three consecutive district games, the Bluebirds were in a fog with a loss on Friday. Goessel’s passing game was silent and turnovers plagued the Bluebirds. Two key players on offense, Nick Buller and Mark Schmidt, were sidelined due to injury.
Chase took two minutes to march down field for their first score and their defense held, forcing Goessel to punt. The Cats went 71 yards on the next play to score again. Chase recovered an on-side kick and took that possession in for another touchdown. The score at the end of the first quarter was a stunning, 22-0.
Goessel’s defense forced the Cats to punt, but a Bluebird fumble gave the ball back to Chase who made their way downfield to post a 30-0 score. The Bluebirds got on the scoreboard at 6 minutes, 56 seconds in the half when quarterback Trey Schmidt willed himself into the end zone despite a blatant facemask penalty by the Kats.
The Bluebirds played several downs of inspired defense as Chase gave up the ball on fourth down, but Goessel’s offense could not match that production. Chase took over on downs with 3 minutes left in the half. With no time left on the clock, a Cat receiver grabbed a 10-yard touchdown pass for a 38-6 lead at halftime.
Trey Schmidt accumulated 93 yards rushing on the night, following the blocking of Austin Strunk, Connor Davis, and Reece Hiebert. Schmidt went into the end zone from 4 yards out for the first points of the second half, cutting the Chase lead to 38-14.
But, it would be all Cats for three more touchdowns to win by the 45-point rule just a few seconds into the fourth quarter, with a final score of 60-14.
Shane Goerzen, Brian Hiebert, Kellen Froese, Schmidt and Reece Hiebert led the team in tackles, but the zigzag running of the Cats backfield caused a lot of miscues for the Bluebirds. Chase moves to 4-1 in the District with Goessel at 3-1 (4-3 overall). The Bluebirds will be at White City on Friday and then host Hope the following Thursday for the last regular season game, both are District games.