Sports writer
Three inches of rain Friday made for a slick turf, but it did not hamper the efficiency of the Goessel High School Bluebirds football team.
In a second non-district game, the Bluebirds used the eight-man mercy rule to end the game at halftime with a score of 48-0 against the White City Huskies.
Craig Banman began the scoring for the Bluebirds with a four-yard run around the left side of the line, maintaining his balance after being hit in the backfield.
Austin Unruh found Cameron Stultz in the end zone on a 22-yard pass, and Travis Fensky crossed the goal line for the extra points.
With just less than three minutes to play in the quarter, the snap for White City went over the head of the quarterback, but his falling on the ball in the end zone resulted in a safety for the Bluebirds.
Banman later sprinted 46 yards off the right tackle and weaved his way for a touchdown.
Unruh found Banman on a pass for the conversion, and the Bluebirds led 24-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Six seconds into the second quarter, Unruh again connected with Banman for a 24-yard pass play that resulted in a touchdown, and Unruh faked the hand-off and ran straight ahead for three yards on the two-point conversion attempt.
Fensky scored on a four-yard run with 8:50 to play in the second period and Unruh again took the ball straight ahead for the conversion.
Banman broke free on another run, breaking tackle after tackle and finally making it to the end zone, but an inadvertent whistle blew the play dead on the six-yard line.
The Bluebirds were unable to break in for a score in four plays, and with a 40-0 lead turned the ball over to the Huskies on downs.
Another errant snap went over the head of the White City quarterback, and this time, Goessel’s Alex Ross gathered in the ball in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.
Unruh waltzed into the end zone for the extra points, and the junior varsity team was able to run out the clock for the Bluebirds.
Defensively, the Bluebirds allowed no first downs and negative 20 yards in 24 minutes of play.
Weston Hiebert recorded five solo tackles and one sack.
Nathan Walker, Alex Ross, Corey Buller, and Hiebert each recovered a fumble.
The Bluebirds ran for 155 yards and passed for 62 yards in two quarters.
Goessel will have a home game Friday with Fairfield, which will be the first district game of this season.