Goessel's football season ends at Pretty Prairie
By DELBERT PETERS
Sports writer
Goessel High School football team lost to the Bulldogs at Pretty Prairie Oct. 30 44-26 during bi-district play.
Goessel kept the game tied at halftime, but Pretty Prairie opened things up in the second half and took advantage of a Bluebird turnover near the end of the third quarter.
For most of the season, the Bluebirds had a balanced attack with both running and passing plays working well. Against the Bulldogs, Goessel only was able to accumulate 28 yards passing in four completions, and only reached 85 yards rushing.
However, Travis Fensky and Craig Banman each returned kicks for touchdowns of 78 and 77 yards respectively. Banman added one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown, as the Bluebirds worked hard at containing the Bulldog offense.
Grady Stultz and Weston Hiebert led the defense with tackles, and Hiebert and Dustin Peterson each recovered a fumble.
The Bluebirds ended the season with a successful 8-2 record. Coach Justin Coup highlighted the fact that his seniors, Stultz, Kurtis Duerksen and Peterson, were the only class to reach the playoffs for three straight years and the only class to have a winning record for all four years.
Goessel was the champion in the eight-man Heart of America League. The Bluebirds were runners-up in District 5 and they finished in the top 16 teams in the state in eight-man Division I.
