Hard Work Pays Off: Jackson County Central vs. Pierz
The high profile class 3A state semifinal between 11-1 Jackson County Central and 12-0 Pierz was indisputably one of the best games of the state tournament in 2019 thus far. The game featured prep heavy-hitters Bradly Buhl Jr. (6’0, 215 lbs.) and Rudy Voss (6’3, 190 lbs.) from JCC and Blake…
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Continue ReadingThe high profile class 3A state semifinal between 11-1 Jackson County Central and 12-0 Pierz was indisputably one of the best games of the state tournament in 2019 thus far. The game featured prep heavy-hitters Bradly Buhl Jr. (6’0, 215 lbs.) and Rudy Voss (6’3, 190 lbs.) from JCC and Blake Kowalczyk (5’10, 170 lbs.) and Nebraska Cornhusker commit Matthias Algarin (6’0, 170 lbs.) from Pierz, and all four athletes put on a show.
Voss (2) and Buhl (3) celebrate their section championship.The game was competitive and thrilling all night as JCC put up 14 points in the 1st quarter and Pierz slowly inched back as they scored six points in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and a big eight points in the 4th while shutting out the Huskies offense the rest of the game to secure an anxiety-ridden 20-14 victory two Saturdays ago at U.S. Bank Stadium. The most exciting matchup of the night, as well as one of the most important, came between Buhl and Kowalczyk, who both play RB and LB and put up monster numbers during the game. For a more detailed recount of the contest, check out Northstar Football News‘ “Analysis and Evaluations” below!
The game began with the Pierz Pioneers receiving the opening kick of the ball game and Buhl quickly putting a stop to any chance of them getting something going on offense. Basically forcing a Pioneer punt by himself, Buhl and the Huskies began their first offensive possession on their own 31-yard line and immediately began rushing the MN All-Star Game selection Buhl down the throats of the Pioneer defense.
Buhl (3) blocks a defender as Voss (2) takes off down the sidelines.After a couple big runs down the field, Voss used a nice play fake and kept the ball himself for a quick 38-yard TD run to put JCC up 7-0 with 6:35 left in the first quarter. It seemed at this point like another classic Huskies offensive attack, as JCC had been averaging 303 yards rushing per game in the 2019 playoffs, Voss had 2,000-yards of passing coming into the game, and Buhl had well over 100 carries. After another stop by the Huskies defense the following offensive drive for Pierz, a long pass by Voss found the speedy Elijah Meium-Bratrud (5’8, 160 lbs.) for a 60-yard completion that put JCC up 14 with 1:54 to go in the first. Back to back fumbles by each teams ended the 1st and JCC found themselves with 137-yards of offense to Pierz‘s seven.
However, Pierz had a lot more fight left in them. After a defensive stop which included a nice TFL from #55 of Pierz Zachary Traut (6’3, 260 lbs.), the Pioneers took over on offense wherein QB Peter Schommer (5’10, 150 lbs.) found Kowalczyk for his 12th passing TD of the year to put Pierz on the scoreboard 14-6 with 7:54 left in the half.
Kowalczyk carrying the ball for Pierz.The remainder of the half mostly featured a heavy dose of Buhl pounding the rock into the teeth of the Pionner D, but Pierz bent but didn’t break and didn’t surrender anymore points for the half. A late FG attempt by the Huskies didn’t have the leg, and the half ended with the Pioneer defense stepping up big and holding the game to a 14-6 deficit at halftime.
The teams traded possessions to begin the third quarter, and Voss got back to work making people miss while finding open receivers and Buhl continued his impressive and aggressive running style. On the other side, Kowalczyk was running and tackling like it was the last game he’d ever play, and that effort was a necessity in order to stop the dynamic tandem of Voss and Buhl.
Buhl (3) runs the ball during a Huskie regular season game.This hard work paid off with two minutes left in the 3rd as the Pioneers capped a 53-yard drive with a Algarin rushing TD that included a nasty stiff-arm and a reach for the right pylon. The two-point conversion was again unsuccessful however, and Pierz still found themselves behind by 2 (14-12) late in the 3rd quarter after scoring two unanswered touchdowns. A TFL by Kowalczyk followed by a punt and a Buhl tackle ended the second to last quarter of the game, and boy did the 4th come through as an exciting one.
A Pioneer pass was intercepted by Jack Brinkman (5’7, 150 lbs.) of JCC with 9:55 left in the game, and the 9th pass of the seniors career put Pierz in a very tough spot with less than 10 minutes left in the game. The Huskies began a good drive down the field in which Buhl carried the ball almost every down but was eventually stopped by Kowalczyk and a host of other Pioneers on a huge 4th down rushing attempt that gave the ball back to Pierz with 3:52 left in the game. With three timeouts remaining, the Pioneers heavily leaned on Kowalczyk, who opened the drive with a couple 5+ yard runs while Algarin contributed with a reverse and a sweep that did not find much. Pierz was facing a long 3rd and 7 at JCC’s 47-yard line with 1:27 left in the game when Schommer found Michael Leidenfrost (5’10, 160 lbs.) on an absolutely beauty of a throw for the go-ahead 48-yard TD catch which sent the Pioneer bench and fans into a madness of a celebration. The 2pt was converted by Algarin, and the 20-14 score remained standing as the final seconds ticked off U.S. Bank’s scoreboard.
Algarin carries the ball for Pierz.JCC played a helluva game and fell just short of a berth in the 3A state finals, but earned more than their fair share of respect from me. Buhl and Voss were two of the most impressive players I’ve gotten to cover this year, and both deserve to be playing on Saturday’s. Pierz never gave up and made the key plays when they needed to, and it cannot be stated enough just how heavily Kowalczyk was called upon on both offense and defense in this hard-fought victory. Pierz will take on Dassel-Cokato next Saturday at 1 PM for the 3A Minnesota state championship. Congratulations to both teams on an incredible 2019.