Aggies turn away WolvesAggies turn away Wolves
By CHRIS BIERI Staff Writer cbieri@minotdailynews.comArticle Photos
Fact Box
Velva 24,
Watford City 14
Key play: Velva quarterback Jon Mack's TD run with 3:11 remaining to give the Aggies a 24-14 lead.
Key player: Velva running back Michael Wiest, who ran for 93 yards on 17 carries.
Key stat: Velva forced five Watford City turnovers.
VELVA - Many of the seniors on the Velva football team spent the last 365 days preparing for another chance to reach the Class A Dakota Bowl championship game.
The Aggies had that chance Saturday and took full advantage.
No. 2-ranked Velva forced five Watford City turnovers in taking a 24-14 victory to earn a berth in the title game, where they will face Langdon-Munich.
Velva was last in the Dakota Bowl in 2006, when it topped Linton for the championship.
Velva head coach Larry Sandy said the Velva seniors used that appearance and the Aggies' loss to Harvey in the 2008 state semifinals as motivation for this year.
"This crew of seniors, they as freshman played in the dome in the 2006 championship game, they were watching that this morning at breakfast," Velva head coach Larry Sandy said. "We saw a few of the kids out there as freshman. That's always fun to see that. I'd mentioned to a couple kids last year (after a season-ending loss to Harvey). I said wanting to get to a championship game isn't about how bad you want it today or this week. We've got 365 days, we have to know how bad we want it right now and prepare for it. Those guys are the leaders on our team. They've really taken this crew and jumped on to that philosophy and have worked really hard."
Turnovers were key for the Aggies. They forced five and parlayed them into 10 points.
The first turnover came on just the second play from scrimmage as the Aggies recovered a fumble deep in WC territory.
After having no luck on the first three plays of their drive, the Aggies struck on fourth and 10. Velva quarterback Jon Mack found Zach Podoll on an 18-yard TD pass. Podoll was nearly corralled by the Wolves defense short of the first down marker, but broke a few tackles en route to the end zone.
"Those turnovers were huge for us, we had a few of our own but we were able to capitalize on some of them," Aggies running back Michael Wiest said.
The Aggies added another score in the first quarter Wiest broke a run to the left side for 24 yards and a 14-0 Velva lead.
For much of the first half, the Velva defense bottled up the Wolves' offense and running back Brady Lund.
"Their defensive ends did an outstanding job," Wolves head coach Fred Fridley said. "They just closed it down inside and when we went outside it seemed like they got their too. (Running (off tackle) has been our big play all year and we couldn't run off tackle. We tried to get outside and couldn't get outside. We tried everyplace (but didn't have much luck)."
Watford City finally started to gain some momentum in the second quarter. They put together a lengthy scoring drive, capped by a one-yard run by quarterback Trey Jacobson.
The extra point made it 14-7 and the Wolves gained even more momentum heading into the lockerroom by intercepting Mack late in the half.
But Velva struck with another turnover on the first play of the second half, recovering a fumble on the kickoff. While the Aggies didn't punch it in for a touchdown, they added a Garrett Wible field goal for a 17-7 lead.
"The opening kickoff (of the second half), getting that one and coming down and getting at least a field goal putting us up by two scores (was big)," Sandy said. "It's a little easier for the fellas to play the game knowing that you're at least two plays away instead of just one play away from a tie."
Watford City cut the Velva lead to just 17-14 on its next possession, capping a 68-yard drive when Jacobson found Tyler Flatland for a 10-yard score.
Watford City got an even bigger play on the kickoff, recovering a fumble at the Velva 30 and appearing poised to take its first lead of the game.
But Velva forced another turnover, picking off Jacobson, and started to grind out both yards and time.
The Aggies marched to midfield, punted into WC territory and forced a three and out. From there, they chewed up much of the fourth quarter with a 11-play scoring drive that went just 37 yards but plenty of clock.
"The turnovers and that led to them having great field possession," Fridley said. "You can't play a good team and give them the ball three times within the 20 yard line. We had a little momentum before halftime and started the second half with a fumble. That took a little momentum away from us. Even when it was 17-14, we were still in pretty good shape, but they controlled the ball so much. They just kept us in the hole the whole second half."
The Aggies converted two fourth downs on the drive, including a fourth and inches run at the WC four yard line that Mack snuck in for a TD.
Sandy said while the Aggies' offense didn't hit for many big plays, they got positive yards on nearly every play.
"We talked about that," Sandy said. "This time of year you have to work as hard as you can to get 2-3-4 yards, pretty soon that will expand up to 3-4-5 yards, and on that last drive we put together in the fourth quarter, the one we finally punched in, it was the result of kids playing their hearts on and getting tired. The offense should have an advantage at that point of the game."
A late fumble by Velva gave WC one final chance to get within a score, but the Aggies defense held, preserving the win.
Velva 14 0 3 7 - 24
WC 0 7 7 0 - 14
First quarter
Velva - Zach Podoll 18 pass from Jon Mack (Garrett Wible kick).
Velva - Michael Wiest 24 run (Wible kick).
Second quarter
WC - Trey Jacobson 1 run (Kalin Mogen kick).
Third quarter
Velva - Wible 29 field goal.
WC - Tyler Flatland 10 pass from Jacobson (Mogen kick).
Fourth quarter
Velva - Mack 4 run (Wible kick).
Individual statistics
Rushing yards - WC: Brady Lund 21-54, Trey Jacobson 12-33, Nick Liebel 1-4; Velva: Michael Wiest 17-93, Collin Kittelson 7-33, Jordan Weidler 5-29, Jon Mack 5-3.
Passing yards - WC: Jacobson 8-20-2 - 103; Velva: Mack 3-10-1 - 38; Weidler 0-1-0 - 0.
Receiving yards - WC: Liebel 3-48, Tyler Flatland 3-36, Adam Brenna 1-10, Lund 1-7; Velva: Zach Podoll 1-18, Weidler 1-10, Kittelson 1-10.
