Evergreen football team wins again

The Northwood-Solon Spring football team continued its winning streak Friday with a 77-30 victory over Birchwood.

The Evergreens have now won three straight games for an overall record of 3-2 and 3-1 mark in the Lakeland 8-Man Conference.

“Our kids came out of the gates fast and never looked back,” said Brian Trettin, Evergreens head coach. “Our kids are playing with a lot of confidence right now and it is showing in all phases of our team.”

The Evergreens led 21-0 after one quarter Friday and boosted their lead to 59-14 at halftime with a 38-point second quarter.

The Evergreens put in their junior varsity players late in the second quarter, and the second half was played in running time.

“Our junior varsity kids came in around the second quarter and played at a high level,” Trettin said. “Matt Benson, Kacey Block and Josh Downs had very good performances.”

Downs in particular stood out with an interception, a forced fumble, a rushing touchdown and two fumble recoveries — one returned for a touchdown.

“Very few kids will ever have a stat line like Josh,” Trettin said. “This all happened because our kids are buying into the team philosophy and are playing their role. I am very happy for the kids.”

Northwood-Solon Springs had 424 yards rushing and 41 yards passing for the game, while Birchwood had 137 yards rushing and 145 yards passing.

Brandon Wilcox and Austin Meyer led the Evergreens with 117 yards rushing and two touchdowns each. Brett Missinne ran for 70 yards and three touchdowns and also connected with Meyer on a 41 yard pass for a touchdown. Daniel Gengenbach added 77 yards rushing and a TD for the Evergreens, and Downs had 24 yards and a score on two carries.

“Once again our offensive line — Gage Harwick, Trevor Lafave, Jake Dahlberg, Kacey Block, and Daniel Gengenbach — had an outstanding game,” Trettin said. “They do a great job of making on-the-field adjustments on what the defense is giving us. They are doing a great job.”

On defense, Brady Vig, Jamie Downs and Josh Downs all had interceptions. Matt Benson led the Evergreens with 7.5 tackles. Braxton Phillips had six tackles, two for a loss, and Brandon Wilcox also had six tackles, one for a loss.

This week the Evergreens are back at home to face Bruce. Friday’s game is homecoming for the Evergreens, and Trettin has already talked with his players about maintaining focus.

“We play a very good Bruce team that is physical and big,” Trettin said. “We need to remember that the most important thing this week is the game on Friday.”

Bruce fell to Prairie Farm 34-24 last week to drop to 2-2 in the conference and 2-3 overall.

Northwood-Solon Springs is also holding a Ford Drive One event to raise $8,000 for sports programs. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday.

“We need as many drivers as possible to come to the school and test drive a Ford Focus and another Ford vehicle,” Trettin said. “The only obligation to the driver is to just take a test drive. They do not have to donate a penny. Please come out and support the entire Evergreen sports program. We will have food, refreshments, drawings and all kinds of fun.”

Birchwood 0 14 8 8 — 30

Northwood 21 38 6 12 — 77

Team Stats

B N-SS

First downs 11 7

Rushing yards 137 424

Completions-atts 6-20 1-3

Passing yards 145 41

TDs-interceptions 1-3 1-0

Total offense 282 465

Fumbles-lost 5-3 2-2

Penalties-yards 3-40 2-15

Tags: sports, football, preps, updates