Castle Challenge Varsity Edition

Tonight’s game was very special for the Belvidere community in so many ways. Of course the highlight of the festivities was the dedication of the Milt Brown Stadium. There are no words that can express the gratitude of the people of Belvidere for such a generous donation by Mr. Brown other than Thank You.

8:51 in the 1st quarter the Thunder drew 1st blood with a 25 yard touchdown by #10, Cory Wennmacher. #64, Lauren Waddell hit the PAT and the Thunder go up 7 – 0.

At 4:03 the Bucs break the goal line from 1 yard out. #12, James Johnson scores on the keeper. The PAT was called back due to a Thunder penalty. The Bucs then decide to go for a 2-point conversion. #5, Tiras Harris, gets the 2 points right off of the right guard.

At 2:39 the Buc defense holds the Thunder on a 4th and 2 situation. #22, Kenny Anderson looked for a hole to pop out of but found a wall of Bucs. The Thunder turns it over on downs on the 50 yard line. The Thunder defense returns the favor by stopping the Buc offense and forcing them to turn the ball over on downs on the Thunder 43 yard line.

The Thunder would get stopped at mid field as the 1st quarter buzzer sounded with the score of the game Bucs 8, Thunder 7.

The 2nd quarter was a little over 2 minutes old when Wennmacher hits #31, Jake Billon, in the end zone from the 14 yard line. Waddell was good for the PAT and the score was now Thunder 14, Bucs 8. 9:27 on the play clock.

5:02 left in the first half of play and #13, Alex Tripp, ran 43 yard to the near side of the field for a score. Waddell was low on the PAT so the score is Thunder 20, Bucs 8.

The Bucs drove hard from around their own 36 yard line all the way to the end zone scoring on a 3 yard run from Harris. #77, Brian Voss, hits the PAT for the Bucs and the Bucs come to within 5 points of the Thunder 20 – 15. This would be the score of the first half of play.

The Thunder kicks an onside kick to start the 2nd half of play. Waddell dribbles the ball over to the right side of the field. It is bobbled by the Buc receiver but the Bucs still retain possession.

With 6:48 remaining in the 3rd quarter the Bucs score a 6 yard touchdown as Harris pounds his way into the middle of the line. He fumbles the ball just past the goal line but the ball is recovered in the end zone regardless. The 2-point conversion attempt is intercepted by #21, Dominique Hall.

The start of the next series the Thunder fumble the ball and the Bucs #51, AJ Gross recovers the ball giving them 1st and 10 on the Thunder 42 yard line. The Buc sideline jumps from the sideline in celebration of the turnover.

The Bucs are setting 4th and 5 yard for the touchdown and Johnson rolls to his right and dives into the end zone between 3 Thunder defenders. Voss is good for the PAT and the score is Bucs 28, Thunder 20.

Wennmacher scores with a 1 yard QB keeper early in the 4th quarter. The 2-point conversion pass from Wennmacher to #85, Doug Traceski is good and the game is tied up at 28.

Harris gets his 2nd touchdown of the evening with a 4 yard run up the middle. Voss nails the PAT and the Bucs retake the lead 35 – 28. This lead is short lived the Thunder following a onside kick drive down and score. Wennmacher pounded into the end zone deciding to keep the ball on an option. It added 8 more yards to his already 140+ he has racked up earlier in the game. The Thunder decided to go for a 2-point conversion and fall short. The score is Bucs 35, Thunder 34. The Thunder makes an attempt at a onside kick. #40, Ryan Karns, recovers the kick giving the Thunder 1st and 10 on the Buc 48 yard line.

Three plays later Wennmacher takes the ball 29 yards in for the score. Billon slams into the line for a 2-point conversion and the Thunder has regained the lead with only 2:33 remaining in the game. The score is Thunder 42, Bucs 35.

The 2nd cross town classic comes to a close with the Thunder winning 42 to 35. Both teams played with great intensity tonight and should be commended. Congratulations to the Thunder for their victory. Thanks to the booster clubs for all of their work they did to pull off such a great event. Also, thank you to the athletic directors, coaching staff, and others unnamed on such a great event. Congratulations to both teams. Till next year.

Castle Challenge Sophomore Edition

The Thunder was back to receive the opening kick-off from the Bucs. The Buc defense backed the Thunder up behind their original line of scrimmage the 28-yard line. The Thunder is forced to punt out of there first possession. However, there is a penalty on the Thunder, no mouth guard on one of the players on the line of scrimmage and the Bucs take over on the 16 yard line.

The Bucs take advantage of the Thunder mis-queues and score a 2 yard touchdown and the PAT was good giving the Bucs the 1st lead of the game. The score was Bucs 7, Thunder 0.

Four minutes into the 2nd quarter the Bucs drive 71 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown. #20 for the Bucs hammered his way off of the right side tackle. The PAT was good and the score was now Bucs 14, Thunder 0.

The Thunder get to the 12 yard line and were unable to get the ball into the end zone for the score. With :26 seconds left in the 1st half the Thunder turn the ball over on downs to the Bucs 1st and 10 on their own 18 yard line.

The second half saw the Bucs score several more times anad the Thunder only one once bring the final, 33-6 Bucs.

Castle Challenge Freshman Edition

The Belvidere North Freshman took on the Belvidere freshman from BHS at 3:00 Saturday October 11th.  The first official game at the new stadium. A huge crowd is expected for the dedication of the Milt Brown Stadium and varsity game. The sky was filled with beautiful sunlight and there was a slight breeze a great day for football.

The first score of the game came from a 1 yard run from #18 of Belvidere High School with a QB keeper. The 2-point conversion was unsuccessful and the Bucs went in the lead 6-0.

The Thunder quickly responded with a 7 play 70 yard drive. #21 Austin Smaha takes the ball 1 yard for the score. The 2-point conversion pass from xxx to Smaha was successful putting the Thunder up by 2, 8-6.

The 1st quarter would end with the score 8-6.

The Bucs scored on their first possession of the 2nd quarter with a 26 yard pass from #44, Marcus Gooden to #10, xxx. The 2-point conversion attempt to the right side of the Thunder defense was no good making the score Bucs 12, Thunder 8.

Exactly 2 plays later Smaha takes the ball 56 yards off of right tackle for a score. The Thunder attempts a 2-point conversion and fall just slight of the goal line. The Thunder takes back the lead 14-12.

At 5:30 #3, xxx, races 17 yards breaking a couple of tackles and scores in the right hand corner of the end zone. The 2-point conversion pass from #3 to #84 is good and the Bucs take the lead back 20 – 14

The first half of play would come to close with the Bucs turning the ball over on downs giving the Thunder 1st and 10 on their own 38 yard line. They would run 4 plays and turn the ball over to the Bucs on the 44 yard line. With only :50 seconds left on the clock the Bucs score off of a QB scramble and a lateral back to Gooden for the score. They could not convert the 2-point and the Bucs increase their lead by 6.

The second half begins with the Bucs having to punt following a rough 3 plays. They were unable to move the ball and were in a 3rd and 21 yard situation. A good punt and a holding penalty put the Thunder deep in their own territory. The Thunder was unable to break out of the hole and was forced to punt. The 3rd quarter would end with out any points being put on the board.

At 8:31 in the 4th Smaha intercepts the Bucs pass in the end zone bringing the ball out to the 20 yard line for the Thunder. Over 6 minutes has come off the clock in the 4th quarter and Smaha takes the TD from 21 yards out.  This makes the score Thunder 20, Bucs 26.

The Thunder would make a hard attempt at driving down the field with only :47 seconds remaining in the game. The Thunder would take a timeout with :08.2 seconds left and the ball on the 28 yard line. With :01.1 second left #3 of the Bucs intercepts the ball in the end zone in a crowd. The final would end up being 26 – 20 Bucs.

Castle Challenge 8th Grade Edition

This game was a game where the 8th grade team for Central wanted to make up for a huge defeat last year. Unfortunately, today would not be a day for that to happen. The Central team appeared to be under sized compared to South. Central has some real hard hitters to the game and should hold their heads up high.

Very early in the game #42, Max Hendrickson, takes the ball to the left side of the line and sprints 42 yards for the score. Hendrickson broke numerous tackles as he flew down the field. The 2-point conversion was no good. South drew first blood with a score of 6-0.

South’s 2nd possession was successful with a TD reception from a connection between #17, Troy Vandenbroek and Hendrickson. This time the 2-point conversion was good by #9, Taylor Arrango making the score South 14, Central 0.

South’s scoring dominance continued with their next possession. #22, Luke Hearn, takes the ball 4 yards for a score. The 2-point conversion was short and the score was now South 20, Central 0. Central was unable to move the ball offensively in the 1st quarter.

The very 1st play of the 2nd quarter would see Hendrickson in the end zone again. South was already inside the 5 yard line and Hendrickson took it in from there. The PAT by #27, Shane Mains, was good and the score was now 27-0. There would be one more score just prior to the end of the 1st half. A 3 yd run from #24, Cole Johnson. The PAT by #20, Josh Hauser was good and the score going to break was South 34, Central 0.

The Central team was pretty down going into the 2nd half of play but the coaching staff was trying to rally their team. A little over 6 minutes was eaten off of the clock when a Central fumble and recovery by #47, Rynston Phua would further bring down the Central team.

Hendrickson would score one more time in this game and he added 25 more yards to his already substantial total. Mains was just short of the PAT but the score was South 40, Central 0.

The last score of the 8th grade game came when Hauser takes the ball 8 yards up the middle for the TD. The PAT was good and the score which would end up being final was South 47, Central 0.

By winning their game, BSMS goes into a 3 way tie with Burlington Central and Dekalb Rosette to be conference champions.

Castle Challenge 7th Grade Edition

The cross town football classic festivities officially began with the BCMS 7th grade football team taking on BSMS at the central middle school field. The track was lined with football fans for this game that would begin the day of determining bragging rights till next years contest.

The game begins with central’s #34, Christian Hudson taking the opening kick-off for a good return almost too mid field.  Central is unable to move the ball and is actually backed up for their first series of offense.

At 6:34 in the 1st quarter #5, Chris Colquett, of South intercepts a central pass. He gives South decent field position just past the 50 yard line in Central territory. It took 11 plays to go the next 50 yards for the first score. #7, Jacob Fondrik, on the QB keeper takes the ball 1 yard for the score. The 2-point conversion attempt is no good and South is in the lead 6-0.

Central would answer this score with a dynamic play by #24, Ben Nordman, who takes the kick-off return and sprints 60 yards for a touchdown. Hudson pounds into the end zone for the 2-point conversion and Central goes up by 2 point leading 8-6.

The second quarter would see both teams pounding back and forth with no real threats at scoring. However, South player #56, Dan Eby sparked his team when he recovered a Central fumble on their own 22 yard line. The half would end with a score Central 8, South 6.

More hard battled football until the clock reached the 3:57 mark and Central’s #31, Adam McConnell recovers a South fumble. South was threatening and the turnover came at a good moment for Central.

With 1:30 left in the game the Central coaches watch the clock and call a timeout at just the right time to work to their advantage. One more 1st down and the game would be over. The Central offense made the 1st down. The final score of a very hard fought game was BCMS 8, BSMS 6.