A walk in the park at TCU

Waseca High School football coach Brad Wendland said after last week’s difficult 8-7 loss to Marshall that he believed the Bluejays would respond well.

They did.

From the opening kickoff, which Damarius Russell returned 78 yards for a touchdown, the Jays dominated in every facet of the game in a 49-7 rout on the road against Tri-City United at Montgomery Friday Sept. 16.

Russell, a 5-foot-11, 155-pound sophomore, put on a show with 255 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns, including an interception return for 53 yards, and senior linebacker Kyle Ashlchlager returned from injury to spark a defense that stymied the Titans all night; he also  had a pick six.

“I don't know if it's a surprise, but there was certainly a coming out party for Damarius Russell,” said Coach Wendland. “His kick return was an incredible start to the game. He's an excellent defensive back who had a couple opportunities to make plays last Friday and we found some ways to get him involved offensively. He is a tremendous player with a bright future.”

And having Ahlschlager back didn’t hurt.

“It was a huge boost to get Kyle Ahschlager back into things,” said Wendland. “He us such an impact player. That interception was an incredible play.”

According to Wendland, preparation and game experience were both factors.

“We practiced much better last week,” he stated. “I believe we are maturing as a team. This is a fun team to coach because they want to get better.”

Waseca wasted little time showing who was the better team at TCU.

After returning the kickoff, the Bluejays' defense forced a three-and-out. On their first offense play from scrimmage, following a false start penalty, Max Neaves nearly scored, running for 60 yards before being chased down at the Titans' 19-yard line.

Five plays later, including a fourth-down conversion from Russell, Oliver O'Brien scored an easy touchdown from two yards out. 

After driving nearly 30 yards, TCU fumbled inside the Bluejay 40-yard line. It set up a Christian Rodriguez 64-yard run, with Rodriguez brushing off the last Titan defender inside the 10-yard line. 

The Titans turned the ball over on downs on their next possession, giving the ball back to Waseca to start the second quarter.

Again the Jays only needed one play to score, on a wide-open pass from O’Brien to Russell for 63 yards up the left sideline. Russell simply outran the defense, slowing down slightly to catch the pass in stride. 

The next Titan drive ended in another turnover, a fumble, this time in the red zone. The drive included the first cheers of the night from Titan fans, but were met by “scoreboard" chants from the Waseca student section. 

On their next drive, the Bluejays took their time, going 88 yards on nine plays, capped off on another O’Brien-to-Russell connection. O’Brien rolled right before hitting Russell on the first-and-goal play.

Down 35-0 with two minutes to play in the first half, it didn’t look like things could get worse for the Titans. But, on the second play, Russell intercepted a pass and took it 53 yards for a touchdown.

It was 42-0 at halftime.

In the second half, the Jays wasted no time scoring as Ahlschlager picked off a pass, catching the ball in stride, and returned it 33 yards for the final Bluejay score of the night. 

The Titans' only score of the game came on their next possession, a 74-yard pass-and-run on a screen play.

Waseca backups played most of the second half.

“The reserves played a lot.,” said Wendland. “It’s always fun to get them on film. It results in great teaching and learning.”

Defensively, Gavin George led Waseca in tackles with five. 

“We can be really good,” said Wendland. “Tonight we showed that. We have to continue this. We have to continue to work and get better.” 

Next week, the Bluejays host Fairmont in battle of district co-leaders. In their second game of the season the Cardinals lost 10-0 to Marshall.

 

WAS                         21    28    7    0 — 49

TCU                           0     0     7    0 — 7

First Quarter

W – Russell 82 kickoff return (Neaves kick)

W - O’Brien 2 run (Neaves kick)

W - Rodriguez 64 run (Neaves kick)

Second Quarter

W - Russell 63 pass from O’Brien (Neaves kick)

W - Russell 11 pass from O’Brien (Neaves kick)

W - Russell 53 yard interception return (Neaves kick)

Third Quarter

W - Ahlschlager 33 interception return (Neaves kick)

TCU - Nightingale 74 pass from Schendel (kick good)

Fourth Quarter

No scoring

                                            WAS        TCU

First downs                           13              9

Rushing                          30-275       22-69

Passing                             8-10           9-48

Passing Yds.                        114           144

Penalties                               5-36        1-15

 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - WAS: Rodriguez 8-123; Neaves 1-49; Mixteco 9-39; O’Brien 5-31; Russell 3-29; No. 87 1-7; Balderas 2 —1; Roeker 1 —2; TCU: Franek 7-21; Schendel 3-13; O’Malley 3-12; Fink 2-6; Glende 1-6; Reyes 1-4

Passing - WAS: O’Brien 4-5, 95; Schendel 9-21, 144

Receiving - WAS: Russell 4-95; Harguth 2-20; No. 81 1-7; Rodriguez 1 —8; TCU: Nightingale 2-114; Franek 2-16; Flintrop 2-12; Hollom 1-11; Holicky 1-1