Thursday Night Lights: New London-Spicer vs. Dassel-Cokato
COKATO– Last night certainly felt like football season was in full swing. Just over 40 degrees and some darn good 3A football. Last year the Wildcats from New-London Spicer held the upper hand, but the Chargers had their number yesterday evening in Cokato.
FIRST QUARTER
If you were looking for a defensive game in the first quarter, you got one. You’ll hear more about who stood out defensively in my “Big Dogs of the Game” piece but just know: there are a lot of standouts from the Chargers last night.
SECOND QUARTER
Although it was defensively sound in the first quarter, that didn’t mean the Chargers weren’t running. Monte Gillman and Eli Gillman Eli Gillman 6'0" | 195 lbs | ATH Dassel-Cokato | 2022 State MN got over 100 yards rushing midway thru the second quarter. Eli Gillman Eli Gillman 6'0" | 195 lbs | ATH Dassel-Cokato | 2022 State MN broke the tie for good with his 8-yard run to make it 7-0 Chargers. After the Wildcats drove down to the Chargers side of the field, QB Kyle Doty found WR Brycen Christensen for a 36-yard touchdown. I then saw the most prominent stuff of an extra point I’ve seen in multiple seasons covering for Prep Redzone when Devan Campbell blocked it to make it 7-6 Chargers, which is the score that would close out the half.
THIRD QUARTER
The Chargers then changed their depth chart temporarily at QB1. QB Gregory Clark stepped in and made a big throw over the top of the secondary to WR Joel Solseth for a 72-yard pass to get the Chargers up 14-6. It then was put into the hands of FB Tim Thein of the Wildcats, who made a huge run to set up a Jack Novak 9-yard rushing touchdown. The Wildcats tried to go for two, but it failed. The Chargers yet again controlled the clock, and Eli Gillman Eli Gillman 6'0" | 195 lbs | ATH Dassel-Cokato | 2022 State MN got over the 100-yard mark in the 3rd quarter. The Chargers RB Keyton Johnson got in for the 1-yard gain for a 21-12 lead for Dassel-Cokato. New London-Spicer’s Tim Thein was another 100-yard rusher on the day for the Wildcats in the 3rd quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
When the Wildcats got their offense going, the Chargers had other plans. Logan Benson of DC made a nice interception to put the game on ice for the Chargers. In his only throw of the night, Eli Gillman Eli Gillman 6'0" | 195 lbs | ATH Dassel-Cokato | 2022 State MN found TE Mason Ailie for a significant 50+ yard gain and then punched the Chargers in for another touchdown for a 28-12 score. NLS’s Jack Novak would then strike again for his second touchdown of the day, making it 28-18, as the 2 point conversation was yet stuffed again by Dassel-Cokato. If you thought the Chargers would say we got this one in the bag, that wouldn’t be the case as Glliman scampered for 63 yards to put the dagger in the Wildcats and close the deal for Dassel-Cokato.
Final Score:
Dassel-Cokato 34
New London-Spicer 18
Nate’s Big Dogs of the Game are next up from the rivalry between New-London-Spicer and Dassel-Cokato!