Northern Cass vs Thompson

Recap

The Thompson Tommies welcomed the Northern Cass Jaguars to Thompson Friday night for a crucial matchup in ND Class A Region 1 Football. The ending was certainly worthy of Thompson’s 50th homecoming celebration, especially for the hosts, as the Tommies secured a walk-off 20-14 overtime victory.

Northern Cass took the early momentum right from the opening kickoff as, despite dropping the ball initially, Jaguar senior, Matthew Metzger, toted the ball 95 yards to the end zone for an immediate 6-0 advantage. It would remain that way until near the end of the first half, when the Jaguars once again found the end zone. Sophomore quarterback, Hudson Rietschel, connected with senior, Keelan Monson, for a 26-yard touchdown. Reitchel found senior, Julian Leichtenberg, in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion to give the Jaguars the 14-0 halftime lead.

The momentum would shift sharply in the second half as the third quarter belonged to the Tommies. After recovering a Jaguar onside kick, Thompson needed just three plays to find the end zone. Senior running back, Josh Juve, scampered 41 yards for his seventh touchdown of the season. Classmate, Thomas Schumacher, knocked in an extra point to cut the lead in half. After a Jaguar punt, the Tommies were in business once again capping off a nine-play, 64-yard drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak from senior, Gavin Krogstad. A Schumacher extra point evened the score at 14. The Jaguars had more wind taken out of their sails when their star senior running back, Matthew Hoppe, was ejected in the third quarter following his second personal foul. Neither team could get any offense going in the fourth quarter, sending the game to overtime.

In the overtime session, the Jaguars got the ball first but gained just one yard on their four allotted downs. In contrast, the Tommies needed just one play for Juve to angle into the end zone for the overtime winning touchdown.

Juve led the Tommie offense with 145 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Monson led the Jaguar offense with 63 yards receiving. The Tommies move to a tie for 4th place in the Region 1 standings, currently on the outside looking in as Oakes has the head-to-head tiebreaker. Northern Cass drops to 1-3 in region play, tied for 6th with Lisbon. The Tommies are at Central Cass next Friday while Northern Cass hosts Kindred.