MCC FOOTBALL BEATS WABASSO ON THE ROAD

The MCC Rebels were on the road to Wabasso for week 2 of the high school football season. The Rebels and the Rabbits have met in some very important games over the last several years but on this night in Wabasso the Rebels were looking to play well and get their second win of the season while the Rabbits were looking to get some momentum after a tough first week in which they were shut out by the Canby Lancers and only had 17 players able to play. The Rebels came out ready to play on Friday and dominated the first half.

The MCC Rebels would score 44 first half points and would not allow a single first down in the opening half. The Rebels would score three touchdowns in each of the first two quarters. The first drive of the game for the Rebels would see Carter Benda running for twelve and thirteen yards on his first two carries. Abe Paulzine would throw a nice pass for 18 yards to Tanner Graphenteen. Benda would score on a three yard run just over two minutes into the game. Abe Paulzine would convert the two point conversion and the Rebels led 8-0 with 9:35 to play in the first. The Rebels would recover an onside kick on the following kickoff as the Rabbits blockers retreated to quickly off their spot ten yards off the ball and Ross Engelkes would recover the Mason Wendland kick. It wouldn’t take the Rebels long to score as Carter Benda and Tanner Graphenteen would take handoffs and run the ball inside the redzone. Abe Paulzine would throw his second touchdown pass of the season to Chistian Tentinger covering 13 yards. Graphenteen would convert the two point conversion with 5:27 remaining in the first quarter. The Rebels led 16-0 and the scoring wasn’t done. The Rebels would get the ball back and Paulzine would complete and 40 yard pass to Tanner Graphenteen taking the ball to the 6-yard line. Benda would score one play later and Mason Wendland would convert the extra point to make the score 23-0 after one quarter.

The second quarter didn’t see much change from the first as the Rebel defense didn’t allow the Rabbits to get a first down. MCC was able to clog up the running lanes and the secondary was able to make plays. The first big defensive play was turned in by cornerback Jackson Sturges who intercepted a pass and returned it into Rabbit territory, MCC would get a second touchdown pass from Abe Paulzine as the senior hit sophomore Hudson Schryvers with a 16 yard scoring strike. The Rebels Mason Wendland would make the extra point to put the Rebels ahead 30-0. The Rabbits would fail to score on their next possession and Carter Benda would score on a 30 yard touchdown run his final carry of the game. The extra point would turn into a two point conversion when the snap was high and Paulzine would throw a pass to Tentinger to put MCC ahead 38-0. MCC would score their final touchdown of the half and the game with 19 seconds left in the half when Abe Paulzine would take the snap and run up the middle for 5 yards and the touchdown. The extra point would be blocked after a low snap. Jaden Deacon would end the half with an interception on a tipped pass and the Rebels would go into the half leading 44-0.

The MCC JV would play the entire second half and though Adryen Tietz would score three second half touchdowns the Rebels were never in danger. Carter Benda led the Rebels on the ground with 14 carries and 135 yards and 3 touchdowns. Tanner Graphenteen had a strong night rushing for 64 yards and catching two passes for 54 yards. Abe Paulzine completed 5 of 7 passes for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns. MCC outgained the Rabbits 308 yards to 86 and won the turnover battle 3-0. MCC will face a much tougher challenge on Friday night when they host the TMB Panthers at 7:00 pm.