Midgets roll: Rough homecoming for Blue Jays
On Dickinson’s second play from scrimmage, junior Michael Cherwinski busted a 57-yard touchdown run to put the Midgets on the board.By: Chris Aarhus, The Jamestown Sun, The Jamestown Sun
- Anthony Cook
- C.J. Soulis
On Dickinson’s second play from scrimmage, junior Michael Cherwinski busted a 57-yard touchdown run to put the Midgets on the board.
That set the tone for a big first half, as Dickinson raced out to a 38-point halftime lead en route to a 49-6 win over Jamestown in West Region football action Friday night at Ernie Gates Field.
“Right after that first touchdown, (we were) completely tentative all night,” Jamestown coach Tim Fletcher said. “We played on our heels instead of playing on the balls of our feet.
“We basically ran our whole (defensive) package at them.”
The Midgets scored on all six of their first-half possessions. All three of Cherwinski’s scores came on a counter that looked unstoppable.
“Other people were nervous because (Jamestown) beat Mandan,” Cherwinski said. “We came out and did what we had to do. … If we (use our) ability, we can be pretty good.”
Cherwinski, who has started since his freshman year, had 193 yards on nine carries in the first half adding TD runs of 9 and 61. He played sparingly in the second half, posting just one carry for no gain.
“Michael is so good at reading his linemen and making the cut at the right time,” said Dickinson coach Dennis Morris, who had 11 players each receive at least one carry. “We’re fortunate to have a stable full of ball runners. We’ve got seven different guys we can run the ball with and keep people fresh.”
Though Cherwinski did most of the damage, the holes that were opened for him were the theme most of the night. Jamestown’s defense gave up a total of 515 yards, including 444 on the ground.
“We were just getting out-physicaled,” Fletcher said. “One thing I know is we’re a better team than the team that showed up tonight. We played tentative all night. I haven’t seen that for three weeks, and I saw it tonight.”
Dickinson quarterback Dylan Skabo scored on TD runs of 1 and 78 yards in the second quarter, pushing the Midgets’ lead to 35-0.
Jamestown finally got on the board late in the first half, when C.J. Soulis bounced back from a dropped pass with a 57-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Matt Grounds 2 minutes, 57 seconds before halftime.
But the Midgets even answered that with a 22-yard TD pass from Skabo to Taren Staudinger with 14 seconds to go.
The Blue Jays weren’t without big plays, however, as Taylor Orr returned the ensuing kickoff down to Dickinson’s 12-yard line with five-tenths of a second remaining in the first half. A Grounds scramble fell 3 yards short of the end zone.
Grounds finished 7-of-15 for 148 yards passing. Senior Anthony Cook was held in check from his running back position, gaining 23 yards on 13 carries. Jamestown was held to 178 yards with only 30 coming on the ground.
Dickinson improved to 1-1 in the region and 2-2 overall. The Blue Jays (1-1 West Region, 1-3 overall) host Bismarck Century on Friday.
Dickinson 49, Jamestown 6
Dickinson 14 42 49 49
Jamestown 0 6 6 6
First quarter
D — Michael Cherwinski 57 run (Anthony Kostelecky kick), 7:48.
D — Cherwinski 9 run (Kostelecky kick), 0:40.
Second quarter
D — Dylan Skabo 1 run (Kostelecky kick), 8:40.
D —Cherwinski 61 run (Kostelecky kick), 8:08.
D — Skabo 78 run (Kostelecky kick), 4:13.
J — C.J. Soulis 54 pass from Matt Grounds (kick failed), 2:57.
D — Taren Staudinger 22 pass from Skabo (Kostelecky kick), 14.5.
Third quarter
D — Jace Dukart 42 run (Kostelecky kick), 3:20
Fourth quarter
No scoring.
Team stats JHS DHS
Rushing 30 444
Passing 148 71
Total yards 178 515
Individual stats
Rushing — D, Cherwinski 10-193, Skabo 3-98, Jace Dukart 3-51, Jacob Shypkowski 9-41, Alec Stieg 4-28, Preston Theurer 5-14, William Schwindt 2-13, Ben Twist 1-7, Caden Kuntz 2-4, Tanner Myran 1-(-2), Mac Rohr 1-(-3). J, Anthony Cook 13-23, Eathan Gumke 3-6, Grounds 5-1.
Passing — D, Dylan Skabo 4-8-0 71, Charles Splichal 1-(-2). J, Gronds 7-15-1 148.
Receiving — D, Jordan Krieg 2-31, Taren Staudinger 1-22, Levi Jordheim 1-18. J, C.J. Soulis 3-65, C.J. Soulis 3-55, Marc Wagner 1-28.
Turnovers — DHS 0, JHS 2 (fumble, interception).
Sun sports writer Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at caarhus@jamestownsun.com
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