Wahpeton finishes on top of Braves

Posted By: Andrew Zimmel
October 21, 2023 @ 9:21 am
Local Sports

The Wahpeton Huskies finished the 2023 season with a 38-0 win on the road against Turtle Mountain with the clock running for the majority of the game.

Wahpeton made the four plus hour trip with the knowledge that they were out of the playoff picture this season, after making the playoffs the past two seasons in the ultra completive AA division. With a team full of juniors and sophomores, Friday night was more of a send off for the four seniors on the team.

Wahpeton started with the ball, driving 55 yards on a short kick to set Treyton Mauch up for a 1 yard plunge to make it 7-0. The Huskies were able to force a three and out on the first Braves possession and drove down the field scoring again. This time from 11 yards out and still on the back of Treyton Mauch to take a 14-0 advantage.

The Wahpeton defense which all year had done well against the pass stepped up again in a big way. With Turtle Mountain Quarterback Kruze Lafoutain dropping back to pass and senior Nick Langenwalter jumping in front of it and taking it back to the house for a 21-0 advantage with 2:32 left in the first quarter.

Offensively, the Turtle Mountain Braves collected only a handful of first downs, being forced to punt on all but one possession. After a three and out, a low snap that was fumbled by the Braves gave Wahpeton the ball inside the Turtle Mountain 15 yard line. Junior Quarterback Bjorn Kubela connected with Mauch for his first recieving touchdown of the game to make it 28-0 early in the second quarter.

Wahpeton would score once more in the first half, brining in sophomore rusher Michael Petersen in and moving Mauch into the slot receiver position. Petersen would run well for Wahpeton setting up an 2 yard touchdown to give the Huskies 35-0 lead with 4:13 left in the first half. Wahpeton would go into the locker room with that lead.

From that point, the clock ran the rest of the game, making sure the second half only had five possessions between the two teams. In the fourth quarter, Wahpeton would connect on a 37 yard field goal to make the final 38-0. The Huskies finish the season with a 3-6 record.