Pirates and Bears at it again

The final score wasn't indicative of how close the game was.

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Readers may have heard that cliche before, but in the case of the Verndale Pirates and Bertha-Hewitt Bears Sept. 25 contest no truer words have been spoken.

The two teams will do battle again 12:30 p.m. Friday. This time it will be for more than rival bragging rights.

The Pirates snuck out of Bertha with a 32-8 victory, but scored 16 of its 32 points in the fourth quarter. The score was 8-8 at halftime and 16-8 after the third quarter.

Amos Schmidt

"Their second touchdown came on a play where Amos (Schmidt) broke four tackles on a straight fullback dive," said Bears head coach Rick Harig. "It was one of those plays that deflated us and gave them all the momentum and things just went downhill. It was actually one of the better games we've played all year.

"So we don't really need to change much. We just have to tackle better. We were outplaying them. One thing we do have to do different is score when we have the opportunities and not have our drives stall inside our 10-yard line."

The third-ranked and unbeaten Pirates outgained the Bears 432-185.

"After halftime we got our blocking assignments straightened out and we blocked a little better in the second half," Verndale head coach Mike Mahlen said about the Sept. 25 game.

The 10-0 Pirates have rushed for 3,857 yards in their 10 wins. Amos Schmidt has 1,717 yards and 27 touchdowns on 204 attempts, an 8.4 yards-per-carry average. Zack Meidinger has 666 yards and eight touchdowns on 74 carries (9.0). Quarterback Colby Schmidt has rushed for 353 yards and six scores on 70 carries.

Colby Schmidt has thrown for 248 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-38 passing.

No. 1 Verndale (10-0) vs. No. 2 Bertha-Hewitt (9-1)

What: Section 4 Nine-Man final

When: 12:30 p.m., Friday

Where: Fargodome, Fargo, N.D.

At stake: Nine-man state football tournament

"They haven't thrown the ball that much, but then the last time we played Verndale at the Fargodome they threw the ball on us 25 times, which was five more times than they threw the whole rest of the year," said Harig. "Mike still brings that up to me.

"We haven't had to throw the ball much. It hasn't been an aspect that's been really big for us. We'll try some throwing, but we're more of an option team."

That option game has produced 2,319 rushing yards and 401 passing yards. Jake Braaten leads the Bears with 986 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 194 carries (5.1). Quarterback Jared Hoemberg has rushed for 596 yards and 10 touchdowns and thrown for 381 yards and three touchdowns. Matthew Frethem is next with 375 yards and four scores on 71 attempts.

"Our defense is playing better each week," said Mahlen. "Earlier in the year I thought we would do a better job, but lately we have.

"The two things we need to do better if we're going to go anywhere is play defense and throw the ball."

Verndale, playing in its fourth straight section final, has outscored opponents 43.2-12.8. Kyle Booth has 5.5 sacks and 43 tackles. Dan Kneisl has six sacks and 41 tackles. Clay Cottrell has 4.5 sacks and 35 tackles. Amos Schmidt leads the team with 52 tackles. Colby Schmidt leads the team with five interceptions.

The Bears have won six straight and are outscoring opponents 29.1-11.2.

Braaten leads B-H with 121 tackles, including seven for loss. He has three forced fumbles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries. Ryan Roller leads the team with four sacks and eight tackles for loss to go with 58 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Hoemberg leads the team with five interceptions.

"We are very beat up," said Harig. "We're missing three starters on both sides of the ball. That will be a factor.

"We'll be nervous. These seniors were in eighth grade the last time we played at the Fargodome in 2005. At the same time, we've got nothing to lose. They're seeded No. 1 and they've already beaten us once. We feel like we belong, but we're not putting any pressure on our kids. We're just going to go and play our game."

JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5856.