Bremen runs past Glenn in second half
WALKERTON — Homecoming, TV coverage, and first place in the Northern Indiana Conference South Division were all in play Friday night as Bremen visited Glenn in high school football action.
Led by the running of Blake Dingus it was the Lions coming out of top with the 28-8 NIC victory at Falcon Field.
“We were going to see what they were going to do and if we needed it, we needed it,” said Bremen head coach Jordan Leeper of the reliance on his senior running back. “Glenn played some tough-nosed defense.”
Dingus’ final numbers were 227 yards rushing on 32 carries with two touchdowns to lead the Lion offense.
The first half was a punt-fest (the teams combined for seven boots covering 278 yards total) and ended with a baseball score, 7-2, in Bremen’s (4-2, 2-1 NIC South) favor. The lone touchdown came on a nifty fourth-and-10 pass play from Ethan Nunemaker to Hunter Bennitt that covered 34 yards. Glenn’s ( 3- 3, 2- 1 NIC South) points came when Melachi Wright sacked Nunemaker in the end zone.
“We want to get the ball into Bennitt’s hands any way we can and the quarterback delivered a good ball and he did the rest,” Leeper said of the first Bremen TD.
At intermission, Dingus had a modest 33 yards on 10 carries, but Leeper put the ball in his hands out of the Wildcat formation most of the second half, bypassing the quarterback handoff and making a direct snap to the 6-4 senior. In the Lions’ first series of the second-half, Dingus carried the ball four straight times and covered 61 yards, the last 30 putting him in the end zone and giving Bremen a 13-2 lead.
Glenn starting QB, Nathan Creed, went out with an injury towards the end of the first quarter and never returned. His replacement, sophomore Aden Johnson, did admirable under the circumstances. He made a great play-fake on the Falcons’ first series in the third quarter and rambled in from a yard out to cut the lead to 13-8.
Bremen kept pounding the ball with Dingus though, and to give the power back a breather once in a while, Grant Kauffman would get a carry or two. One of those ended up as a 31-yard run to paydirt early in the fourth quarter and the Lions’ lead jumped to 21-8.
“Just a quick play,” assessed Leeper. “Grant is good at sneaking his way through the line.”
An interception by Austin Mckenzie midway through the final period ended any possible comeback for the Falcons as Bremen went 68 yards on seven running plays right after the turnover, with Dingus plunging in from a yard out to end the night’s scoring.
Bremen finished with an even 300 yards on the ground. Kauffman had 69 on just nine carries.
Jaimie Gierlowski became the workhorse for Glenn with Creed out and the sophomore finished with 42 tough yards on 17 carries. He also had an interception.
“( Creed’s) injury was unfortunate,” Leeper added. “He’s a heck of
a competitor. I really like the kid. I had the privilege of teaching him when he was in fifth grade so I know him personally. I feel bad for him because he’s a heck of an athlete and I wish he could have played the whole game.”
The win puts Bremen in a four-way tie atop the NIC South with Glenn, Jimtown and South Bend Riley, all at 2-1 in conference play.
• BREMEN 28, GLENN 8
At Walkerton
Score by quarters
Bremen 0 7 6 15 - 28
Glenn 026 0- 8
B - Hunter Bennitt 34 pass from Ethan Nunemaker (Angel Estrada kick)
G - Safety (Bremen tackled in end zone)
B - Blake Dingus 30 run (run failed) G - Aden Johnson 1 run (run failed) B - Grant Kauffman 31 run (Dingus run)
B - Dingus 1 run (Estrada kick) Bremen Glenn First downs 11 6 Yards rushing 300 106 Yards passing 71 31 Passing 4-8-1 4-12-1 Punts/ave. 2-48 8-38
Fumbles lost 1 1 Penalties 8-60 6-35