Football looks to continue success after 1st victory

Jacob Meseke | @jacob_meseke

Charger football is off to a 1-1 start behind several standout performances. The team hopes to build on its success as it heads to Troy Friday night.

The team got its first victory Friday night, winning 20-14 over Uniontown. Junior Quarterback Cade Oliver threw for 119 yards and ran for eight yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Derek Wallin and junior running back Aiden Boeckman both scored rushing touchdowns. Senior Tyler Lohmeyer led the team in receiving yards with 50 yards and junior Brayden Meseke had an interception. 

“We need to be more consistent in every game, in all four quarters, on offense, defense, and special teams,” said head football coach Jess Rutledge. “Against Uniontown our defense did really well… for most of the game.”

The team opened its season September 4 with a tough 37-30 loss to Mission Valley. Despite the disappointment in dropping its season opener, the game featured several standout performances from the Chargers.

Junior Quarterback Cade Oliver and senior Wide Receivers Tyler Lohmeyer and Dawson Schultz broke school records against Mission Valley. Oliver broke the school record of most passing yards in a game with 349 yards. After the first game Oliver was second in the state in passing yards. “It feels pretty good, it would feel a lot better if we won though. Our offense played really good that game,” said Oliver. “I wasn’t really thinking about the record during the game. I was more worried about trying to get the win.”

Lohmeyer had 197 receiving yards breaking the school record in his first high school game. Lohmeyer led the state in receiving yards after week one and has now dropped down to number three. “It feels good, it helps when you have a great quarterback”, said Lohmeyer. 

Dawson Schultz broke the school record for receiving touchdowns in a half with three touchdowns. “Well I didn’t know I broke it in the first place, but now that I know, it feels pretty good,” Schultz said. “I was out there just playing, I was more worried that we lost than any records.”

The Chargers head to Troy on Friday night. Troy is 0-2 on the season. “They’re going to be a good team, they always have a good team. We need to have all three phases of our game clicking for four quarters. I think we’re a better team. I think we can win. It’s going to be a really tough game,” said Rutledge.