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Mineral Point's football team went out of town last weekend and got their desired results.
They beat a tough Riverdale team 40-14 for a key SWAL win and they accomplished it completely on the turf.
The Pointers unleashed a brutal running attack that chalked up 342 yards and 34 first half points. They also got four rushing touchdowns courtesy of senior running back John Schmitz.
The Pointers tacked on six more points with a touchdown in the final frame.
"We focused on being more physical and moving off the ball all week in practice," said coach Andy Palzkill.
He was very impressed with how Schmitz found a way to have a breakout game.
"John Schmitz was a young man that we needed to get more involved and he certainly responded with an outstanding effort," Palzkill said. "And, overall, our offensive line play was much improved."
That helped Schmitz find his niche.
"He trusted his reads and played much more confidently," Palzkill said. "If he continues to attack the line of scrimmage and hit his holes like that he will have more big weeks ahead."
The Pointers kept Riverdale out of the end zone until the second half and only surrendered 98 yards on the ground along with 56 through the air.
"We were much more aggressive defensively this week and put in an automatic blitz based on certain motion in their backfield," said Palzkill. "That blitz package helped us attack more than we have all year."
Palzkill said Nolan Barrette had a huge night with 16 tackles at linebacker and Tarek Oellerich had a good night in the defensive backfield.
"Our defensive line played very well as a group," Palzkill said.
Palzkill said there were some key factors to the fast start by the Pointers.
"We dominated the line of scrimmage and had our best offensive line push of the year," Palzkill said. "Again, our focus this week on our base running game and offensive rules really allowed us to play on their side of the ball. It was very nice to grab the early lead and that certainly led to us playing more confidently as we moved through the first half."
The Pointers have been making strides learning the system being installed by the first year coach.
"We are sharpening up our technique and understanding our rules better on offense," Palzkill said. "The simple mistakes are happening less frequently. On defense, we are starting to trust our keys - reading those keys is helping to put us positions to make plays. We are focusing on our fundamental technique and our goal is to get better each week in practice."
Palzkill said things came together pretty for the Pointers.
"John Schmitz played an outstanding game and he is certainly capable of having more nights like he did against Riverdale," Palzkill said. "We are also showing that we will take advantage of what the defense gives us. From week to week our best plays are determined by what the defense is giving us and then making them adjust to our offensive schemes."
The Pointers face Iowa-Grant this Friday in a home game a week after the Panthers knocked off conference favorite Darlington.
"We play IG this Friday night at home," Palzkill said. "They are a very physical running team with a multiple back attack and great offensive line play. We will need to match their physical play on both sides of the ball in order to earn a victory. Coach Allen has the Panthers well coached and playing at a high level."