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If anyone thought the defending SWAL champion Mineral Point football team is in rebuilding mode, think again.
All the Pointers did was roll to a 46-2 non-conference win over Viroqua Friday to kick off year two in their new stadium.
The PA announcer repeated Will Straka's name five times when it came to putting the ball into the end zone. The junior running back scored on all but one of his carries, gained 151 total yards, and got a three score first quarter off and running with a 46 yard TD jaunt.
Before the night was over Straka added touchdowns on runs of 41, 55, 12 and on a 13 yard pass from Isaac Lindsey.
Sophomore Dominik McVay was also a force for the Pointers with a pair of touchdowns. He put six on the board in the first quarter on an 87 yard pass play from Lindsey then ran 81 yards with a kick-off return in the third quarter. He also carried twice for 25 yards.
Lindsey was six for eight for 201 yards. He hit Grady Gorgen twice for 54 yards and distributed the ball once to McVay for 87, Blaise Watters for 32, Grant Bossert for 15 and Straka for 13.
Mineral Point coach Andy Palzkill was impressed with how the Pointers played in their opener, especially Lindsey and Straka.
"Isaac and Will both played at a very high level," Palzkill said. "A big reason is that they are both very confident in our offense and they both prepare at a high level each week. They know what to expect from the defense we are working against and then can make adjustments to take advantage of our opponents weaknesses."
While it was a high scoring affair the Pointers still have some work to do.
"Although we were able to identify many things to improve upon, our week one game was very clean," Palzkill said. "We were happy with our balance on offense and we were pleased to be able to establish a running game against Viroqua. Offensively, Will Straka, Isaac Lindsey, and Dominik McVay stood out when they had the ball in their hands. I also felt like Gabe Sporle, Larry Steffes, Justin Baehler, Wes Berget, and Blake Wendhausen played well as an offensive line unit."
The Pointers also did a good job keeping the Blackhawks out of the end zone.
"The defense played extremely well," Palzkill said. "We were very good with our fundamentals and we expect to see improvement from our athletes in terms of trusting their instincts and anticipating what the offense is going to do based on their keys. Grant Bossert and Mason Hughes stood out to me as well as Nolan Springer and Bo Hanson. Mitchell Aurit also did a great job at nose using his quickness and toughness to cause Viroqua problems."
Palzkill said the focus this week has been on fine tuning some things that will make the Pointers better.
"We will continue to work on playing faster, being more physical, and improving our position fundamentals." he said. "This group of young men are at a high level early in the season, but we will need to continue to raise that level each day, each practice, and each game. I am confident that our young men will do this and continue to clean things up as we progress through the season."
Friday the Pointers head seven miles north for their annual non-conference match-up with Dodgeville and they are looking forward to it.
"We expect Dodgeville to establish their running game," predicts Palzkill. "On film, they have added a formation or two that we will have to work on this week in practice. This is a great traditional rivalry that both teams look forward to each year and both teams will bring their best effort this Friday night."