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No doubt the fact that two teams were able to take the field in a season where COVID-19 threatens an early end is the most important thing that happened on the Dodgeville high school field Friday.
To illustrate that point it was Senior Night, not only for the Dodgers but for the Pointers too. Both teams had their seniors introduced and saluted before the game.
For the Pointers it was hopes of a continuation of three straight seasons that ended in conference championships. Their main task was replacing a four year starter at quarterback, Isaac Lindsey and by installing senior Liam Stumpf into that spot appears to be a problem solved.
For the Dodgers it was hopes of having a new offense start the season with some excitement along with fighting through low numbers. There were only 20 players suited up for the Dodgers Friday.
But it was football and with fans masked and socially distanced the teams were able to experience the magic of "FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS."
The Pointers were heavily favored in this game but it was the Dodgers who got on the new scoreboard at the Dodgeville stadium first. The game was less than two minutes old when a bad snap for the Pointers got loose in the end zone and was pounced on by Noah Heins.
But the Pointers, with a stable of thoroughbreds, waited only 18 seconds before senior Will Straka found an opening in the middle of the line and outran all Dodgeville defenders for a 95 yard touchdown. Bo Hanson kicked the extra point for a 7-6 lead that the Pointers never relinquished and set the stage for a 47-12 win.
The score went to 13-6 at the 6:56 mark when Straka stepped off 34 yards.
Next it was Dom McVay's turn and he eclipsed 65 yards to the house. Hanson's kick made it 20-6.
The second quarter saw the Pointers add to the score when Stumpf threw a pass to McVay and Hanson again kicked the conversion for a 27-6 lead at 10:40.
Dodgeville had a drive going on their next possession that Hanson halted with an interception. Stumpf took advantage of the short field and tossed a 28 yarder to Joah Filardo that with Hanson's kick made it 34-6 at the 8:27 mark of quarter number two.
The two hooked up gain with 2:28 left in the first half which ended 41-6.
The Pointers got their last score at 9:47 of the third quarter on a McVay touchdown. That left the rest of the game up to the Pointer reserves to get some experience.
The Dodgers were able to put up another score when Lacardar Walker picked off a pass and raced to the endzone, making both touchdowns being scored by the defense.
Pointer coach Andy Palzkill had been preparing Stumpf for succeeding Lindsey the last three seasons and he was impressed with his move to quarterback from receiver.
"We have been fortunate to have a number of excellent quarterbacks over the years," Palzkill said. "Once again, we are very lucky to have a great athlete and a great person that has stepped into the quarterback position for Mineral Point Football. Liam brings great speed and a strong arm. He has a great understanding of our offense as he has been playing quarterback for four years.....although primarily in practice. He is a great fit for what we do offensively and we will showcase his talents appropriately this year."
"Liam played a very efficient and intelligent game last Friday night," Palzkill continued. "He has a number of weapons surrounding him and he knows that his job is to distribute the ball by making correct reads in the running game and making the easy throws in the passing game. Liam is a great quarterback and I was happy to see him find success in his first start at that position."
Palzkill knows his backfield is stacked with some very hard and fast runners.
"The Pointer Football fans continue to be spoiled in watching some amazing athletes carry the ball," he said. "Will and Dominik are going to be an outstanding combination throughout the season. They are both versatile backs that possess great speed and they are very physical runners. Their running styles are different and this will make opponents have to adjust how they want to defend them. It is a luxury to have the option to use both of these young men on offense."
"It is certainly no surprise to see Dominik and Will make big play after big play," added Palzkill. "They are such explosive athletes and we do our best to provide them each with as many touches as possible."
Palzkill was also satisfied with the first game efforts by a lot of players and with controlling the game he was able to see many perform.
"We look forward to the opportunity to play a lot of young men on Friday nights," he said. "I thought the younger athletes performed well when the opportunity arose. Leyten Bowers has really worked hard this off season and he showed that he is a quality football player. Expect to continue to see him make plays this year. I was also impressed with Brendan Lynch. He will earn more playing time on offense as he works through a nagging injury. Brendan is also a talent at the running back and slot positions. Bo Hanson continues to be an amazing leader for our team and also showcased his ability at linebacker and receiver. It will be fun to keep watching our athletes develop."
Filardo led the receiving corps for the Pointers and figures to be a threat this season according to Palzkill.
"Joah Filardo had a big night for us offensively. He is another young man who has improved tremendously from last season and is ready to be a big time contributor. He showed that on Friday as a weapon in the passing game and also in the running game with his ability to run the jet sweep."
The offensive line and the defense made it a complete effort for the Pointers, according to Palzkill.
"We had a great effort from our offensive line," Palzkill said. "There are some new faces out there, but they are ready to play good football for us. I thought Nolan Springer, Owen Ward, Chandler Workman, and Mitchell Aurit were excellent in their first starts on the offensive line. Mason Hughes and Gabe Sporle continue to impress us with their overall ability and knowledge of our blocking schemes. This group has been fun to watch come together since practice began on September 4 and they can become one of our best offensive lines as a unit."
And the defense....
"Our defense is very strong this year and probably the best defense we have been able to put on the field since I have been coaching here," Palzkill said. "Coach Leonard has this group very hungry and he does a great job of teaching the kids his scheme. It will be difficult to score on our defense this year and I think they will become the best defense we have seen in recent times."
Palzkill hopes that COVID stays away so the season can continue.
"We feel fortunate to be able to play football right now and are hopeful to continue with the season," Palzkill said. "Each day is a blessing and as coaches we are genuinely enjoying our time with this group of young men."
Dodgeville coach Josh Busch knew his young Dodger team would have their hands full against the Pointers.
"We knew that this was going to be a tough one to start with, but our kids really did a great job in competing," Busch said. "I thought we performed pretty well. Now people will see the score and disagree, but from a scheme standpoint, the kids did a nice job. They were disciplined in their assignments and we were in position to make plays. We did not make all of the plays we needed to, but they were in position most of the time so this is a great place to build off of."
Busch and his coaching staff have been working on a new offensive set for this year's team to use and he felt he saw some good strides.
"I think the new offense looked good," Busch said. "We had flashes of what it can look like when everything comes together. I thought that the offensive line did a great job in pass protection and if this offense is going to be successful we need time to throw and we had that. The kids have completely bought into the offense, and they are excited to see where we can take it."
With the score the Dodgers had to use the airways which did not give the running game much of a chance.
"We need to get more touches in our running game,"said Busch. Mineral Point has a pretty good d-line and we were chasing points which led to more passing so that limited our run game too. We are pretty young up front starting three sophomores and a junior so those guys will figure it out, it will just take time."
The Dodgers had some players who were in quarantine and were forced to miss the game. They are expected back this Friday.
"Getting those kids back will be a huge help," Busch said. "We were pretty limited in getting our linemen breaks so having those kids back will help with that as they all play in the line. It will also help with our reps in practice. We had not really practiced against a full defense because we were missing so many guys so being able to get good reps against a full defense will help everyone."
Busch also sees what has to be present for the Dodgers to be successful.
"First, we need to stay healthy," he said. "Our numbers are low, so we can't afford to lose anyone to injury. We, as coaches, have to keep these guys believing that we can compete despite those numbers. With that being said, we need to add more athletes to the roster I had a handful of guys contact me on Saturday morning saying they wanted to join us on Monday so hopefully we can add a few guys and keep improving."
One thing about the Dodgers last Friday that fans noticed was how hard they played all four quarters. That effort was not lost on Busch.
"I would add how proud I am of this group with the effort that they gave on Friday night,"Busch said. "We dressed 20 guys, battled with one of the best teams in the area and those kids never gave up. The scoreboard is what everyone will see, but what they do not see is the fight that our kids had. I am excited to watch the growth of this group over the next couple of weeks"
It won't be any easier for the Dodgers this Friday when they host another SWAL power.
"Our next opponent, Darlington, poses a different challenge with the type of offense they run," said Busch. 'We will see the spread option and will have to be very disciplined on the defensive fensive side of the ball. Offensively we will see a little more blitzing than we saw against Mineral Point so we will have to be ready to handle that."
And it won't be an easy task for the Pointers this week either.
"Lake Mills will be at MPHS this Friday night," said Palzkill. They are an outstanding team that had a level 3 playoff run a season ago. They have the best quarterback in our area and quite possibly the state. They will present a different challenge with a tremendous passing attack and we will have to work hard defensively to stop their offensive weapons. This a big game for our program and we are excited for Friday night."