Vikings cage the Wildcats in 56-10 victory

What a difference a year makes. Last year the Janesville Wildcats were giving number one Northeast Hamilton a run for their money in the State playoffs; this year the Ventura Vikings trounced Janesville, 56-10, in district action on Friday night.
Fifth ranked Ventura is turning some heads this year as their season remains perfect at 6-0. What is the difference from a team that was 3-6 last year to this year’s talented squad? According to Coach Mike Horstman, it comes down to defense.
“Our defense only allowed 100 total yards Friday night. Our stats show that this was a quality team effort by 10-12 guys who played very physical, defensive football. That is quite possibly the difference from last season,” said Horstman.
Of course, Ventura’s offense is also strong with a good mix of passing and rushing. Josh Henely had another great night rushing for 161 yards on 20 carries. Cody Kadolph was 7/12 passing for 101 yards, mostly to Tyler Betz, who made five catches for 80 yards and one touchdown.
Ventura jumped to an early 14-2 first quarter lead, but did most of their scoring in the second quarter, with 22 points. The Vikings picked up two more touchdowns in the third quarter and one in the fourth for their final 56 points. Ventura gave up two points in the first quarter as a result of committing an offensive penalty in their own endzone. The Wildcats also had a touchdown and two point conversion at the end of the third quarter for their 10 points.
Scoring for Ventura was Tyler Peterson, with three touchdowns and one two-point conversion for 20 points. Henely had two touchdowns for 12 points. Kadolph also picked up 12 points on one touchdown and three, two-point conversions. Brian Mostrom and Betz each scored one touchdown.
Kadolph picked up 60 yards rushing on 10 attempts. Peterson had 89 yards rushing on seven carries. Also carrying the ball for Ventura was Mostrom, who gained 42 yards on eight carries, and Cole Hanley who had 40 yards on four attempts.
“Defensively we had our usual intense and aggressive play from our defensive line of Scott Watson, Dustin Dyre and Tyler Betz,” said Coach Horstman. “Between them they had 11 quarterback sacks and forced Janesville to rush more than they wanted to.”
Betz led the defense with four solo tackles, 10 assisted tackles and seven sacks. Watson had four solo tackles, seven assisted tackles and three sacks. Henely had two solo tackles, 13 assisted and one sack.
Jeremiah Hagen had three solo tackles, seven assisted tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery. Mostrom had three solo tackles and nine assisted tackles. Kadolph had one interception, two solo tackles and eight assisted tackles. Peterson had one solo and 10 assisted tackles, while Dyre had six assisted tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery.
Freshman Damien Beard saw some varsity action as he picked up three solo tackles, four assisted tackles and one sack. Also aiding the defense for the night was Alex Avery, Ethan Stokke-Cobb, Brandon Harthan, Cody Christy, Jake Amundson and Shane Hanley.
With a half-time score of 36-2, many of the younger players saw action in the second half.
“I was extremely impressed with our younger players. They took on the challenge of keeping Janesville’s offense out of the end zone,” said Coach Horstman. “Damian Beard, Alex Avery and Ethan Stokke-Cobb sustained some pretty good drives on offense.”
The coach also praised Mostrom, saying he ran the ball very effectively behind the second team line of Dyre, Avery and Amundson.
“I like the fact that I have some depth at certain positions and can rely on the younger players to play a role in key positions on Friday night,” said Horstman.
The Vikings host Rockwell-Swaledale on Friday, Oct. 12, for Ventura’s Homecoming game at 7 p.m.
“We look forward to the challenge of playing Coach Burt’s spinner offense, which is very unique to eight-man and tough to defend,” said Horstman.