On Thursday September 18 the F-S Rebels traveled to Denver to do battle with the Cyclones. Coach Barrett has turned Denver into a quality program and we knew going in this would be a tough match up for us. The Cyclones traditionally play hard and are pretty physical so we were expecting the same. The game started off not so well for us. Our first possession we went three and out and the Cyclones proceeded to block our first punt. With a short field, they marched right into the end zone in three plays. It was like we were still on the bus. We did not know what had hit us and we made no attempt to fix it. Denver dominated much of the first half but we were able to keep them off the scoreboard. It was only 6-0 at the half but could have been much worse. We made our adjustments and stormed back with the tying touchdown early in the third quarter to knot the score at 6-6. Denver hit a couple of big plays and hit pay dirt early in the fourth to go up 14-6. We came roaring back and marched down the field only to give the ball up on downs after a failed fourth down attempt from the Cyclone 18 yard line. The final score was 14-6 in favor of Denver. We battled hard the second half and turned this into a game. We need to focus and execute and exert energy on every play. We will make this happen and this will be a good football team by year’s end. Gage Murty led the way with 45 yards rushing before an injury sidelined him. Walker Thede finished with 126 through the air and 1 TD. Owen Beach ran hard and came away with a career high 36 yards on 6 carries. Josh Saak added 3 yards rushing and 12 yards receiving. Alex Tscherter grabbed 2 catches for 36 yards and a score. Caden Kickbush hauled in 3 balls for 44 yards and Mason Skovgard chipped in with 3 catches for 34 yards to add to our offensive totals. Defensively Josh led us with 9 tackles followed by Walker, Mason, Kyle Koppen, and Dmitriy Strohbehn with 5 each. Josh Peterson 4, Caden, Spencer Goos,Will Blakesley, and Seth Gretillat 2, Gage, Matt Johannsen, John Edler, Joel Davis, and Cael Wyatt each had a stop for our defense. Walker also recovered a fumble. We will continue to work hard and get better. Our next F-S action will be later in October. We have had a couple of cancellations but we will keep you posted. These guys along with the rest of the sophomores will still be playing virtually every Monday night. Come on out and see the future of Rebel football.