Already out of the playoff picture, Wahpeton knew their Saturday, Oct. 20 home game against winless Watford City, North Dakota, was their chance to send the seniors off on a high note. The Huskies capitalized on the opportunity and wrapped up their season with a 48-8 whooping of the Wolves.
“It was a game that we felt that if we came out and did what we could do we would be in control of the game and we did,” Wahpeton coach Brian Dokken said.
The hosts put 22 points on the board in the first quarter. The fireworks started with senior running back Jake Pfaff following a gang of blockers all the way to the end zone from 28 yards out. Munezero “Dez” Desire hit pay dirt on runs of seven and five yards, respectively, and a Watford City long snapper tossed the ball through the back of the end zone for a safety.
With all the big plays, the highlight of the high-scoring quarter was Ty Wixo making his season debut as the team’s long snapper. Wixo started on the offensive line for the Huskies last season, but a knee injury kept him on the sideline through the first eight games.
“It started off kind of as a joke about getting him in there to hold and then this week I looked at him and said, ‘OK Ty, we need you to dress so we can get you in the game.’ It was good to see,” Dokken said. “He’s the kind of guy that came to everything. He made it to all the film stuff. It’s hard to get guys who are playing to come to everything, but he was always putting in the effort.”
Wahpeton struggled to keep the mojo going for most of the second quarter, but ended the half with a pair of quick TDs by Isaac Wohlers. The first scoring rush saw the speedy quarterback slip through a gang of tacklers for a 17-yard score and after Pfaff recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Wohlers wrecked a defender’s ankles and for the TD from 10 yards out.
“There was a point where we had a letdown in the second quarter. They had that long punt that they had that just shifted the whole field and the momentum,” Dokken said. “I kind of got after the guys after that and said, ‘You only get three quarters left of football. Don’t start quitting here in just quarter No. 2.’ And they responded well. It was a great effort by everybody and it was everything you could ask for.”
Wohlers’ backup, Blake Schafer, tossed a long ball to Josh Darwin down the right sideline to give the senior receiver a 48-yard score in his final game. He also nabbed an interception in the win.
Another senior, Bryce Schmit, finished out the game at quarterback. Jordan Miller got behind the defense and the pass was right on the money for a 62-yard scoring catch and run.
“We all kind of looked around and were like, ‘Wow, he’s (Miller) that fast.’ That was great to see,” Dokken said. “We had Bryce in there and that was nice to see him. He knew that was going to be his last drive, because I told him, ‘This is it. Freshmen are coming in after this.’ He was pretty jacked to be able to end on a touchdown.”
The Wolves got a TD at the end, allowing the seniors to take a knee on their final play together.
“Those seniors were just begging to get in there at the end,” Dokken said. “Yeah, we wanted the goose egg, but if they score we can get them back out there to take a knee for one last play. It was good to see them get out there at the end.”
Wahpeton will lose 15 seniors to graduation. Multiple players, especially the linemen, have been starting or playing big chunks of varsity time since they were sophomores.
“It’s probably the biggest senior class I’ve had in the eight years I’ve been a head coach. We’ve had a couple of guys that didn’t play very much because of injuries or whatever. That’s pretty good for us. That’s a lot of kids,” Dokken said. “These freshmen can look up to the senior class and say, ‘OK, this is what we’ve got to do.’ This class faced so much adversity as the year went on.”
The Huskies end their season with a record of 2-7. If a pair of tight losses would’ve gone the other way, Wahpeton could’ve possibly squeezed into the playoffs. A few less injuries could’ve also been a difference maker for the banged-up team.
“We were close to making the playoffs. The Valley City game, the Devils Lake game and if we’re fully healthy in the Turtle Mountain game and now all of a sudden you’re talking about a playoff game,” Dokken said. ‘That’s the game of football. It’s a monster sometimes and it’s the team that can handle all that stuff. From a mental standpoint we did.”
Wahpeton Stats
Passing
Bryce Schmit- 2-3, 82 yds, TD
Blake Schafer- 2-3, 54 yds, TD
Isaac Wohlers- 0-3, INT
Rushing
Wohlers- 11 carries, 110 yds, 2 TDs
Jake Pfaff- 8 carries, 102 yds, TD
Munezero Desire- 7 carries, 45 yds, 2 TDs
Receiving
Jordan Miller- 1 catch, 62 yds, TD
Josh Darwin- 1 catch, 48 yds, TD
Nick Bronson- 1 catch, 20 yds
Defense
Ray Scharfenkamp- 4 solos, 2 assists, sack
Isaac Wohlers- 2 solos, 2 assists, INT
Pfaff- 2 solos, 2 assists, fumble recovery
Darwin- INT