NRHEG football falls 14-0 to Randolph
By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
Two plays.
That was the major difference, according to coach Marc Kruger, as the NRHEG High School football team dropped its season opener 14-0 at Randolph Thursday, Aug. 31.
"It came down to two big plays for the Rockets in the end," said Kruger. "We played a good game, and had some great moments on defense."
But, aside from the passing of junior Alden Dobberstein, who threw for 130 yards, the Panthers' offense struggled, rushing for only 29 yards and producing just five first downs, one of which came on a pass interference penalty.
"We will need to do a better job on offense of getting the ball to our playmakers and making plays," said Kruger. "Alden did a great job in the passing game, and was able to move the ball well."
The only score of the first quarter came on a 76-yard run by Randolph's Cris Flores-Miranda, who also carried for the two-point conversion.
It was 8-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Flores-Miranda scored on a nine-yard run. The conversion run failed.
The Panthers ran 44 plays while totaling 159 yards. They had one penalty for five yards.
The Rockets totaled 261 yards, 217 of them rushing. Flores-Miranda finished with 158 rushing yards on 19 carries. Randolph drew four penalties for 36 yards.
Dobberstein, who started last year as a sophomore, completed 12 of 27 passes, with no interceptions.
The Panthers are home for their next game, hosting Norwood-Young America Saturday, Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. in New Richland.