“It started off with a good handoff,” Samuel Bandstra said. “My line, they stunted it down so they blocked them in and then Hunter (Vilez) got a nice block on the linebacker so it was pretty much me and the safety. I’ll take that any day.”

The touchdown not only helped seal the 34-13 win over BCLUW but illustrated the effectiveness of the Mustangs’ run game and sealed East Marshall’s first win in over a year.

“Just being able to run the ball after not being able for the last two or three year is a huge motivator,” East Marshall coach Matt Bandstra said. “I’m old school, but there is just something about being able to run the ball and stopping the run that just gets people wound up. When you can do against a defensive line that is quite a bit bigger than our offensive line it was a pretty big motivator.”

East Marshall averaged 5.6 yards per carry and totaled 222 rushing yards with Bandstra accounting for 106 yards and three touchdowns.

T-R PHOTO BY ANDREW ABADIE - BCLUW’s Sev Gonzales (22) comes up just short of the end zone as East Marshall’s Ethan Espenscheid (13) helps with the spot during Friday’s non-district football game in Conrad.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter with Samuel scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Logan Bowie took advantage of an East Marshall interception by Ethan Espenscheid and converted it into a 29-yard touchdown run.

The Comets and quarterback Jesse Moore answered back with a 1-yard touchdown run before halftime.

However, Samuel found the end zone two more times in the third quarter to give the Mustangs a 27-7 lead over BCLUW.

In the fourth quarter, BCLUW’s Joe Mason scored on a 3-yard touchdown run after a tipped pass help set up the touchdown. Despite the late score, Bowie put the game away with a 3-yard touchdown run with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

“We haven’t had a win like that in a long time,” Logan Bowie, who ran for 56 yards and two touchdowns, said. “We didn’t have a win last year so it feels really good to get one. Our [offensive] line blocked really well for me and [Samuel]. Samuel was going up the middle whenever he wanted to do so it was on our line tonight. I’ve played with him since middle school and he’s just a tank. He can do it all. He’s a good runner. Like coach says, we are turning a corner with the program it feels good to get one.”

T-R PHOTO BY ANDREW ABADIE

Garrett Kerber led the Mustang defense with 10 solo tackles and five assists, while Samuel had eight solo stops and five assists.

For the Comets, the loss was tougher to swallow after putting up 32 points in their game last week.

“That was just bad,” BCLUW coach Anthony Jahr said. “Last week we were so physical. We were so fast and aggressive. Yeah, we gave up a lot of points but we also scored a lot last week. That team just didn’t show up tonight. I don’t know if we thought that this wasn’t going to be a challenge and it was going to take much effort. East Marshall proved that they are not a team that you can show up with no effort and no energy and you are going to get run out of the building. We were lucky it was that close. Offensively, we were bad. Defensively we didn’t read our keys. That’s not our best. That’s not our guys right there.”

Next week, East Marshall (1-1) will return home to face Columbus Catholic while BCLUW (0-2) will go on the road to face Grundy Center at 7 p.m.

East Marshall 34, BCLUW 13

T-R PHOTO BY ANDREW ABADIE

At BCLUW

East Marshall 14 0 13 7 — 34

BCLUW 0 7 0 6 — 13

First Quarter

EM — Samuel Bandstra 1 run (Austin Elliot kick), 7:55.

T-R PHOTO BY ANDREW ABADIE

EM — Logan Bowie 29 run (Elliot kick), 3:19.

Second Quarter

BCLUW — Jesse Moore 1 run (Isaac Kopsa kick), 3:55.

Third Quarter

EM — Bandstra 6 run (kick failed), 8:25.

T-R PHOTO BY ANDREW ABADIE

EM — Bandstra 10 run (Elliot kick), 5:40.

Fourth Quarter

BCLUW — Joe Mason 6 run (kick failed), 11:49.

EM — Bowie 3 run (Elliot kick), 3:13.

TEAM STATISTICS

EM BCLUW

First downs 7 10

Rushes-yards 31-222 42-125

Passing-yards 0 68

Comp-Att-Int 0-5-0 6-10-1

Total offense 222 193

Fumbles lost 2-0 1-0

Penalties-yards 8-50 6-53

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — EM: Bandstra 17-106, BCLUW: Mason 24-74, EM: Bowie 13-56, BCLUW: Moore 8-20.

PASSING — BCLUW: Moore 6-10-68-1, EM: Bowie 0-5-0-0.

RECEIVING — BCLUW: Nick Feldpausch 1-32.

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