Badgers fall to St. Maries 21-0

The Badgers football team struggled offensively Friday against visiting St. Maries High School, falling to the Lumberjacks 21-0.

But don’t be fooled: The game was closer than the score would indicate.

“Our offense was stagnate to say the least,” said Badgers Head Coach Cory Kramer. “St. Maries’ blitzes and stunts were really messing with our offensive line, and it showed. We really couldn’t get anything going.”

Defense, however, was another story. The Badgers (2-3) were able to pressure the Lumberjacks’ quarterback from the start, registering five sacks in the first half alone. Going into the locker room at the half, the defense had kept the Badgers in the game, tied at 0-0.

“The defense really played awesome,” Kramer said. “I really thought we gave them two of their touchdowns. That’s a team that’s been averaging 55 points a game. We really didn’t change much defensively from what we did last week against La Grande. Our linebackers did really well, and we matched up better size-wise against these guys. I was really proud of the guys on defense.”

Inside linebacker Matt Varelman seemed to be around the football the whole game, and Kramer was pleased with the effort.

“Matt was a stud in that game,” he said. “He was all over the place. But then we had a couple of injuries, our safety Isaac Lavala went out, so we had to put quarterback Kaleb Stockton in, and he really stepped it up as well. Couple of big knockdowns, an interception and a couple of big hits that saved touchdowns. 

“The whole team played well, but those two really stood out.”

Injuries suffered in the La Grande game came back to haunt the Badgers’ offense however, especially on the offensive line.

“From the La Grande game we were missing a couple of our offensive lineman,” Kramer said. “Not that the kids that filled in did a bad job, it’s just our communication wasn’t quite there, especially with picking up the blitz, and it showed. We also didn’t have our starting tailback Nick Sabin, who’s up there with the league leaders in rushing. He played some in the second half, but by that time it was a little too late.”

Thankfully, the injuries in Friday’s game were relatively minor, and Kramer said he expects to have all the players back when the Badgers open League play this Friday.

“We should get everyone back this week, so we feel confident about that,” he said. 

“In practice this week we’ll work on our passing game, not going for the touchdown every time and take what the defense is giving us. We had guys underneath who were wide open, but we were going for the big score. We really need to foucus on getting those underneath receivers the ball. We also need to get our running game back to where it was earlier in the season.”

Kellogg comes to town next for Homecoming on Friday, and Kramer said even though the Wildcats are having a down year, the Badgers won’t take them lightly.

“They beat us bad last year, so we know what they’re capable of,” Kramer said. “We came out and were putting a thumping on them, and then anything that could go wrong went wrong. We just ran out of gas. If we can get our offense back on track we should handle them pretty well. Plus it’s Homecoming, so there’s an extra incentive to win.”

Friday’s kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.