Hard to believe we are already through Week 4, so the fist half of our regular season is now complete, and an inexperienced group of players have gained valuable experience along the way.  We entered Friday's tilt at Anoka against a 3-0 team that had great momentum coming into this game.   Our kids prepared well and went after them early, stayed the course, and walked off their field at halftime with a 42-7 advantage in route to a 42-19 Victory.  

Defensively, we opened the game with three "three and outs" which gave the team great momentum and gave us the opportunity to jump to a 21 point lead in the first quarter.   Jacob Wrbanek had a strong game from his Mike lInebacker position as he led the team with 9 total tackles, whileJack Weigel and Beaux Thyen both added 6 tackles each.   Dylan Vokal and Cedric Buchholz each added Interceptions, and we were able to pick up a couple sacks along the way by Ayden Gunville and Ethan Berry.   This team keeps getting better, but I know they look forward to constantly improving because this is a side that has to keep creating short fields for us.   Their growth is paramount to this team, so I know this group can't wait for all the challenges that lie ahead.

Offensively, we were able to score touchdowns on all six of of our first half drives with three of the touchdowns coming from both the ground and the air.    Our offensive line of Michael Wagner, Carson Lund, Rylan Bahl, Mason Brean and Matthew Parusse did a great job leading us to another game of over 300 yards rushing.   Junior Charles Langama continued his breakout year with 198 yards rushing on 20 carries and 3 TD's.  He also added another TD reception making his season total for touchdowns at 13 over his first four games as a Varsity member.   Sophomore Kaden Harney continued his growth with 124 yards passing and 3 TDs, and Dylan Vokal displayed his well rounded game with close to 80 yards receiving, a touchdown, and 37 yards rushing.   Also, Junior Nathan Hromadka added his first Varsity touchdown and did a great job blocking at his Tight End position.  This group keeps improving week in and week out and is starting to create its identity.  Hopefully they will keep making the impact throughout the year because they are becoming a formidable group to stop. 

Our special teams is an area where we have to keep getting better because it's where differences can be made as the weeks go by.   Junior Henry Sievers kicked all six of his extra points, but our coverage and return teams keep learning the nuances of this side of the ball.    It's something we definitely have to focus on as coaches so we this group can keep making the impact it needs to make on a weekly basis. 

Next week we get to play in another Homecoming game.  This time against the Blaine Bengals who are riding high coming into this week after a blowout win last week.  They have a great deal of talent, and have some explosive players on offense that will be a challenge to stop.   Again we need our fans taking over the stadium for Blaine's homecoming and to keep making statements of what it means to be Crimson.  I know our kids are always proud to go into stadiums with such a great fanbase and turnout.  It means a ton!   We hopefully will come out and play a great game for a third consecutive week and make it a habit moving forward throughout the season.   Next week should be a blast, and we have to prepare at the best of our ability, so we head into Week 5 ready to shine.  Let's get after the Bengals and keep playing at a level that we expect!   Can't wait for next Friday!  GO CRIMSON!

Lombo