Bison defense has been extra stingy during team's 40-1 run

Thursday, September 15, 2005
John J. Mesh/McCook Daily Gazette McCook High School junior Josh Cherry (2), shown here kicking off against York last week, has made 7-of-8 extra points and booted a school-record-tying 49-yard field goal. Ten of his 13 kickoffs this season have not been returned. Cherry also averages 31.67 yards per punt. He starts at free safety for the Bison, plays wide receiver and is the backup quarterback.

McCook 'D' has 16

shutouts in 4 years

During a 40-1 run in the past three-plus seasons, the McCook High School football team has racked up some pretty impressive offensive numbers.

The Bison have featured several 1,000-yard rushers and scored a lot of points.

It would be pretty easy to overlook the Bison defense until one takes a looks at these mind-blowing statistics.

During McCook's run, which included back-to-back Class B state titles in 2002-03 and a state runnerup trophy in 2004 -- plus two games this year -- the Bison defense has posted 16 shutouts.

The figure includes four shutouts in 2002, three in 2003, seven last year and two already this season -- a 30-0 win over Scottsbluff Sept. 2 and last week's 45-0 victory over York.

Now get this -- the Bison defense has also limited opponents to 7 points or fewer in 14 other contests.

There's no guarantee that McCook will pitch another shutout Friday night at Ogallala, but that's the goal of the defense every week, said head coach Jeff Gross.

Kickoff at Ogallala is slated for 8 p.m. CT/7 p.m. MT. The host Indians were thumped 31-6 last week by perennial Class C-1 power Chase County-Imperial.

"Our kids take a lot of pride in putting that zero on the board," said Gross, who added that even when he puts his junior varsity players into lopsided contest, the varsity players encourage them to go for the shutout.

"They tell the younger kids 'don't let them score.' Someone will score against us. Everyone takes pride like the individual coaches. The kids take great pride in flying to the football. It's 11 kids taking responsibility for their assignments."

The McCook defense will be focused on trying to stop Ogallala quarter Eric Washa, who along with offensive lineman Cale Holscher are the only Indians with much experience.

Washa, a left-hander, is equally effective as a runner and a passer in Ogallala's balanced offensive attack, said Gross.

Ogallala also features Michael Cook at tailback. He played fullback last season.

While the McCook defense limited the York Dukes to 103 total yards last week, the Bison offense behind senior quarterback Tony Purvis rolled up 423 yards rushing and 67 passing against York.

Fullback Craig Fritz rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns. Tailback Ryan Bedore, who replaced the injured Brendan Liess, added 101. Purvis had 78 yards rushing and 67 passing and scored on a 35-yard TD run.

Sam Frazier came off the bench to add 49 yards and one TD.

Tight end Jon Swanhorst caught two passes for 48 yards.

Gross said Ogallala's defense could pose some problems for the Bison.

"They blitz 90 percent of the time," he said. "The challenge is to make sure you communicate and are on the same page. We want the kids to keep their eyes up on defense. We anticipate that they will blitz -- it's been good for us to work on that in practice.

"We will have 6-7 guys protecting the quarterback. We have to be good and sound running the option. It's 'Coaching 101' -- when you see blitzing you have to be patient. The strength for Ogallala is experience on the offensive and defensive lines. They are going to be very hungry after losing at home to Chase County."

Gross said McCook vs. Ogallala has turned into a big rivalry. The two teams have met four times in seven years in the playoffs, including the Class B state semifinals in 2003 and the quarterfinals last year -- both won by McCook.

McCOOK (2-0) AT OGALLALA

Game time: 8 p.m. CT

Radio: KICX 96.1-FM McCook

Pre-game show: 7 p.m. CT

Play-By-Play: Rich Barnett

Analyst: Mitch Lyster

STARTING LINEUPS

McCOOK OFFENSE

WR (9) Micah Kamla 5-10 170 sr.

TE (25) Brandon Kotschwar 6-3 205 sr.

TE (88) Jon Swanhorst 6-4 195 jr

T (64) Brock Hubert 6-3 210 jr.

G (61) Lucas Kotschwar 6-0 195 jr.

C (53) Eric Ramsay 6-0 230 sr.

G (50) Paul Farrell 6-1 205 sr.

T (76) Sam Sis 6-2 235 jr.

FB (34) Craig Fritz 6-0 175 jr.

TB (15) Ryan Bedore 5-11 170 sr.

QB (5) Tony Purvis 6-1 170 sr.

McCOOK DEFENSE

DE (50) Paul Farrell 6-1 205 sr.

DT (64) Brock Hubert 6-3 210 jr.

DT (68) JD Stone 6-1 195 so.

DE (25) Brandon Kotschwar 6-3 205 sr.

ILB (30) Mason Pohl 5-10 170 sr.

ILB (45) Sam Frazier 6-2 200 so.

OLB (7) Joel Arterburn 6-0 165 sr.

OLB (21) Garrett Rippen 6-0 170 sr.

CB (5) Tony Purvis 6-1 170 sr.

CB (15) Ryan Bedore 5-11 170 sr.

FS (2) Josh Cherry 6-1 170 jr.

Nickel (34) Craig Fritz 6-0 175 jr.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K/P (2) Josh Cherry 6-1 170 jr.

Holder (7) Joel Arterburn 6-0 165 sr.

Short snapper (30) Mason Pohl 5-10 170 sr.

Long snapper (64) Brock Hubert 6-3 210 jr.

KR (34) Craig Fritz 6-0 175 jr.

KR (5) Tony Purvis 6-1 170 sr.

OGALLALA OFFENSE

TE (40) Russ Thomas 6-1 175 so.

LT (75) Bo Leonard 5-10 230 sr.

LG (59) Craig Woken 5-11 235 jr.

C (68) Jason Murphy 5-10 180 sr.

RG (55) Cale Holscher 6-2 240 sr.

RT (51) John Olofson 6-0 180 sr.

X (5) Troy Jasnoch 6-0 160 jr.

Z (10) Grant Paumer 6-4 165 jr.

QB (3) Eric Washa 6-0 160 sr.

FB (2) Tom Knott 5-6 150 jr.

TB (1) Mike Cook 5-6 150 jr.

OGALLALA DEFENSE

DE (5) Troy Jasnoch 6-0 160 jr.

DT (59) Craig Woken 5-11 235 jr.

NG (63) Kelvin Robertson 5-10 230 jr.

DT (55) Cale Holscher 6-2 240 sr.

DE (7) Ben Washa 5-10 165 jr.

OLB (1) Mike Cook 5-6 150 jr.

MLB (2) Tom Knott 5-6 150 jr.

OLB (40) Russ Thomas 6-1 175 so.

CB (18) Rylee Streff 6-1 170 so.

CB (10) Grant Paumer 6-4 165 jr.

FS (3) Eric Washa 6-0 160 sr.

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