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Comets take on fresh Bulldogs
Published 10:52am Thursday, September 27, 2012After a tough week, both the Hillcrest Lutheran Academy Comets and the Fergus Falls Otters are looking to rebound.
The Comets are coming off a tough loss to Verndale that saw them battle back from with two scores in the fourth quarter. The rally was cut short though as they fell 20-14.
This week Head Coach Charlie Brue and the Comets will welcome in the Carlton Bulldogs for their third consecutive home game.
The Bulldogs will play their second game of the season after defeating Red Lake 61-38 two weeks ago.
“We don’t know much about them,” Brue said. “I believe they are a team that was formerly with another group of schools and they are trying to start their program up again.”
Carlton’s schedule for this season is a hodge podge of games, including a game against a 2A 11 man opponent.
The plan of attack for the Comets is short and sweet, pound the ball on the ground and hit hard on defense.
After reaching the midway point in the season, Brue has seen the Comets passing game improve, but is still looking for the right blend of players on both sides of the ball.
Across town, the Otters come off a battle with No. 7 ranked (Class 5A) that saw Spuds running back Chase Morlock score five touchdowns in a 40-20 loss.
“We talked about the Moorhead game in our team meeting,” Otter coach Risbrudt said. “They were a very good football team in all areas. We were surprised by their speed, strength and of course their Adrian Peterson in the backfield who ran hard and refused to go down.”
This week will not get any easier for the Otters as they travel to take on another ranked 5A team in the undefeated Sartell-St. Stephen Sabres (4-0).
Head Coach Scott Hentges is in his first year with the Sabres after taking over for coach John Ross, who became the full-time athletic director. Hentges has had success with his spread offense in recent weeks and are very tough defensively.
The Otters will need to mix their play calling in order to establish the ground game against the Sabres as the Sartell crew likes to put eight men in the box to shutdown the run.
Risbrudt hopes the run game will open up pass for quarterback Brady Hansen.
Hansen might have to look for a different target as favorite wide receiver Bradie Wahlgren has been limited in practice this week after tweaking his shoulder in last Friday’s game.
The Comets’ game will begin at 6 p.m. Friday evening at home, while the Otters will be slated for the usual start time of 7 p.m. on the road.
