Balanced Mustangs overwhelm Wildcats
Adam Halverson (77) of Blair-Taylor pressured Melrose-Mindoro’s Brady Blaken during the third quarter of B-T’s loss to the Mustangs on Friday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
The Blair-Taylor football team had no answer for Melrose-Mindoro’s rushing attack, and the Mustangs also had success through the air in their 38-0 win in Blair on Friday.
Mel-Min ran for 320 yards in the game as Isaiah Kleinsmith finished with 196 on 14 attempts. Quarterback Brady Blaken passed nine-for-12 for 147 yards and touchdown strikes to Brody Banse and Kleinsmith.
The Mustangs had a 19-0 lead at halftime, then added three more scores in the second half.
The Wildcats were struggling to keep players on the field. The program began the season with just 24 players and had several out with injuries before Friday night’s game. B-T lost a few more players during the game and, at one point in the third quarter, had just 15 available players.
Kleinsmith totaled 259 yards and three touchdowns from scrimmage. In addition to his success as a passer, Blaken ran for 73 yards and two touchdowns on 11 attempts.
B-T quarterback Matt Beck completed four of 15 passes for 48 yards and an interception. Ty Tranberg caught two passes for 25 yards to lead the team. Austin Clemens was the team’s leading rusher with 37 yards on seven attempts. Clemens also led the team defensively with eight tackles.
While B-T had trouble stopping Mel-Min, the team did manage three sacks in the game as Clemens, Brady Thompson and Adam Halverson all took Blaken down.
The Wildcats (1-6, 1-4) play at Whitehall this Friday. The Norse (4-3, 3-2) ended a two-game losing streak with a 50-24 win over Augusta on Friday (see story elsewhere in Sports).
B-T’s season will come to an end next week when the team hosts Augusta (2-5, 2-3).
