Bears make comeback after tough loss in Jr. high FB action

On Thursday, Sept 15, the Butler Bears junior high football team travelled to Holden for their first game of the season. The Bears lost a tough game by a final score of 6-35. Offensively, the Bears failed to sustain consistent drives, only finding the end zone late in the 4th quarter. Defensively, the Bears gave up big plays in early drives, putting the game well out of reach before the offense could develop a rhythm. Holden dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. In spite of a stout Holden defense, QB Kaleb Kauffman had several breakout runs for a total of 107 yards on the ground. Punter Zeph Smith launched 2 booming punts for 32 and 40 yards, respectively. Defensively, LB Trevor Fritts led the Bears with 6 tackles, 1 solo and 5 assisted.


On Monday, Sept 19, the Butler Bears junior high football team travelled to Sherwood for their second game of the season. The Bears won a hard-fought game by a final score of 6-0. The Bears offense managed to find more running room in the first half but could not manage to get into the endzone. The Bears defense played a much-improved game over last Thursday night, stopping Sherwood on a number of 4th downs and forcing them to punt from beyond midfield, giving the Bears much better field position in this game. In the 4th quarter, QB Kaleb Kauffman ran for a crucial 1st down on a 4th and long play to give the Bears a chance to score. Hayden Derry, on a second 4th down play in the same drive, found TE Zach Burch wide open on a pass for a 20 yd touchdown. The conversion attempt by Derry was unsuccessful.

The ensuing kickoff put the Marksmen in great field position. The Bears defense bent but didn’t break, finishing the game by stopping the Marksmen four times on the goal line. On third down, DL Dakota Hulse sacked the Marksmen quarterback for a short loss. On the final play of the game, LB Tanner Diehl and DB Dylan Morris wrapped up the ball carrier well short of the goal line, securing a Butler victory. QB Kaleb Kauffman led the Bears statistically on both sides of the ball. He carried for 34 yds on 8 carries. RB Hayden Derry completed a 20 yard touchdown pass, his only attempt of the night. Kauffman led the Bears in tackles, 3 solo tackles with 9 assists. DL Robert Anderson followed with 3 solo tackles and 6 assists. Zeph Smith launched a great punt in the first half for 45 yards, setting the Bears up nicely on defense.

-submitted