Indians Drop Season Finale
In both football teams’ season finale, Culbertson broke loose for a 70-8 home victory over Poplar on Thursday, Oct. 12.
Culbertson Coach Brian Manning said it was a good team effort for the Cowboys. He told the squad after the game that he was extremely proud of how they played the last five games of the season.
The Cowboys struck on their first possession as the running of Carson Solem, Bridger Salvevold and Micah Eagleboy led them into Poplar territory. Salvevold, a junior quarterback, then made a great ball fake and raced 27 yards for a touchdown. Solem got in for the conversion and an 8-0 advantage.
Poplar responded with a nice drive on its own. After a good return by Kameron Reum, the Indians picked up a first down at the Culbertson 38 on a fourth-down run by quarterback William Youngman.
The Indians scored when Youngman hit Adrian Matuck on a 37-yard pass. Youngman ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-8 deadlock with 4:42 left in the first quarter.
Culbertson’s Dawson Bergum returned the ensuing kickoff to the Poplar 31 to put the Cowboys back in business. A throw from Salvevold to Mark Kirkaldie produced a first down at the nine. From there, Solem broke away from two tacklers for a touchdown. Salvevold passed to Kirkaldie for the conversion and a 16-8 lead.
Solid defensive plays by Nyreece Halvorson and Kirkaldie forced the Indians into a punting situation. A bad snap gave Culbertson the ball at the Poplar 15. The Cowboys hit paydirt on a 12yard dash by Solem. A pass from Salvevold to a leaping Brooks Solem increased the margin to 24-8 with 2:45 left in the opening quarter.
The Cowboys started another scoring drive late in the period highlighted with long runs by Bergum and C. Solem.
The second quarter opened with C. Solem using an outstanding block by Eagleboy to score on a 14-yard dash. The senior tailback also ran in the conversion for a 32-8 lead.
Poplar drove inside Culbertson territory as Youngman took a bad snap and was able to run 12 yards for a first down. A 17-yard burst by Gage Berg was good for another first down. On the next play, however, a fumble was recovered by Bergum and resulted in a 67-yard recovery run for a touchdown. Gavin Deen ran in the conversion for a 40-8 margin.
The passing combination of Youngman to Matuck put Poplar back into scoring position later in the half, but a fumble recovery by Salvevold ended the threat. The Cowboys drove inside the Poplar 25, but a fumble by Culbertson was recovered by Walker Burshia.
The final touchdown of the half was scored by C. Solem on a five-yard run with 1:36 remaining. Salvevold passed to Kirkaldie on the conversion for a 48-8 lead.
Poplar opened the third quarter on a strong note when Reum made an outstanding catch for a first down. The Indians’ drive ended when Halvorson made a solid tackle on a fake punt attempt.
C. Solem, who rushed for more than 100 yards in the first half, scored on a 10-yard run. Halvorson ran in the conversion for a 56-8 lead.
The Cowboys’ next touchdown came on a 25-yard dash by C. Solem with 9:30 remaining. Salvevold hit Deen on the conversion pass.
Culbertson’s final touchdown was scored by Halvorson on a 47-yard run.
A pass from Poplar’s William Youngman to Anthony Youngman put the Indians in Culbertson territory, but the Indians were unable to score.
