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09/22/2005: "TBirds vs Pioneers: Recap - Thunderbirds Still Undefeated"

TBirds vs Pioneers: Recap
Thunderbirds Still Undefeated
2005-08-08
 The Central Minnesota Thunderbirds kept their unbeaten record in tact Sunday afternoon when they rolled over the Midwest Pioneers 37-6 at St. John's University.
 The Thunderbirds held the Pioneers scoreless through almost the entire game, with the only Pioneers score of the night coming late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Chris Esterley's pass was intercepted and returned for a 62-yard touchdown.
 Prior to the Pioneer's touchdown, the Thunderbirds racked up 37 unanswered points. Mike Jacobs started things off with a second-quarter field goal of 39 yards. The team took that 3-0 lead into the halftime break, and came out firing in the third quarter.
 In the third, Esterley connected with Andy Bogenholm for not one but two touchdown passes of 25 and 8 yards. He then hit Chris Brustuen for a 37-yard touchdown reception to give the Thunderbirds a 25-0 lead after three quarters of play.
 "The passes to me were right on the money," Bogenholm said. "From my experience, he's one of the more accurate quarterbacks I've worked with."
 Brustuen caught a second Esterley pass for a touchdown in the third quarter to extend the Thunderbird lead. The two-point conversion was good to James Jones and out the T-Birds up 33-0.
 "Chris's balls were right on target, which makes it a lot easier for the receivers" Brustuen said. "It was a lot of fun."
 The Thunderbirds defense was hot all night and held the Pioneers to just three first downs.
 "Our defense is what kept us going offensively," Brustuen said.
 Jeremiah Duval had five tackles in the victory. Randy Lee added two tackles and two assists.
 In the fourth quarter, the defense came up with a big play when Ramon Burroughs intercepted a Pioneer pass and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown.
 "The defense … I think they really came together last night," Bogenholm said on Monday.
 Burroughs ended the night with a pair of interceptions and broke up a two-point conversion attempt late in the game. Josh Schleusner also had two interceptions in the game and Damion Patterson added one of his own.
 While the offense was solid throughout the game, there were rocky moments before play even began.
 The team's offensive line was somewhat thrown together prior to kick off as two of its typical starters were out for the game - one due to the berth of his child. Brustuen said those who were called upon to fill in stepped up to the task.
 "They did their job as far as pass protection," he said.
 Bogenholm agreed.
 "They held up pretty well under the circumstances," he said.
 Esterley completed 12-of-22 pass attempts for 269 yards and four touchdowns. Eric Tarasewicz had 16 carries for 78 yards, Sam Cruver had five carries for eight yards, and Esterley also had two carries for eight yards.
 "I think we take a step up each week," Bogenholm said. "We're looking at the bigger picture here."
 That bigger picture includes winning the Mid-America Football League championship, as well as the national title - something the T-Birds have a shot at if they keep the winning going.
 The Thunderbirds are now 5-0 overall this season and are ranked No. 1 in the latest North American Football League standings.
 Central Minnesota will face its biggest match on Sunday when the Thunderbirds host the undefeated Minneapolis Lumberjacks in a 3 p.m. game at St. John's University.
 Bogenholm said he isn't worried about the Lumberjacks because he trusts his team's ability.
 "I just have a feeling this year about this team," he said. "I think there's something so special about this team and the chemistry. I think everybody believes in what we have and in our abilities."