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12/01/2006: "Defense Solid in Win"

TBirds vs RoughRiders: Recap
Defense Solid in Win
2006-08-14
 The Central Minnesota Thunderbirds won their fourth game in a row Saturday when they topped the Winona/La Crosse Roughriders 28-0.
 The victory was the team's third shutout of the season and left the T-Birds with a 4-1 record in the Mid-America Football League.
 "We just settled down and when we settled down, we came out with a goose egg," said defensive back Ramon Burroughs.
 The game was not without some controversy, which began before the opening kickoff. Saturday's contest was scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. start and was posted that way on the Roughriders web site. T-Birds Coach Chad Baldwin was never notified of a change, but when his team began warm-ups he noticed that there was an extra half-hour on the clock that ticked down to game time.
 "They're trying to get the advantage," Baldwin said after the game, which started at 7:35 p.m. "Their own Web site said 7:05. They didn't even tell us when we got here."
 Despite the confusion, the Thunderbirds managed to focus on the task at hand and came out victorious.
 The Thunderbirds scored two touchdowns in the second quarter and two in the fourth while holding the Roughriders scoreless. Kicker Mike Jacobs made all four extra points, but missed two field goal attempts in the game.
 Mike Dietel had an impressive outing for the second week in a row. He grabbed an interception in the second quarter and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown to put the first points on the scoreboard. He later recovered two fumbles, and had two sacs.
 Dietel hasn't played football for five years, but came out to join the T-Birds this season.
 "I haven't played in awhile, but it's starting to feel good," he said.
 Eric Tarasawicz scored the second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run. Then the scoring came to a standstill until the fourth quarter.
 Burroughs said that once the Thunderbirds stopped the Roughriders running game, it was over. Unfortunately, the offense struggled to get into the end zone.
 "The defense did a great job today," Baldwin said. "That's where I expect them to play at."
 In fact, Central Minnesota's defense held the Roughriders to just 71 yards of total offense, while the Thunderbirds racked up 204 yards of their own.
 Sacs were credited to Jeremy Gothman and James Bruns. Jeremiah Duvall led the team with four tackles.
 In the fourth quarter, quarterback Chris Esterley threw a 20-yard pass to the corner of the end zone, which was caught by newcomer Rob Neumann for a touchdown. Neumann has been a coach on the team in previous seasons, but is putting on the pads as a wide receiver this summer.
 Burroughs intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 30 yards, which set up the Neumann touchdown.
 "It was a nice play," Burroughs said. "It was well timed."
 Eric Wessels later scored the team's final points of the game when he took a 6-yard run into the end zone to put his team ahead 28-0.
 Esterley completed 13 of 25 pass attempts for 75 yards and a touchdown. He also threw one interception. His lead receiver was Neumann, who had two catches for 20 yards. David Knutson caught three passes for 19 yards, and Wessels caught one for 17 yards.
 Tarasewicz had 19 carries in the game for 88 yards and a touchdown. Wessels had six carries for 25 yards, and Nate Middleton had three for 13 yards.
 The Central Minnesota Thunderbirds will take the next three weeks off after the Minnesota Valley Warriors were forced to forfeit a game that was scheduled for Aug. 27. The forfeit gives the T-Birds a 5-1 overall record.
 The team's next game is scheduled for Sept. 10 against the Twin Cities Titans, and Mid-America Football League playoffs will follow.
 Baldwin said the T-Birds are tied with the Midwest Pioneers and the Superior Stampede with one loss each this season. However, the Pioneers and Stampede have played one more game than Central Minnesota, which would leave the T-Birds third in the league standings if all three teams win the remainder of their games.