Football team prepares for big game

Giving up 28 points in the first half to Cedar Rapids Prairie last week wasn’t on the game plan, but the Tigers rebounded solidly in the second half, pulling out the victory 41-30. Seniors Jake Buck and Nick Clark combined for 211 yards on the ground in the second half alone. “[Defensively], we played a terrible first half. But in the second half we really showed up to play,” junior Jared Farley said. The only points scored on Cedar Falls in the second half came from a safety. Senior Nick deBuhr blocked a punt early in the second half to set the pace for the rest of the game. “deBuhr’s blocked punt really gave us the spark we needed,” senior Randolph Bryan said.

The Tigers look to put on a show for the fans in The Dome this Friday to cap a week of homecoming events. “Homecoming week makes us want to come out and play even harder. We want to show everybody what we can do — make a statement,” Buck said.

For the Tiger’s defense, shutting down the run will be the key to victory Friday night. Of Wahlert’s 1,323 yards of total offense, 833 of those yards are courtesy of the Golden Eagle running game. “We’re going to force them to run. We need to get some turnovers and shut them down early,” Farley said.

For the already injure-prone Tigers, the bad news refuses to cease. Senior wideout Brandon Corkery injured his ankle in the Prairie game and will miss the rest of the season. Senior defensive end Riley Gardner will require knee surgery to repair multiple torn ligaments in his knee that he suffered at Linn-Mar. Gardner will also likely be missing the upcoming basketball season. Bryan, who returned for the Prairie game, just recovered from a knee surgery that took place after the first game of the season.

The good news for the Tigers is that they’re still undefeated. “We just gotta keep doing what we do,” Buck said.