Pullman offense stalls against Freeman

On the first possession of the game, Pullman quarterback Mason Petrino scrambled and threw an interception which ultimately resulted in a Freeman Scotties touchdown a few plays later.

That sequence of events proved to be a theme throughout Friday night's nonleague football contest at Hobbs Field.

All three of the Scotties' (2-0) touchdowns were the result of the Greyhounds' (1-1) struggles on offense which led to a 21-0 victory for the Scotties.

The Greyhounds had difficulty moving the ball all night, many of their possessions stalling in their own territory. It was a combination of intense pressure up front by the Scotties on pass plays and sound tackling against the run that led to the Greyhounds being shutout on their home field and suffering their first loss of the season.

"We did some good things tonight, and to be truthful with you, it hurts to lose but we stood up and fought with them, which was our biggest goal, because last year they pretty much annihilated us," Pullman coach Dan Lucier said after the game. "Tonight I thought we were in it until probably seven minutes to go. The thing that was hard tonight was not being able to move the ball consistently. We couldn't move it hardly at all in the air then on the ground we'd get something going then we'd shoot ourselves in the foot."

Freeman began the scoring with a touchdown run from nine yards out by Markus Goldbach, who had also intercepted Petrino on the first drive of the game. Later in the first quarter, Goldbach again stepped in front of a Petrino pass for his second interception of the evening.

The senior two-way player was effective on offense for the Scotties as well, rushing for 112 yards on 19 carries including several huge bursts up the middle of the Greyhound defense.

Freeman racked up 248 rushing yards on the night.

"The last two years we really weren't able to stop their run game and tonight, we stopped it way more than we have in the past so we're really making ground, I think," Lucier said. "We're feeling pretty good about that."

The Scotties capitalized immediately on the Greyhounds' second miscue of the contest after senior quarterback Preston Hoppman found junior receiver Jack Paukert deep down the right sideline for a 45-yard score to put Freeman up 14-0 after a successful two-point conversion.

Hoppman finished the game 12 of 20 for 156 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was intercepted just before the half by junior defender Daunte Ungerer.

After the Greyhounds couldn't convert and a fourth-and-18 late in the fourth quarter with 8:28 to play, Scotties' running back Mike Cahill scored on a 14-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach.

"Overall those guys over there are a really good football team," Lucier said. "I was proud of our effort and all those things that we preach so in reality we saw a lot of good things tonight."

The Greyhounds were outgained 404-180 in total yards with 125 of their yardage coming on the ground. It was a night to forget for Petrino who had a 8-of-25 outing for 55 yards and two interceptions. Sam Drufell led the Greyhounds in rushing with 65 yards on 12 carries.

Pullman will host cross-town rival Moscow next Friday at 7 p.m. on Hobbs Field.

Pullman 0 0 0 0 - 0

Freeman 14 0 0 7 - 21

First quarter

FHS - 9-yard run by Markus Goldbach (kick no good)

FHS - Preston Hoppman 45-yard pass to Jack Paukert (two-point conversion successful)

Fourth quarter

FHS - 14-yard run by Mike Cahill (kick good)

Michael-Shawn Dugar can be reached at (208) 883-4629, or by email to sports@dnews.com.