Next week, the Becker Bulldog football team will set out with their goal of winning another state title by playing in their first playoff game of the year Tuesday against Zimmerman.
The Thunder defeated Dassel-Cokato Wednesday by a score of 38-14 to stage the scene with the Bulldogs. Zimmerman is the only team throughout the 2015 campaign that gave Becker any fits. The Thunder looked to have the win all wrapped up back on Sept. 11 when they scored a late TD and converted a two-point conversion to take a 22-21 lead with just four minutes left in the game.
But the Thunder left too much time on the clock for the Bulldogs — and it’s certain they won’t want to let that kind of thing happen again this time around if they end up in the same situation Tuesday night at Eppard Field.
Zimmerman’s only two losses on the year were the Becker loss (comeback win in final minutes) and Albany (a comeback win in the final minutes). The Thunder will be licking their chops come Tuesday, thinking they have a legitimate shot at dethroning the ‘Dawgs.
Dwight Lundeen and his staff see it differently.
“They have a good football team,” said Lundeen. “But we are still in a position to make them stop us. We have depth and size as an advantage. We need to play well to beat them but that is what a section game should be and I think we will play very well on Tuesday.”
The Bulldogs will be looking to QB Andrew Stanger to be that stabilizing force he has been all year and to continue to be the field general — with the punch to throw a dagger into the hearts of opponents when he eyes a receiver in the open.
“Andrew has continued to get better each game,” said the head coach. “I am very happy with how he is playing. He knows and understands our offense very well.”
Lundeen points out that Stanger was part of a rotating trio of QBs the team used just two years ago as being what got Stanger ready for prime time.
“He also had an excellent summer throwing the ball and has Chris Meidt working with him each week,” Lundeen said. Chris (Meidt) is the best QB coach I have ever talked to.”
Lundeen has total confidence in the offense and how it is run by his son, Mike Lundeen. The Bulldogs scored 395 points in eight games, averaging a whopping 49 points a game on offense.
“For the first time in a long time I feel that we can run or pass against anyone,” said Dwight. “Just on what they are giving us, our kids catch the ball well and our running backs all can break tackles and run away from people. We have great balance in our attack.”
Hokan Bengtson’s defense is getting a lot of attention too this year. In the eight games played, the Bulldogs have given up just 56 points (22 in one game) and have three shutouts including 26 shutout quarters. They are averaging giving up just seven points a game.
“Defense wins championships,” said Coach Dwight. “We are solid at all positions on defense. You have to stop teams to win and our defense can defend the run and the pass very well. We have great quickness and we get to the ball in a hurry.”
Another key to the Bulldog’s success — though minimal — has been the kicking game. Last year, the team struggled converting extra point attempts and that aspect of the game came back to bite them in their only loss on the season against Minnetonka.
This year’s team has looked solid on kickoffs, punts and on conversions.
“Lucas (Dertinger) is a very good all around athlete,” Lundeen said of the sophomore. “Our special team coaches —Jeff Zimmer and Dan Schlicht — have worked very hard with him. Fortunately, we have him for two more years also.”
The success of the Becker Bulldog football program is not just evident at the varsity level, but at almost every level — especially this year. Becker’s JV team went undefeated during the regular season. The 10th grade team went undefeated and the ninth-grade team went undefeated.
And that talent from those teams will soon roll over to varsity and Lundeen and his staff will have the luxury of coaching another young group of kids dreaming of winning a state title.
“ I think our kids love to play football,” he said. “Each day they come with a great attitude to get better and have fun - it has been a wonderful experience for me to work with this group. They truly like each other.”
“And as far as Zimmerman goes, I think we are a much better team than when we playing them in game four,” Dwight says. “My first remark to our team after that game was that we are a better team at 9:30 p.m. then what we were at 7 p.m. The Thunder made us better.”
Tuesday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Eppard Field in Becker. The winner of the game will play the winner of the Orono/Delano game. Orono is the #1-seed, Becker the #2-seed, Zimmerman the #3-seed and Delano the #4-seed.
Note
The Becker Bulldog football team dedicated their District Championship to long-time supporter and team photographer, Tom Cobb and presented him with a football on Saturday. Cobb is currently at home in Becker battling cancer.
