JOURDANTON – Coming into the 2012 season off the heels of a coaching change, the Falls City Beavers looked to make an impact to start the season off. Their first opponent of the season, the Jourdanton Indians, looked to make a statement of their own after reaching the postseason last year. In this matchup between the smaller 1A Division II Falls City and the larger 2A Division I Jourdanton, it was a fiercely contested battle throughout most of the game. But, with their fortitude and conditioning, the Beavers outpaced the Indians late in the game and came out of Jourdanton with a 22-8 victory to start the season 1-0. “I was really pleased with a lot of things,” said Falls City head coach Steve Marbach. “On the top of that list is having enough gas in the tank to make the plays we made. For a small school team, we’re really deep.”

After a scoreless first quarter, the Beavers drew first blood in the contest with just four seconds to go before halftime as Sr. QB Cameron Soto connected with Jr. WR Dean Gaskamp on a 12-yard touchdown pass. Soto then threw to Sr. RB Cody Jendrusch for the 2-point conversion to go into the halftime break with an 8-0 lead. In the third quarter, the Indians managed to get their only score of the night. With 5:23 on the clock, Brandon Pacheco scored on the ground from 15 yards out and Chase Harrison ran it in for the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 8-8. The Beavers responded with 3:00 to go in the quarter as Soto scored on a 6-yard run on his own and then connected with Jr. WR Stephen Harlos on the conversion attempt to go up 16-8 heading into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Beavers wore out the Indians and landed the proverbial coup de grace. With 5:28 to go in the game, Soto scored on a 28-yard run though the conversion failed. The Indians attempted to mount a comeback, but the Beavers’ defense stood strong as the clock hit zero. “I was concerned that they would wear us down,” said Marbach. “Their linemen and linebackers were so thick. I was very impressed to be the ones wearing them down instead.”

Statistically, the Beavers gained 239 yards of total offense, with 128 rushing over 27 attempts and 111 passing over 7 completions. The Indians, by comparison, were held to 164 total yards, with 135 rushing over 45 carries and 29 passing over 2 completions. The Indians were flagged twice for 15 total yards and the Beavers committed five penalties for 38 total yards. Both teams threw two interceptions in the contest. “They’ve really done a great job of making the transition,” said Marbach about the Beavers’ offense. “We didn’t run a lot of option early, but once we wore them down we were able to use the option to melt the clock.”

This week the Beavers will travel just seven miles north on US 181 to Poth as they take on the Pirates in their annual rivalry game. “Poth is tough year in and year out,” said Marbach. “Rivalry games are always crazy with so much excitement. There will be a lot of emotions riding on this game. I anticipate our guys to play better than last week.” Kickoff in Poth is set for Friday, September 7 at 7:30 PM.