Score one for the host team in area high school football last Friday! Ipswich/Edmunds Central indeed dominated Lake Region Conference foe Northwestern Area 42-2 for its second straight win of the young season and moved to 1-0 in league play as a result of the victory.

The Tigers methodically put together a 60-yard touchdown drive after the teams had exchanged punts on their respective initial possessions. The Tigers got decent field position right at midfield after the Wildcats' punt and Kaden Hix capped the drive with a 36-yard TD jaunt. He added a TD reception from QB Ethan Gilbert for a 8-0 I/EC lead. That would essentially have been all the Tigers would need, as their defense pitched a shutout. (Northwestern's lone score came from its own defense with a two-point safety late in the opening half.) That was after I/EC had gotten its second touchdown thanks to a Carter Heinz two-yard scoring run and another Gilbert to Hix PAT play and then a further scoring opportunity by the hosts, Luke Peterson's three-yard interception return and you guessed it a Gilbert to Hix PAT play for a brief 24-0 I/EC lead.

The score at the half was I/EC 24-2 and the host team didn't waste much of the third quarter to get back on the scoreboard, after forcing a Wildcat punt. This Tiger drive begin at its own 36-yard line and needed just three plays, the third a 23-yard TD pass from Gilbert to Josh McQuarie. The PAT play failed this time around, but I/EC still led 30-2. And the Tigers successfully tacked on a pair of fourth-quarter insurance drives. Their first final-quarter scoring play was an explosive 62-yard aerial hookup between Gilbert and Ty Kadlec. Then Heinz got free again for a 26-yard scoring run, though neither of these PAT plays would prove to be successful!

Ipswich/Edmunds Central had a balanced rushing night with 177 yards, led by Carson Gohl at 18-71. Hix finished 5-47 and Peterson, 5-43. Northwestern was held to only 48 rushing yards and 16 passing yards by that impressive Tiger defensive effort. Gilbert, meanwhile, passed for 190 yards on a 12-19-0 evening. That Kadlec TD grab was the longest Tiger pass reception of the evening and Hix was next at 6-28. And the Tiger defensive stats were as equally distributed at their offensive effort. Heinz led with 10 tackles, followed by Peterson with eight, Gohl and McQuarie with five each.

The Tigers will remain at home again this Friday evening hosting non-conference opponent Deuel as part of the Edmunds Central homecoming week activities.