Bluejays down but not out after football loss

The Three Lakes-Phelps varsity football team lost its third straight game last Friday, falling 60-14 to an undefeated Rosholt High School. While the Bluejays were dominated in all phases of the contest, the team has reason for optimism as they prepare for their upcoming schedule, beginning with a conference matchup against Elcho-White Lake this Friday at Three Lakes High School. The first reason for a brighter outlook is that the Bluejays will play three of their next four games at home following a tough opening schedule when they traveled more than 600 collective miles to compete at three venues.

The second reason for optimism is the fact that, while their 1-3 record is not stellar, they are only a game away from second place in the Northeast Conference at a point in the season when the balance of their schedule will be played in the conference with plenty of opportunities to make up ground. And finally, the team is healthy following the return of Jack Westfall in his running back role as he joins teammates such as Owen Liebscher and Sawyer Szews with the ability to dominate individual games.

In Rosholt on Friday, however, the Jays fell behind early. They could not recover from a barrage of opponent scoring that left them down 24-0 in the first quarter, with no momentum to allow for a successful response to a high-powered Hornets team. It all started on the first Rosholt possession when they had a fourth down at midfield with two yards to a first down. The Hornets quarterback then made a quick shuffle pass to receiver Caleb Zick, who sprinted along the Bluejays’ sideline for a touchdown.

The Jays had their first possession end quickly with a fourth-down punt by Zach Weavers to the Hornets’ 28-yard line. Two plays later, the Hornets quarterback tossed a short sideline pass for a long touchdown score, leaving the Jays with an early 12-0 deficit. On the ensuing kickoff, the Bluejays fumbled the ball, leaving Rosholt with a short field where they took advantage of the situation seconds later with another touchdown pass to the endzone.

After a turnover on downs for the Bluejays, the Hornets scored again to take a 24-0 lead.

One of the bright spots for the Bluejays, once again, was the kick return running by Liebscher with an impressive 211 yards. At the end of the first quarter, he returned a kick the length of the field before being tackled just three yards shy of a touchdown. Moments later, quarterback Sam Koshuta handed the ball to Sawyer Szews, who had more than 100 yards of offensive production, for a Bluejays score. Liebscher returned another long kick in the second half for a Bluejays touchdown, followed by a two-point conversion score by Szews, but the Hornets piled up 60 total points and cruised to victory.

“Rosholt showed us why they are an undefeated team,” commented Bluejays head coach Justin Szews after the game. “They have some skill players who are as fast as any opponent we’ve seen in quite some time and we struggled to keep them contained. Turnovers also crushed us in this ballgame. Teams like Rosholt are always going to be a challenge, but when we provide them with extra possessions, the scoreboard will light up in a hurry.”

Szews talked about some improvements the team will make heading into the new week.

“On offense, we need to improve our consistency,” he added. We had several nice plays, but we struggled to be assignment sound on every play, making it difficult to sustain long drives.”

The coach also gave out some high marks, including to Liebscher for his dominating running and to Bentley Bills for his quality efforts on both sides of the ball.

The Bluejays will regroup this Friday, September 19, for a conference game against Elcho-White Lake. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at Three Lakes High School.