Football: Alma wins annual grudge match

VAN BUREN -- Garrison Jensen started his first game at quarterback Tuesday night and more than looked the part for Alma.

Jensen, who saw spot action last year at quarterback but mostly played linebacker, led the way in a 21-14 victory against Van Buren at Blakemore Field. The victory made it seven consecutive in the rivalry matchup for the Airedales.

Alma 21, Van Buren 14

Alma^0^7^7^7^—^21

Van Buren^7^0^0^7^—^14

First quarter

Van — Green 2 run (Recinos kick), :42

Second quarter

Alma — Johnson 4 pass from Jensen (Walker kick) , 7:48

Third quarter

Alma — Johnson 4 pass from Jensen (Walker kick), 2:53

Fourth quarter

Alma — Bailey 14 pass from Jensen (Walker kick), 9:38

Van — Dye 33 punt return (Recinos kick), 2:07

Jensen finished 14 of 25 passing for 171 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 16 carries for 158 yards on the ground for the Airedales.

"He is gonna be the big reason for success this year," Alma coach Doug Loughridge said. "He was an all-state linebacker for us last year and played the quarterback position just like that."

Van Buren's offense got off to a slow start going three-and-out then missing a 32-yard field goal try in its first two drives of the game.

But the Pointers' offense took advantage of an Airedale fumble on their third drive to take a 7-0 lead with 42 seconds left in the first quarter. Alma took over at its own 20 but turned it over on the initial play of the drive.

Van Buren senior running back Walter Green scored on a 2-yard run to take the first lead of the game.

Alma (1-0) was able to bounce back on its next possession after that with a lengthy drive to tie it up at 7-7 with 7:48 left in the first half.

The Airedales capped a 12-play, 69-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Jensen to senior wide receiver Brayden Johnson.

Alma was able to keep the scoring drive alive with a fourth-and-5 conversion on a 22-yard pass from Jensen to senior Tyler Alexander.

Jensen then again connected with Johnson for another 4-yard slant pass to take a 14-7 lead, its first of the game, with 2:53 left in the third quarter.

"He had some big plays and even had some big plays brought back, too" Loughridge said of Johnson. "He is a matchup problem. He is one of the best in the state. We saw a good matchup for him and took the opportunities."

Johnson finished with six catches for 72 yards including the two touchdown receptions for Alma.

The Airedales then pushed out their lead to 21-7 with just 9:38 left in the game when Jensen found sophomore Grayson Bailey for a 14-yard score.

Bailey didn't have a catch in the first half but made up for it after that, finishing with three catches for 57 yards with the touchdown.

"It's awesome to have this game first with it being a rivalry game," Loughridge said. "There was a great crowd on both sides. We challenged our kids at halftime to make the adjustments. We just came out and played typical Alma football."

Van Buren (0-1) was able to cut Alma's lead to 21-14 with a 33-yard punt return from junior Dylan Dye with 2:07 left in the game but couldn't get any closer after that.

Van Buren junior quarterback Christian Morrow expected to play this season for the Pointers but was forced into full-time action Tuesday after senior Caleb Salisbury was hurt last week.

Morrow finished 6 of 10 passing for 86 yards and added 57 yards on the ground. Green, the defending 7A-West rushing leader, finished with 27 carries for 149 yards with a touchdown.

The Pointers had some opportunities throughout the game to cut in the lead but just couldn't find the success needed in the red zone. Van Buren had three possessions inside the opposing 15 but couldn't come away with points.

"They got us early," Loughridge said. "But we were able to make some stops. Those are momentum-changing stops right there. They were a little limited on offense, but those were big for us."

Van Buren turned the ball over on downs twice and another drive inside the opposing 15 in the second half was ended with an interception by Alma junior defensive back Austin Fraley.

"I'll tell you what (Van Buren) coach (Greg) Werner is doing a good job with his kids," Loughridge said. "They were tough on defense and are a hard-nosed team. Green also might be the best back we see all year."

The victory against Van Buren gave Loughridge his 100th career victory and made it 10 victories in the past 11 games against the Pointers for the Airedales.

"It's a sweet, sweet victory," Loughridge said. "My first win was against Ozark, which is a big rival. It's a nice milestone and was nice to beat Van Buren. But it's on to the next one."

Sports on 08/30/2017

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