WILLMAR -- The Ridgewater College Warriors are now 3-0 and the defense still has yet to rest.
The Warriors won by a touchdown or less for the third straight week when it nicked the Itasca Vikings 18-13 on Saturday at Hodapp.
In each win, the Warriors have come from behind in the second half.
"This team has a lot of heart," said defensive back Lance Bussler, who played quarterback on last year's 2-7 squad. "We worked really hard today; everybody leaves it on the field. This team is totally different than a year ago."
Ridgewater and Rochester, which dumped Vermilion 31-15, are the only unbeatens left in the MCCC.
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Itasca held a slim 13-12 lead at half, but couldn't dent the Warriors' end zone in the second half.
The only score was DerWayne Moore's 55-yard touchdown run with 1:36 left in the third quarter.
Itasca had three starts inside the Ridgewater 50 in the fourth quarter.
"The defense again played well," said Ridgewater coach Rob Baumgarn. "We need to finish drives and we can't take as many penalties."
The Warriors were penalized 10 times for 90 yards.
It was the defense that staked Ridgewater to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Paul Bunkowske, the Itasca quarterback, swung a pass to the flat but the toss was a bit backwards and defensive back Adam Milton alertly scooped up the bouncing ball and ran 35 yards for the score.
Itasca came back with a pair of scores, spurred by the running of Chase Kraft, who finished with 159 yards, for a 13-6 lead.
Ridgewater quarterback Justin Koenen moved his team 55 yards to make it 13-12 at half. The key plays were a 36 yard pass to Josh Goebel and Koenen's own 15-yard scramble to the one.
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Kyle Sharp's fumble recovery at the Ridgewater 19 set up the winning drive. Moore, a 250-pound fullback, busted through the Viking line on a trap, broke to the sideline and outran the Itasca secondary.
Koenen completed 9-of-32 passes for 168 yards and two interceptions.
Ridgewater 18, Itasca 13
Itasca (2-1)......................0 13 0 0 -- 13
Ridgewater (3-0).............6 6 7 0 -- 18
Rgw - Adam Milton 35 yard fumble return (kick blocked)
Ita - Chase Kraft 6 run (Derek Peterson kick)
Ita - Andrew Pautzke 9 pass from Paul Bunkowske (kick fail)
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Rgw - Brian McIntosh 1 run (pass fail)
Rgw - DerWayne Moore 60 run (pass fail)
Itasca College
Team statistics
First downs: 9 ... Rushing: 44-146 ... Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 7-24-49-1 ... Fumbles lost: 3 ... Penalties: 5-65
Individual statistics
Rushing: Chase Kraft 30-159, Jamar Green 7-9, Mike Toumi 3-6, Paul Bunkowske 4-(21) ... Passing: Bunkowske 7-24-49-1... Receiving: Oscar Banegas 1-6, Green 2-5, Andrew Pautzke 1-9, Brady Randolf 1-10, Jed Ryan 2-19 ... Punting: Mike Tuomi 9-35.8 ... Interceptions: not available ... Fumble recoveries: none ... QB sacks: Jone Bonk ½, Travis Kullhem ½, Jake Olson 1
Ridgewater
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Team statistics
First downs: 16 ... Rushing: 34-122 ... Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 8-32-168-2 ... Fumbles lost: 0 ... Penalties: 10-90
Individual statistics
Rushing: Justin Koenen 13-27, Justin Laughlin 10-5, DerWayne Moore 9-89, 0, Brian McIntosh 2-1 ... Passing: Koenen 8-32-168-2 ... Receiving: Josh Goebel 3-94, Robert Brunelle 3-38, Zach Thissen 1-11, Dan Drexler 1-24 ... Punting: Adam Schow 9-38.0 ... Interceptions: not available ... Fumble recoveries: Adam Milton, Kyle Sharp, Kyle Adams ... Tackles (solo-assist): not available ... QB sacks: Blake Nath 1
