Dillon Dierks ran for 172 yards and three touchdowns Friday as the Fort Calhoun football team picked up its first win of the season, 30-14.
After an even first half with Douglas County West, the Pioneers pitched a 16-0 shutout during the third and fourth quarters as Adolph Shepardson picked up his first victory as FCHS head coach.
“First 'W' feels great,” the coach said. “It has been a process of four months of hard work, and I am super excited for our boys. We had a tough loss to Boys Town to start districts, but we responded well tonight against D.C. West.”
Zane Schwarz — who finished with 68 yards of total offense — scored the first of four Fort Calhoun rushing touchdowns during the first quarter, giving the home team a 7-0 advantage. The visiting Falcons responded with back-to-back Kayden Jensen rushing touchdowns before Dierks' 30-yard run — with Jake Seina's extra-point kick — evened the score going into halftime.
“My hats off to the Falcons,” Shepardson said. “They came ready to play, and they were very physical.”
But the coach's Pioneers answered the challenge.
“I liked how our kids responded and controlled the second half,” he said.
FCHS won the line of scrimmage battle as Dierks added a 22-yard scoring run during the third quarter and a 54-yarder during the fourth. He finished with 172 yards on the ground, while Tristan Fuhrman added 48.
Quarterback Ty Hallberg threw for 88 yards and Jayden Hunter had five catches for 39.
Defensively, the Pioneers made some changes after allowing 14 first-half points and subsequently shut down D.C. West over the final 24 minutes.
“We moved some of our defensive lineman around and made some adjustments in the second half, and that allowed us to pitch a second half shutout,” Shepardson said. “Our kids played a tough four quarters tonight and stayed together.”
Carsen Schwarz notched an interception for Calhoun, while Michael Pratt blocked a punt. The Pioneers next face the Arlington Eagles in the team's annual Washington County battle. The game at AHS begins 7 p.m. Friday.
