Peru State College Athletic Media Release
For Immediate Release Contact: Dave Walker
Sports Information Director
402.872.2344 or
dwalker@oakmail.peru.edu
Valley City Spoils Bobcats Home Opener
The Valley City Vikings invaded the Oak Bowl on Saturday and used the arm of quarterback Jason Beilke and the legs of running back Ryan Drinkwater to spoil the 2006 home opener for the Bobcats by a 36-10 margin. The loss drops the Bobcats to 1-2 for the season.
Beilke completed 18 of 24 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown while Drinkwater slashed his way to 131 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns. VCSU opened the scoring on a Beilke run at 12:52 of the first with Drinkwater adding to the margin with a 13 yard scamper. Peru State's Bryan Miller kicked a 38 yard field goal after a long drive stalled, cutting the deficit to 12-3 after one period. The visitors added a pair of scores in the second stanza for a 26-3 lead by halftime. A pair of Viking touchdowns by the midway point of the third quarter made it 33-3. The Bobcats countered on a 15 yard pass from Derek Falor to Jimmy Cotton early in the final period but could not mount another scoring threat. VCSU added a 26 yard field goal late in the game for the final points.
Derek Falor (Sioux Falls, SD) entered the contest late in the second quarter at the QB position and got the Bobcats offense clicking with a mix of short passes and runs. Falor finished with a 14 of 23 effort good for 165 yards and a TD. Jared Gerdes (Auburn) was again the Bobcats favorite target and hauled in nine receptions for 105 yards on the afternoon. The Bobcat ground game moved the football early in the contest alternating backs Cody Smith (Ceresco) and Mike Mertens (Hastings) behind a strong line surge. Smith finished with 117 yards on 19 carries, Mertens added 53 on 16 touches. The Bobcats finished with 207 yards on the ground and 195 via the airways for a respectable 402 yards of offense. Valley City countered, however, with 455.
Defensively, strong safety Tyler DeBuhr (Auburn) and linebacker Dustin Sealey (Hastings) led the Bobcats with eight tackles apiece while defensive back Devin Wright (Omaha) and defensive end Jeff McQuinn (Council Bluffs, IA) added six tackles each. Senior D-back Rusty Fuller (Cambridge) had the only interception by the Bobcats defense.
"We can not have mistakes against a quality playoff caliber team like Valley City," said Bobcats coach Terry Clark. "We did do some good things on both sides of the ball and will continue to work hard in preparation for Waldorf." The Bobcats return to the Oak Bowl next Saturday for a match-up with Waldorf (IA) College. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
PSC's "Campus of a Thousand Oaks," an arboretum campus, is nestled in historic southeast Nebraska. The state's first and fastest-growing college, Peru State offers a unique mix of innovative online and traditional classroom undergraduate and graduate programs, including online graduate degrees in education and organizational management. PSC is a member institution of the Nebraska State College System. For more information, visit
www.peru.edu or call 1-800-742-4412.
