Byron in complete control from start in BNC win over Oregon

OREGON – With rival Byron coming to town for a Saturday afternoon showdown, the Oregon Hawks knew they’d have their hands full with the Tigers’ efficient, effective ground game.

That potent rushing attack was evident from the start, as Byron scored on its first five possessions – and added a first-quarter pick-six as well – in a 48-6 victory at Landers-Loomis Field. All 391 yards for the Tigers came on the ground.

“It’s huge to start fast and get that early lead,” junior fullback Carsen Behn said. “Not only on offense, but that pick-six on defense just gave us that extra little comfort, that pillow, and energized us on that side of the ball, too.”

The Tigers (6-1) opened the game with a nine-play, 60-yard scoring drive that Behn capped with a 6-yard touchdown run. He had 46 yards on six carries in the drive as the Tigers just kept handing the ball off right up the middle.

“It’s Byron football, so we pound up the middle and then start getting to the outside a little bit more,” Behn said. “Up front we got a good push, Jake Kann and Cole Wieck were just laying out kids and getting good movement up front.”

The defense forced a three-and-out, then Kye Aken had a 6-yard rush and a 47-yard touchdown sprint where he went off left tackle and ended up outrunning the Oregon defense down the left sideline for a 13-0 lead with 6:05 left in the first quarter.

Oregon’s second possession ended with a second-down interception that Braden Smith returned 31 yards for a score, then Smith picked off another pass to end the Hawks’ third series after Oregon had gained a couple of first downs and moved into Byron territory for the first time.

The Tigers went 65 yards in six plays, with James Cone crashing in from 1 yard out for a 28-0 lead with 19.5 seconds left in the first quarter.

“It helps when we get that defensive score, but I thought our kids came out and established the run game early on,” Byron coach Jeff Boyer said. “We really established the fullback on that first drive, and kind of opened up everything else after that.”

Oregon (1-6) put together its best drive of the half to start the second quarter, marching 70 yards in 12 plays to the Byron 6. The Hawks benefitted from a pair of pass interference penalties on Byron, the first of which negated a 45-yard interception return touchdown by Ashton Henkel.

After a fourth-down pass into the end zone was incomplete, another pass interference moved the ball to the 6-yard line and gave Oregon another fourth-down try; that pass also fell incomplete in the end zone for a turnover on downs.

“They’re a really good football team, and it was a little disheartening how we played, but it is what it is,” Oregon coach Broc Kundert said. “We found some things that we liked offensively; our backs out the backfield worked pretty well, so we kind of stuck with it.”

Byron started the ensuing drive with an incomplete pass, but Brayden Knoll broke off a 54-yard run from the Tigers’ 6 to the Oregon 40-yard line, then Henkel ran for 9 yards, Jacob Ross ran for 15, and Smith capped the five-play, 94-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper for a 35-0 lead with 5:06 left before halftime.

Oregon went three-and-out and punted again, and Byron covered 53 yards in three plays, with Everett Wichman sprinting up the middle for 32 yards and a 41-0 lead with 2:30 left in the first half. The Tigers then took a knee to run out the half after another Oregon punt.

Byron outgained Oregon 327-79 in the first half; 37 of the Hawks’ yards came on two runs by Reber and Gabe Eckerd.

“The defense has played well all season, and I’ve got to give a shout out to Coach [Sean] Considine for all the work that he puts in to prepare these guys for every game,” Boyer said. “They played well again today.”

Oregon went three-and-out to open the second half, and Byron put in even more subs for its final two drives. Backup quarterback Ayden Shank scored a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:35 left in the third quarter, then a fumble ended the Tigers’ final drive with about 4 minutes left in the game.

Knoll led Byron with 99 yards rushing, Aken added 60, and Behn had 53 as 14 different Tigers carried the ball, and nine of them finished with double-digit yards.

Oregon answered Byron’s final touchdown with a scoring drive of its own. Reber had a 21-yard run to convert a third-and-12, then Eckerd ran for 10 and Jack Washburn hit Dalton McCammon for a 32-yard pass play to get to the Byron 12 to end the third quarter. Eckerd had a 5-yard run, then Reber covered the last 7 yards in two plays, getting the Hawks on the board with a 4-yard scoring scamper with 10:36 remaining.

Reber missed last week’s game with an illness, and was happy to be back and run the ball well against Byron.

“Getting to the outside, getting that big gain, then the crowd in the stands cheering me on, it was a great feeling, for sure,” he said about his 16-yard run on his first carry. “Just finding open space was key. Talking in the huddle, having out blockers block and do the right thing. We tried our hardest, did what we could, and left our heart on the field.”

“He’s got a different gear for us, so it’s nice to have a back that can run like that,” Kundert said. “He’s a difference-maker for us, and it’s good to have him back.”

Reber finished with 74 yards on 17 carries, and Eckerd had 43 yards on nine rushes. Washburn was 3-for-13 passing for 58 yards, and McCammon had two catches for 38 yards.

The Hawks now turn their attention to Rock Falls for a BNC road game Friday at Hinders Field, looking for their second win.

“We’ve got to get this one out of our heads and get ready for next week, come out and play Rock Falls tough,” Kundert said.

“We’ve just got to stick together, keep hyping up the team to do better and better every week,” Reber added.