Huskies rush for over 400 yards in win

Alex Emanuelson only threw for 97 yards against Faribault Friday night, but with 410 rushing yards by his running backs, there was very little need to pass. The 507 total offensive yards, combined with the measly 156 allowed paved the way for a shutout 55-0 victory in Owatonna. 
“I thought our kids played well from horn to horn, and our number twos came in and still pitched a shutout and scored a couple of touchdowns,” said Owatonna Coach Jeff Williams. 
Williams’ reserves were able to play significant minutes in the second half of Friday’s game, putting up worthy numbers against the Faribault starters. 
One highlight player of the second half was junior running back Bryce Goodwin, who rushed for 70 yards off 11 carries against Faribault. 
“Goodwin came in the second half and ran hard,” said Williams. “These kids understand when they step out on the white lines wearing the blue football jersey, they’re job is to go our and play football.”
Even with a full slate of reserve players in the game, Owatonna continued to dominate on offense, defense and special teams, racking up multiple touchdowns, an interception and special teams fumble recovery. That nonstop play from the Huskies, even shortened by a running clock in the fourth quarter, created a lopsided 55-0 score when the final whistle blew.
“We played the entire 48 minutes, and I was very proud of our kids for doing so,” said Williams. 
Besides the positive play seen from his second team, Williams listed a strong offensive line, hard running and game plan execution as reasons for the lopsided victory. 
“Our offensive line did a really nice job,” said Williams. “We do have some speed in our running back core, and that was on display tonight, but what really pleased me was how hard our kids ran.”
Williams added that while it’s always fun to see kids run in the open field for touchdowns, he mostly appreciates the “tough yards” gained by his running backs. 
On defense, the Huskies had shut down the Faribault attack before the game even began.   
“Faribault is Faribault. They’re going to run the football and throw play-action. Our kids knew the game plan. They studied the game plan. They executed the game plan, and they were able to pitch a shutout, even going deep into reserves. That was great to see.”
In the days leading up to Owatonna’s second home game, the team will ride a wave of momentum coming off two statement victories. 
“There is some positive momentum,” said Williams. “We came out against (John Marshall) knowing we could play two quarters of football. Now, I think we’ve got the sense that we could potentially play four solid quarters. Hopefully we just continue to get better and continue to keep positive momentum moving forward.”
Some of that positive thinking is certainly coming from reserve players, who were able to not only play last Friday, but may get a chance for more snaps as coaches observe the tape from last week and make roster adjustments. 
“That’ll be fun to break down that tape and see what some of these kids were able to do,” said Williams. 
Owatonna will stay home again this week to entertain Northfield, who is also 2-1. Northfield started the season with a 20-15 loss to Red Wing, but recovered to beat both New Prague (41-12) and Mankato East (28-27). The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
 
Owatonna 55
Faribault 0
Friday, Sept. 4
at Owatonna
             1        2        3         4
OWA 14     14      14       13
FAR   0       0        0         0