GRAINFIELD — Taden Gottschalk set the tone early with a defensive touchdown, and Logan-Palco never looked back in a 50-0 shutout of Wheatland-Grinnell on Friday night in Week 4 of the Area Game of the Week.
The Trojans (3-1) scored in all three phases and leaned on their rushing attack to overwhelm the Thunderhawks (2-2) in both teams’ district opener.
Wheatland-Grinnell opened the game with a promising drive, but disaster struck when Gottschalk ripped the ball away from Jackson Foster on a screen pass and sprinted 44 yards for a score. After trading punts, Gottschalk struck again on offense, faking a handoff and racing 42 yards to make it 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter decided the game. Logan-Palco overcame two early miscues while Wheatland-Grinnell sputtered, running 23 plays for just 9 yards and committing two turnovers. The Trojans capitalized with three straight touchdown drives — Gottschalk from 10 yards, Carson Knipp from 20, and Case Ashmore from 12 — to build a 36-0 halftime lead. The Thunderhawks nearly broke through just before the break when Foster tossed a trick-play pass to Griffin Beckman for 25 yards, but he was stopped at the 1-yard line as time expired.
Logan-Palco’s ground game continued to control the second half. Gottschalk capped an eight-play, 74-yard march with a 38-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter, his fourth touchdown of the night. Knipp sealed the win with a 49-yard burst up the middle in the fourth.
Gottschalk finished with 91 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, and a defensive score, while Knipp added 114 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Ashmore chipped in 37 yards and a touchdown. As a team, Logan-Palco rushed for 242 yards and five scores.
Wheatland-Grinnell managed just 6 yards on the ground and went 0-for-10 on third downs. Quarterback Riley Tuttle threw for 83 yards but was sacked multiple times, and Foster led the receiving corps with seven catches for 48 yards.
The Trojans went 3-for-3 in the red zone and never allowed Wheatland-Grinnell inside the 20 until the final second of the first half.
Logan-Palco will look to keep momentum rolling as district play continues vs Dighton, while Wheatland-Grinnell faces the challenge of rebounding vs Chase next Friday.