VICTORIA – The Victoria Knights turned in one of their most complete games of the season Friday night, rushing the ball almost at will at times and combined with a suffocating defense, they cruised to a 48-0 win over Hodgeman County in the 8-Man division 2 west semifinals.
The Knights took the opening possession and drove it right down the field, capping off an eight-play touchdown drive with a 15-yard run by Weston Scherrer, putting Victoria up 8-0 after the two-point conversion.
The Knights' defense had a stranglehold on the Hodgeman County offense throughout the game.
They forced them into a three-and-out on two of their first three possessions, and the other ended in a turnover on downs.
The Knights meanwhile, scored on three of their first four possessions.
Already leading 8-0, they put together a seven-play drive, aided by a 13-yard pass to Wesley Sander that set up quarterback Wyatt Schmidtberger for his first of two rushing touchdowns in the game and a 16-0 Victoria lead.
Victoria’s lone touchdown in the second quarter came when Mason Mauck broke free, scoring a 31-yard touchdown with the two-point conversion putting the Knights up 24-0 in the first half.
In the second half, it was more of the same from the Knights.
After a Knights interception on defense, Nic Sander broke free and scored on a five-yard touchdown run for a 32-0 Victoria lead.
Later in the third quarter, Schmidtberger found Sander, on fourth down, for a six-yard touchdown pass, and a 40-0 Knights lead.
Ethan VonLintel blocked a punt on the ensuing Longhorn drive that resulted in a safety and a 42-0 Knights advantage.
Victoria’s final score came midway through the fourth quarter on a Schmidtberger run from five yards out, closing out the Knights’ 48-0 victory.
The Knights outgained the Longhorns 354 to 84 and pitched their sixth shutout of the season.
Weston Sherrer finished with 102 yards rushing. Wyatt Schmidtberger added 67 and Mason Mauck finished with 69 yards.
The Knights are headed back to the 8-Man Division 2 state championship game and will face off with Hanover at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29th.