The Verndale Pirates unleashed Amos Schmidt and Zack Meidinger behind a veteran offensive line last Friday and ran over Underwood 46-12 at Mahlen Field.
"I think it could rank as one of his top three teams," Underwood head coach Chuck Ross said. "What makes it so good is the offensive and defensive lines that has been working together since the 10th grade. They have pretty good speed too."
The Rockets, who gave the Green Machine a good test last year in a meeting at Underwood, managed to come up with only 148 yards of offense with a team that included nine new starters.
Schmidt picked up 159 yards on 23 rushing attempts and scored two touchdowns on runs of 27 and seven yards. Meidinger logged 149 on 19 attempts and punched in three TDs on carries of 37, five and six yards.
Ross saw his Rockets trailing 24-0 at the half. His club managed put two TDs on the board in the second half behind one-yard runs from Brandon Burns and Dalton Jampsa.
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Jon Kohlhase had nine tackles to lead a balanced defensive effort. Colby Schmidt picked off his second pass of the year and came up with seven stops.
The Pirates will go on the road Sept. 25 for a game with Bertha-Hewitt.
Verndale 46, Underwood 12
Underwood 0 0 6 6 - 12
Verndale 8 16 16 6 - 46
Underwood: Brandon Burns 1 yd run (PAT failed), Dalton Jampsa 1 yd run (PAT failed)
Verndale: Zach Meidinger 37 yd run (PAT Amos Schmidt run), Schmidt 27 yd run (PAT Meidinger run), Schmidt 7 yd run (PAT Colby Schmidt run), Meidinger 5 yd run (PAT Schmidt run), Meidinger 6 yd run (PAT Schmidt run), Cody Yungbauer 3 yd run (PAT failed)
Und. Vern.
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First Downs 23 10
Yards Rushing 396 68
Yards Passing 8 78
Total Yards 404 146
Passes 1-2 4-11
Intercepted by 0 3
Fumbles lost 1 1
Penalties 4-20 6-60
