Paul German rattled off the names: Bobby Stroup, Austin Richard, Jacob Fisher, Jason Schapp, Nick Serati, Darin Doty, Steve Welle and Erik Engelbrektson.
"I just have to give it up to the line," the Fargo South junior running back said. "The whole line. Everybody."
German rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Bruins to a 34-16 home victory against Grand Forks Central in Eastern Dakota Conference football Friday night.
"To have the backs run that hard and have the line pound that hard was a dream come true and it showed," said Fisher, who plays left guard.
Ranked No. 5 in this week's Class 3A poll, South (6-1 overall, 5-0 EDC) rushed for 314 yards on 52 carries against No. 2-ranked Central (6-1, 4-1).
ADVERTISEMENT
In contrast, South limited the Knights to 93 yards on 37 attempts. The Bruins held Ryan Chappell -- the EDC's leading rusher -- to 57 yards on 20 attempts.
"Up front, on both sides of the football, that's as physical as we've played all season," South coach Kevin Feeney said. "That's exciting to see."
The Bruins kept it simple on offense; however, the results were devastating.
German and fellow fullback Casey Feigum -- who rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown -- did most of their damage between the tackles.
Central had no answer for the Bruins' quick-hitting dive and slant running plays.
Of South's 17 first downs, 14 of them came on the ground.
"All season we've been a team that has been successful running outside," Feeney said. "Central did a good job of stopping that. We had to go to a different type of game. It was good to see the kids adjust to that."
South defense also produced when needed.
ADVERTISEMENT
On its first drive of the second half, Central faced a fourth down-and-goal from the Bruins' 1-yard line. South led 20-10 at that point.
However, the Bruins stuffed Chappell off left tackle for a two-yard loss on the pivotal play. Fisher slanted in from his nose guard position to make the initial contact and defensive back Catlin Solum came in for assistance.
"I think that got us going again," Fisher said.
"If they score right there it's going to be a whole different ballgame in the second half," Feeney added.
GF Central 0 10 0 6--16
South 7 13 7 7--34
FS--German 1 run (Olson kick)
FS--Stroup 18 pass from Dawson (kick failed)
ADVERTISEMENT
GFC--Puttbrese 29 FG
GFC--Barclay 8 pass from Landry (Puttbrese kick)
FS--Feigum 5 run (Olson kick)
FS--Savageau 6 pass from Dawson (Olson kick)
FS--German 1 run (Olson kick)
GFC--Barclay 20 pass from Landry
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: GFC, Chappell 20-57, Diedrich 8-20, Kasowski 2-20, Kreitinger 5-4, Landry 2-(-8). FS, German 20-125, Dawson 3-78, Feigum 16-71, Solum 13-40.
PASSING: GFC, Kreitinger 5-8-0 34 yards, Landry 7-12-0 170. FS, Dawson 4-12-0 70.
RECEIVING: GFC, Marto 5-103, Barclay 4-88, Schultz 2-15, Chappell 1-(-2). FS, Stroup 2-40, Savageau 2-30.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513
