Woods has big game as Bemidji downs Moorhead

By news@inforum.com

September 02, 2011 at 11:00 PM

MOORHEAD - Momentum, you funny thing you. Being all fickle and providing false hopes.

The Moorhead football team just cut the lead to 13-7 early in the fourth quarter, and then came Bemidji's Carey Woods. Woods took the momentum and snatched the game like a Raggedy Ann doll, scoring three touchdowns for a 40-13 win on Friday night at Jim Gotta Stadium.

"Last year in the state semifinals, I had three touchdowns," Woods said. "But I don't know how many yards I had, but tonight, yeah, I'd say it was my best game."

Woods rushed for 83 yards, but did the most damage by catching six passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

The Lumberjacks (1-0) held a 13-7 lead until Woods just put on a clinic. Moorhead (0-1) just came off a touchdown and the fans were into the game.

Barely a minute later, Mitchell Hendricks just nailed an 85-yard bomb to Woods for 19-7 lead in the third.

It took the Lumberjacks three plays to score. On the next following possession, Woods only needed one chance.

Hendricks bobbled a snap and then handed it off to Woods, who turned the corner and went 71 yards for a touchdown for a 26-7 lead.

Come the fourth quarter, he made the hat trick complete by showing off his vertical and leaping to catch a 5-yard fade for a 33-7 lead.

"That kid, he made big plays for them," said Spuds coach Kevin Feeney. "We knew he was going to be explosive for them."

Feeney said after the game that Woods' performance reminded him of when he was at Fargo South and he coached against quarterback Anders Lee.

Feeney said that Lee, who was Minnesota's Mr. Football as a senior, just dominated the game making pass after pass.

Woods' performance was a bit different, Feeney said, but it was just as memorable.

Same can also be said for Bemidji cornerback Cody Rutledge.

He had three picks, with his last one going for a 64-yard touchdown. By that point, momentum and her friends left the stadium and headed to Dairy Queen to try the special. Whatever the special was, it had to taste better than the loss did for the Spuds.

Feeney said heading into the season that the Spuds were different than the team that surprisingly went to the section finals last year.

He said this was a team that had worked in the weight room by getting stronger and faster.

This performance, however, left Feeney searching for answers, such as if this was the worst defeat of his career.

"We played a little bit shell-shocked," he said. "That first half we came out and played well enough, but in the second half we just kept giving up the big plays. That and we didn't make sure where (Woods) was at on the field and he made us pay for it."

B 0 10 16 14-40

M 0 0 7 6-13

B - Hendricks 27 FG

B - Schmidt 6 run (Hendricks kick)

B - Hendricks 21 FG

M - Uglem 11 pass from Lien (Rahman kick)

B - Woods 85 pass from Hendricks (Woods run fail)

B - Woods 72 run (Hendricks kick)

B - Woods 5 pass from Hendricks (Hendricks kick)

B - Rutledge 60 INT (Hendricks kick)

M - Moon 25 run (kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS