Getting to the 38-point mark over the course of a game will win most high school football contests each week. Getting there in one quarter means things are going really well.
Osakis did just that on Friday when the Silverstreaks dominated the second quarter.
Sophomore Drew Imdieke started it by converting a 4th-and-goal from the 1 on the very first play. In total, Osakis (3-0) put up five touchdowns in that second quarter on the way to a 45-0 win over Staples-Motley (1-2).
“We executed on all fronts,” senior tight end and defensive end Carter Watnaas said. “Our line was pushing really hard and made big holes. Our backs run super hard. It’s a lot of practice. Coaches have been coaching us up for this, and we just executed our game plan really well.”
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The Silverstreaks had energy from the first snap on a night that carried extra meaning on a couple of fronts.
Osakis was playing on its home field for the first time since 2019. That was because of a late start to the season during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and then heavy snowfall in October forced the Silverstreaks to move home games to the turf field in Alexandria.
Players, coaches and fans also honored a friend, coach and father before Friday night’s game with a moment of silence for Kyle Imdieke . Imdieke died unexpectedly this past spring at the age of 45. He was a fixture in the Osakis community through his work as a coach and teacher.
“I think there was a lot of excitement just to be here,” Osakis head coach Bill Infanger said. “Then the first game back here on this field, it meant a lot to us to be able to commemorate coach Imdieke tonight. To have his initials on the field. We put the plaques up this week. There was just a lot of emotion tonight.”
Kyle’s youngest son, Drew Imdieke, is a sophomore fullback and linebacker this year for Osakis. He tormented Staples-Motley all night on both sides of the ball, rushing for 101 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.
“I think Drew probably more than anybody played with a lot of emotion tonight,” Infanger said. “He had a great game. He ran hard. To see him get his legs underneath him and finish his runs the way he did and carry the pile forward for yards tonight, it was a really tough performance from a sophomore back. That’s why Drew’s in that position. We know he’s capable of that. Tonight, back here at home in this setting, it was fun to see him have that effort.”
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Big plays came from both sides of the ball for Osakis. Imdieke and senior lineman Chayce Meyer pressured Cardinals’ quarterback Isaiah Schultz into throwing up a ball that was intercepted by sophomore quarterback/defensive back Kyle Mages.
A few plays later, Imdieke punched in his second touchdown from 4 yards out.
It was the start of a nice game for Mages. He ran in a 16-yard touchdown behind a big block from Imdieke on the play. Mages then hit senior receiver Bauer Klimek for a 41-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline.
“Kyle is a sophomore quarterback who’s putting the ball in the right places and making good decisions,” Infanger said. “We feel like we have a dimension to our offense there that we haven’t unveiled yet. There’s still more we can do there with Kyle and putting the ball in the air.”
It was once again the defense’s turn to make a play after that Mages to Klimek score. Watnaas came off the edge untouched on his rush to strip sack Schultz. Senior Caleb Goodwin was there to scoop the ball up and run nearly 35 yards for a touchdown that made it 38-0 at the half.
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“It’s the best feeling knowing I could help my teammates out and get a score,” Watnaas said. “We’ve been talking about it all year -- we got to get a (defensive) touchdown. To be able to assist him on that was amazing.”
Staples-Motley was finally driving on its first possession of the second half before Klimek intercepted a pass by Schultz in the right, back corner of the end zone. The Silverstreaks immediately turned it into a long drive that ended with Imdieke’s third touchdown, this time from 5 yards out.
The Silverstreaks controlled the game in all facets, but it was very noticeable up front. The offensive line paved the way for two 100-yard rushers as Tyson Hagedon added 121 yards on 14 carries to Imdieke’s 101-yard night. Defensively, Osakis’ front got after Schultz all night.
“Our focus was to put as much pressure on the quarterback as we could,” senior lineman Chayce Meyer said. “On film, we saw that when he got under pressure he couldn’t do much. He would chuck it up and throw interceptions. We wanted to put as much pressure on him as we could, so we changed up our defense and it just clicked for us tonight.”
It was another Midwest (White) District and Section 6AA win for Osakis. The Silverstreaks join West Central Area-Ashby as the two undefeated teams left in the district at 3-0, but Barnesville and Hawley are both 2-1 overall after wins on Friday.
The Silverstreaks get Barnesville at home on Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. The Trojans’ only loss came in a rainy season opener by a 14-12 final in Barrett against WCA-Ashby.
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“ Barnesville is a great program. A perennial powerhouse," Infanger said. "I was at that week-one loss. It was an absolute mud bowl. They controlled most of the game and then had a play with 1:30 left on a fourth-and-15 where a corner slipped and they threw the ball over the top, and it cost them that game. I still think in a normal year with normal weather conditions that they would probably come into this game 3-0. In my mind, they’re still the team to beat in the district until we knock them off.”
The Silverstreaks also have WCA-Ashby left on the schedule on Oct. 15 at home. Plenty of challenges await for a team that is coming off its most complete game of the season in the win over the Cardinals.
“The first two weeks we were kind of figuring things out,” Watnaas said. “Tonight, it clicked. Things just fell together in line. I feel like we have a lot of potential going into the tougher part of our schedule. We have a shot to do good things, great things.”
OSAKIS 45, STAPLES-MOTLEY 0
SCORING - FIRST QUARTER - No scoring
SECOND QUARTER - Osakis - Drew Imdieke 1-yard touchdown run; Kyle Mages 2-point conversion run (8-0); Osakis - Drew Imdieke 4-yard touchdown run; Bauer Klimek 2-point conversion run (16-0); Osakis - Kyle Mages 16-yard touchdown run; Mages 2-point conversion pass to Bauer Klimek (24-0); Osakis - Kyle Mages 41-yard touchdown pass to Bauer Klimek; Tyson Hagedon 2-point conversion (32-0); Osakis - Caleb Goodwin fumble recovery and 35-yard touchdown run (38-0)
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THIRD QUARTER - Osakis - Drew Imdieke 5-yard touchdown run; Kyle Mages PAT (45-0)
FOURTH QUARTER - No scoring
OSAKIS OFFENSE - RUSHING - Tyson Hagedon - 15-124; Drew Imdieke - 15-101, 3 TD; Kyle Mages - 5-35, TD; PASSING - Kyle Mages - 4-7, 75 yards, TD, 2-point conversion; RECEIVING - Carter Watnaas - 1-24; Bauer Klimek - 2-43, TD, 2-point conversion; Imdieke - 1-8
OSAKIS DEFENSE - Caleb Goodwin - 6 tackles, fumble return TD; Brady Mages - 7 tackles; Watnaas - 5 tackles, 2 sacks, forced fumble; Klimek - 2 tackles, INT; Kyle Mages - 4 tackles, INT; Carsten Jacobson - 5 tackles; Wyatt Sell - 5 tackles
