Bergan had some preseason fears about their week six match-up. Three-straight weeks against ranked opponents and no school Friday to keep the horses corralled and in routine was already going to have them feeling hampered. Toss in a quarterback injury and the Knights felt a smidge vulnerable against rival Aquinas.
“If we don’t bring the energy, if we don’t bring the discipline they’re going to have long drives, milk the clock and limit our possessions,” said Bergan coach Seth Mruz.
No. 6 Bergan eventually shook off its self-imposed shackles to take care of the Monarchs 35-7 Friday night.
“I’m never disappointed we won, but I didn’t like our energy, didn’t like our prep,” Mruz said. “We didn’t practice well all week. We came off three weeks of high energy and we hit a dip.”
The Knights were without leader and starting quarterback Austin Scheuler for most of the week, as he nursed a shoulder injury from last week’s win over Yutan
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He was cleared to play Friday morning and did make an appearance as his normal efficient self, completing 10 of 13 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns — one to Cale Sheets and another to Gavin Baker — but for the first time since he joined the program the three-year starter wasn’t penciled into the starting line-up.
That honor fell to freshman Carter Vrana.
“He’s tough to read, he’s very quiet, but I think he’s got ice in his veins and I think he’s going to be a really good quarterback,” Mruz said. “The team did not blink one bit this week. Whether we had Austin or Carter, we felt pretty good about who we were going to throw out there.”
The opening play of the day tested the the mettle of the newcomer as a low snap nearly eluded his grasp. He turned it into positive yards and the Knights were off and running.
“After the first snap, it was alright,” Vrana said.
The freshman, who had seen mop up action in a three games prior, completed five of nine passes for 38 yards. Vrana’s main job on the night was to hand the ball off to a bevy of different backs as the Knights rushed for 198 yards. Trent Mlnarik took the bulk of the carries, going for 103 yards on 11 carries with one touchdown.
Vrana accounted for 31 of those yards including a nine-yard scamper on the second drive of the night for his first career touchdown.
There were understudies sprinkled all across the line-up. Freshman Rome Wright was inserted into the starting offensive line. A dozen underclassmen appeared in the defensive stats.
“Getting Carter that experience, Rome that experience, those younger guys a lot of good varsity, quality reps gives them confidence,” Mrus said.
Senior Alex Kruse, who started the year on the sideline with a media pass as a photographer, made his first appearance, drilling all five point after attempts and averaged 54 yards while handling the kickoff duties.
Still, Mruz wasn’t quite satisfied with the win. The Knights were flagged eight times for 105 yards and missed out on its first shutout of the season allowing a late Aquinas score — a seven-yard run by Luke Storm.
“No matter who we play, we have to meet that standard,” Mruz said. “Once we got things going, we could have done some things and felt better about ourselves, but we wanted to stay healthy and get out of here with a win.”
Bergan (5-1) will face Tekamah-Herman in week seventh.
