Behind another stellar performance on defense, the Pella football team closed out the regular season with a perfect 9-0 mark, as they earned a 35-0 win last night at Fort Madison. The shut-out marked the sixth time this season that they Little Dutch blanked their opposition – giving up only 27 total points this season. Of the total points allowed by Pella, 14 came in week one against Newton. Pella Head Football Coach Jay McKinstrey said even for a program that has seen great success in recent years, it was special to see the team finish the regular season at 9-0.

“It’s an exciting time for our kids and for the program. Those are rare. It’s hard to do – it’s hard to go through a season without a loss,” said McKinstrey. “It’s just a credit to these young men and all of the work they’ve done in the off-season and during the preseason and regular season, they way they just love to play the game. We’re really excited for them.”

Pella’s first two scores came on the back-side of a pair of fumbles in the first quarter by Fort Madison – both of which came as the Bloodhounds were driving close to the goal line.  The Little Dutch’s first score came with 6:48 remaining in the first quarter, as Alan Pfadenhauer barreled across the goal line from six yards out.  A missed extra point put Pella on the board first at 6-0, and five minutes later, a one-yard plunge by Drew Kleis put the Little Dutch up 13-0.

A strong defensive stand late in the first quarter put the football back in the hands of the Pella offense to start the second quarter, and just 46 seconds later, quarterback Teag Klyn ran it in from the one-yard line to make the score 20-0.  Fort Madison’s defense threatened once again, but one of several penalties on the night backed the Bloodhounds up to a fourth-and-goal from the six, and Pella’s defense kept their opponent out of the end zone once again.

The second half saw both teams step up their intensity on defense, before Pella’s offense strung together several strong running plays during a drive that resulted in Klyn’s second rushing touchdown of the night with 3:28 left in the third quarter.  A two-point conversion run from Sam Davis made the score 28-0 in favor of the Little Dutch going into the fourth quarter.

Davis would get the last score of the game, as he was the feature ball carrier for several plays late in the fourth quarter and would cap off a 9 carry, 36-yard rushing performance by punching in a touchdown from one yard out to make it 35-0.

Pella’s offense was led by a potent ground game that saw six different backs rush for 28 yards or more and average 7.4 yards per carry.  In all, the Little Dutch rushed for 317 yards, led by Spencer Boeyink’s 5 carries for 90 yards.  Quarterback Teag Klyn completed 3-of-9 passes for 35 yards and one interception.

Though Pella’s defense bent at times, it never broke, and appeared to get stronger as the game went on.  The Dutch held Fort Madison’s talented ground game in check, as the Bloodhounds finished the night with 206 total yards.  

Pella now prepares itself for the quick turnaround into postseason play, as the Little Dutch will host Dallas Center-Grimes at 7:00 pm Wednesday night as Pella begins what they hope will be a return trip to the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls.  

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