Thunderbirds dominate in opening win

By Greg Seubert

It didn’t take long for the Iola-Scandinavia football team to give its fans a reason to be excited.

Kristian Welch returned the opening kickoff 68 yards for a touchdown and the Thunderbirds scored on their first six possessions Aug. 21 in a 55-6 nonconference win over Oconto at Thunderbird Field.

Welch added a pair of rushing touchdowns and recovered a fumble for another score.

Meanwhile, quarterback Cam Gruenwald added TD runs of 64 yards and 1 yard and hooked up with Caleb Loken for an 15-yard scoring pass.

The T-Bird defense also got into the act, holding the Blue Devils to two first downs and 104 yards of offense, including 8 on the ground.

Gruenwald and Welch rushed for 135 and 122 yards, respectively, while Loken caught two passes for 52 yards.

The T-Birds will wrap up their nonconference schedule at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, at Rosholt before opening Central Wisconsin-8 Conference play Friday, Sept. 4, at Amherst.