FELCH - Junior running back Tim Hruska rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns as North Dickinson throttled Florence 41-6 in a non-conference football opener Friday at James D. Priestap Memorial Field.
Seniors Dominic Christian and Ken Pekarek rounded out the Nordics' attack, with Christian carrying for 94 yards and two scores and Pekarek running for a TD and throwing for another. Matt Schultz rushed for 72 yards.
"It was a good start," said North Dickinson coach Joe Reddinger. "Some of our new guys did real well."
Florence stayed with the high-powered Nordics in the early going, trailing just 7-6 after Louie Garcia hit paydirt from 36 yards early in the second quarter. From there, the Nordics reeled off 34 unanswered points.
Pekarek's 36-yard touchdown strike to Justin Clark got the rally started, and Hruska built the halftime lead to 21-6 with a 66-yard dash.
The North Dickinson defense was led by sophomore Jonas Christian and senior Dylan Davio with nine tackles each. Clark had seven tackles and a fumble recovery and Cody Berg snagged an interception.
"We played them good for a quarter and a half," Florence coach Dan Robinson said. "Big plays killed us. We stopped them for a couple and then they would hit a big play.
"They're a physical team and well coached."
Florence cornerback Garcia tallied 17 tackles; safety Kyle Abbas, 12 tackles and an interception, and Cole Dollar, 11 tackles and a fumble recovery.
North Dickinson (1-0) hosts Newberry at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31.
Florence (0-1) is at Wausaukee on Thursday, with kick-off at 7 p.m.
Florence 0 6 0 0 - 6
North Dickinson 7 14 7 13 - 41
Scoring
1st quarter
ND - Dominic Christian, 3-yd. run (Brad Gustafson kick), 2:05.
2nd quarter
F - Louie Garcia, 36-yd. run (run failed), 11:11.
ND - Justin Clark, 36-yd. pass from Ken Pekarek (Gustafson kick), 9:18.
ND - Tim Hruska, 66-yd. run (Gustafson kick), 6:56.
3rd quarter
ND - Hruska, 19-yd. run (Gustafson kick), 4:13.
4th quarter
ND - Pekarek, 69-yd. run (kick failed), 11:09.
ND - Christian, 24-yd. run (Gustafson kick), 10:13.
Total offense: Florence, 225 yards (223 rushing, 2 passing). North Dickinson, 468 yards (432 rushing, 36 passing).
Individual Rushing: Florence, Cole Dollar 5-58, Louie Garcia 4-53, Drew Seibold 6-33, Josh Seibold 3-62.
North Dickinson, Hruska, 10-165; Christian, 18-94; Pekarek, 6-87; Matt Schultz, 10-72.
Passing: Florence, 1-6, 2 yds., 1 int.; ND (Pekarek), 1-5, 36 yds.