By Greg Seubert

For the Gazette

AMHERST – Get the ball and score a touchdown. It was a game plan that worked to perfection for the Amherst football team in its season opener.

The Falcons scored on eight of their 11 possessions, led 58-19 at halftime and went on to post a 65-19 nonconference win over Clintonville on Aug. 18.

Clintonville was able to keep pace with the Falcons early, as the teams combined to score five touchdowns in the first quarter alone.

Amherst quarterback Michael Benjamin scored the first of his six rushing touchdowns from 12 yards out to cap the Falcons’ first drive. He finished with seven total touchdowns.

Clintonville answered on its next drive with Kade Rosenow’s 64-yard touchdown pass to Jack Yaeger. 

Jonathan Scherschel’s extra point gave the Truckers their only lead of the game, but it didn’t last long, as Benjamin scored from four yards out on Amherst’s next drive.

Rosenow hooked up with Yaeger on the Truckers’ next drive for an 11-yard scoring pass that cut the home team’s lead to 14-13, but Benjamin found the end zone for the third time in the opening quarter with an 80-yard run that gave the Falcons a 22-13 lead heading into the second quarter.

Amherst pulled away by scoring on their first five drives of the second quarter. Westin Allen scored on runs of 8 and 31 yards; Benjamin scored on runs of 5 and 19 yards; and also had a 26-yard pass to Noel Spoelstra that gave the Falcons a 58-13 lead.

Scherschel returned an Amherst kickoff 95 yards, but that turned out to be the final time the Truckers found the end zone.

Amherst’s Ayden Nerdahl scored the only touchdown of the second half on a 73-yard run in the fourth quarter.

The Falcons outgained the Truckers 490-216 and had a 393-57 advantage in rushing yards.

Allen and Benjamin each had more than 130 rushing yards on nine carries each.

Greg Seubert covers sports for the Waupaca County Post, New London Press Star and Clintonville Tribune-Gazette.