DUNKERTON - Cedar Valley Christian quarterback Jeremy Strutz scored on a one-yard sneak and Nick Henderson swept the right side for a two-point conversion to make the score 8-8 with 4:15 left in the first quarter Friday night.

Then the roof caved in.

Dunkerton scored 51 unanswered points, took a 59-8 lead into the halftime break and defeated the Huskies, 66-28, in an eight-man football game in Dunkerton.

The tenacious Cedar Valley Christian team refused to give up and dominated the second half and cut the Dunkerton lead. Strutz connected with Henderson on a 68-yard touchdown pass to make the score 59-28 with 56 seconds left in the game.

Dunkerton (1-2) then used two timeouts and its first-team offense scored its final touchdown with 27 seconds left to provide the final margin.

Four Cedar Valley turnovers led directly to Dunkerton touchdowns in the second quarter and the Huskies were unable to overcome their own mistakes. Jacob Boeschen had five touchdowns of 77, 2, 22, 38 and 46 yards for the Raiders.

Cedar Valley (0-2) used a passing game and two successful onside kicks to put 20 points on the board in the second half. Strutz hit David Sperling for a 14-yard touchdown pass and hit Henderson for a 68-yard scoring strike. Henderson also added a 20-yard run for a touchdown.

“Nick is so fast and he catches everything I throw to him,” said Strutz.  “The hardest thing to do is learn the basic fundamentals, but when we get touchdowns it makes it fun.”

Cedar Valley began its football program this season and is just learning the game.

“Finding the hole when you are running is the hardest thing for me to do, but when we score and can celebrate with teammates, that’s what makes the game so much fun,” said Henderson.

Nobody ever said starting a football program was an easy thing to do.

“We are really young and very inexperienced, but each game gives us a wealth of experience,” said Huskies Coach Ed Betsworth. “They always give their best effort. We started strong and then it got away from us, but we came right back and played hard in the second half.”

Cedar Valley Christian plays at Midland of Wyoming next Friday night.