For the cherry on top, junior quarterback Mark Rowland broke his Boone Grove records for passing yards and touchdowns in a season.
Those marks came on a Friday night when the Wolves debuted their long-awaited home field. Their chance to wrap up the Greater South Shore Conference North Division title was there too.
“I can’t explain it,” Rowland said. “It’s just great. Having that, having the fans cheering, hopefully many more records will be broken.”
Rowland, Boone Grove’s starting quarterback since the second game of his freshman year, had thrown for 2,063 yards and 25 touchdowns this season. He had 2,064 yards and 25 TDs last year.
So Rowland quickly eclipsed those totals in the Wolves’ 45-0 win against Bishop Noll while passing for 193 yards and three TDs. He added 47 yards and two TDs on the ground.
“Mark is a special product,” Boone Grove coach Dan Kukulski said. “When he came in as a freshman, we put him in early, and it wasn’t something we wanted to do. He was scared to death, I don’t care what he says. But it definitely made him grow in every aspect of the game.
“He does film study. He gets in the weight room. He’s a heck of a leader on the field. He’s a heck of a leader off the field. He has a great group of receivers around him, great group of running backs, the line loves him. To have somebody running your offense like that and to have that mindset, it’s second to none.”
Josh Oglesby turned a shovel pass into a 77-yard TD for the Wolves (7-2, 4-0), and Hunter Noonan took a wide receiver screen 50 yards for a TD. Rowland’s first scoring pass against the Warriors (2-7, 1-3) was a 19-yarder to Tyler Torbeson for the game’s opening points.
Rowland’s TD runs covered 19 yards and 17 yards.
“I’m proud of him,” Oglesby said. “That’s an understatement. Since he was a freshman, he’s put in a lot of work. Watching him inspires me and the rest of the team too.”
Chad Kackos had an 11-yard TD run for the Wolves, who began playing football in 2009 and played a full varsity schedule for the first time in 2011. Kukulski has been part of the program since it was founded and has been leading it since 2017.
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“When we first came out here and you saw the crowd, pouring rain, the support we’ve had from the community has been huge,” Kukulski said. “The administration, the athletic department, the teachers, all of the students, it’s something we’ve never had before. It was hard to go on the road every time we had a home game and go someplace else.
“This being here right now is a dream come true for me and for everybody who’s played here, every coach who’s been here, every administrator who’s come through these doors. This is unbelievable. It’s been a long time waiting for it. But you can see it, it’s unbelievable. It’s fun. It’s going to be a great future for the program.”
As the Wolves gathered after the game, athletic director Josh Russell said, “It’s a special night,” one that began with a light show flashing as the team entered the field to AC/DC’s “Back in Black.”
“It’s a blessing,” Rowland said. “It was awesome to see. It was heartwarming. I can’t wait for many more home games.”