PELLA – The Ballard football team opened its 2025 season on the road Friday night, falling 26-7 to the Pella Dutch in a tough non-district matchup.

Pella jumped out to a 9-0 lead after the first quarter and added two second-quarter touchdowns to carry a 23-0 advantage into halftime. Ballard showed fight out of the break, putting together a scoring drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown run from junior running back Jack Plucar, but the Dutch defense held firm the rest of the way.

Quarterback Bryce Miller finished 9-of-21 through the air for 123 yards, connecting most often with senior Easton Ersland, who hauled in three passes for 64 yards. Plucar paced the Bombers' ground game with 34 yards and the team's lone touchdown.

Defensively, senior Dillon Shoen led the charge with 10.5 tackles, while sophomore Kanen DeYoung added six stops and an interception. Junior Tanner Ruby recorded Ballard's lone sack of the night.

Special teams provided a spark as Shoen returned a punt 26 yards to set up favorable field position. Junior Sam Hoffman handled the punting duties, averaging 36.8 yards on four kicks.

Ballard drops to 0-1 on the season and will look to bounce back next week when the Bombers travel to ADM on Friday, September 5, with kickoff set for 7:00 PM.