Prior to their game against Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton on Friday night, Minnesota Valley Lutheran head football coach Jim Buboltz said that he reminded his team that they need to take care of the football.

“We turned the ball over and gave (JWP) better opportunities than what we had,” he said. “That was the key to the game — we talked about it all week in practice. We knew what was coming with the weather.”

For the game, the Chargers had four turnovers as they fell 22-0 to the previously winless Bulldogs and fell to 0-6 on the season.

“We had two fumbles and two interceptions and one of the interceptions was a pick six,” Buboltz said. “And one of our other turnovers happened inside their 20.”

Offensively, the Chargers were shutout for the first time this season and are now averaging just over five points per game in their six contests.

Buboltz thinks that right now his team is playing not to lose instead of playing to win.

“It seemed like Friday we were waiting for something bad to happen instead of going out and creating something really good,” he said. “We were only down 6-0 at halftime and we had given them a touchdown on a short field. Then they had the interception for a touchdown. After that it was difficult to come back. It is confidence right now so we are not going to talk about this game Monday.”

GREYHOUNDS HIT BUZZSAW: In the last 15 years, New Ulm Cathedral has been shutout only twice in football. One came last year in an 8-0 playoff loss to MVL and the other happened Friday in a 38-0 loss to Wabasso.

“They are a very strong defensive team,” Cathedral coach Denny Lux said. “Their offensive and defensive lines are very strong kids. I thought that we did some good things on defense at times. But for us it was a kind of a struggle offensively.

“With their offense and their speed and size, I thought that we played pretty good,” Lux said. “We only gave up one touchdown in the second half. If we could have gotten us a couple of scores, it may have changed things, it could have changed things. Our defense had a lot of fight in them. They played with a lot of pride.”

TURNOVERS HURT EAGLES: New Ulm Eagles head football coach Corey Kneeshaw felt that his team was its own worst enemy in a 27-18 loss to Belle Plaine Friday.

“We turned the ball over five times, (three interceptions and two fumbles),” Kneeshaw said. “And I was very unsatisfied with the officiating. I thought that is was poor last night. We fumbled at their one yard line. That was because of a bad decision on my part. We were at the 1-yard line and I decided to quarterback sneak. I had Hunter [Ranweiler, Eagles quarterback] go up under center and the snap did not get to him. With a wet field condition like that I should have known better. We do not go up under center hardly at all.”

Kneeshaw said that at times Belle Plaine rushed more people than New Ulm could block.

“They had seven players in the box which made it hard for us to run the ball, I think that we threw the ball over 50 times in the game. They gave us man-to-man on our receivers.”

Kneeshaw said that Ranweiler and sophomore wide receiver Reece Melby hooked up for a 75-yard touchdown pass.

New Ulm’s run defense held Belle Plaine to only 50 yards in the game.

Kneeshaw felt that the loss took away the margin of error for the Eagles for a home playoff game.

“We have to beat Jordan next Friday in Jordan,” he said. “That is an absolute must.”