NEW ULM — If there was one score that stuck out from the local games and maybe raised some eyebrows in the area Wednesday night it was Minnesota Valley Lutheran 34, Springfield 6.

“That was how I thought that we were going to play all season,” Chargers coach Jim Buboltz said. “The first score that they got came because of a complete broken pass coverage because of a formation we had not seen. But that was it — it was 34-6 before the next time that they got inside of our 30 yard line. Our defense played outstanding.”

“And Luke Thompson (MVL quarterback) — he was special. He was 17-for-26 passing and he completed 11 of his last 12 passes. His brother Cole had 11 catches in the game and three touchdowns.”

Buboltz felt that the big play of the game came on their first touchdown when sophomore Will Kaesermann caught a touchdown pass from Luke Thompson for the first MVL score. “He (Kaesermann) is a player who has really grown up this year — he got a ball in the back of the end zone. That seemed to really ignite us. Luke scrambled on that play — got out of the pocket. Will is 6-foot-4 and he can jump. From that point on, our defense really turned it up.”

Freshman Ben Price contributed 83 yards rushing.

“We had 200 yards rushing and 199 yards in the air,” Buboltz said. “The decision-making from Luke in throwing the ball was great. It was a great all-around game.”

The 34 points scored by the Chargers offense against a very good Springfield team is impressive. But was more impressive was the 6 points allowed to a team that was averaging almost 40 a game. The previous low score for the Tigers in a game was 32.

“That is where we need to get a better performance,” Buboltz said. “When we get that going, we feel better offensively too. Hats off to Dave Bendix, who called a great defensive game. We wanted a home playoff game with a win. So playing the way we played (Wednesday) going into playoffs when this starts over Tuesday for everyone is what we want.”

MVL will host Lake Crystal-Welcome Memorial Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Johnson Field in the start of the Section 3AA playoffs.

GREYHOUNDS OFFENSE ROLLING INTO SECTION 2A PLAYOFFS: New Ulm Cathedral head football coach Denny Lux said that the 47-0 win over Wabasso Wednesday night was just what his team needed going into post-season.

“That was the kind of game we needed coming off of that physical game against Adrian,” he said. “Offensively our line really did a super job. We had Justin Berg back at tight end for this game and we also had Levi Jakes (160 yards rushing in the game) back at fullback. Those two players really played well and brought a lot of intensity to our offense.

“It was a well-played game by both teams. And this was the first game that we put a zero on the board defensively this season.”

Defensively the Greyhounds held Wabasso to 117 yards rushing and 90 yards passing.

Lux said that senior Eric Furth had a big game with 150 yards and four touchdowns. “He saw the running lanes and found some cutbacks and he has good speed,” Lux said. “His long run in the first quarter really set the tone.”

Lux thought that this game was the best that both his quarterback and running backs faked without the ball all year.

“You could see players on their defense looking for the ball and the ball was right next to them, but they were looking in a different spot,” he said. “That discipline of our running backs made a huge difference in that game.”

Cathedral opens Section 2A playoffs next Tuesday at United South Central.

EAGLES FALL TO TROJANS: New Ulm Eagles assistant football coach Larry Wellmann said that Wednesday night’s 14-12 home loss to Worthington was a tough game to lose.

“We had opportunities in the game and you want to go with the ball in your hand in scoring distance at the end of a close game with a chance to win, but unfortunately it did not work out,” he said.

New Ulm was able to get a running game going with Dylen Carreon totaling 70 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown on a 4-yard run.

“We had some times where we were able to run the ball,” Wellmann said. “It did not click like it did last week. Worthington was packing in the box. We had a short turnaround week and we missed a lot of prep time.”

New Ulm did muster an air attack in the game

Quarterback Ayden Jensen (8-for-18, 96 yards) threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jonah Tess. Jacob Martinka caught two passes for 45 yards.

“This was a game that could have gone either way,” Wellmann said. “They had a couple of big plays that got called back by penalties. And we had opportunities as well. We clean up some things here and it is a different outcome.”

The Eagles football team has had some injuries and adversity lately, but Wellmann said that the kids on the team have fantastic.

“We have talked as a team with the players and the coaching staff that throughout life you are going to be faced with adversity. And how you react and how you respond is going to define you as a person. That has been our focus.”

The Eagles open Section 3AAA playoffs next Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Tri-City United.