By Jeff Meder

Journal Sports Writer

WINTHROP — Owen Swenson and Garrett Stegeman combined for five touchdowns to help No. 4-seed Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop fly past No. 5-seecd Mayer Lutheran 44-15 on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of the Section 2A Football Tournament.

The victory means that GFW will play at No. 1-seed Lester Prairie at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the semifinals of the tournament.

Penalties plagued the Crusaders throughout the entire game. The Thunderbirds were able to score in every quarter, which included 22 points in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

“We did some really good things,” GFW head coach Pat Hentges said. “Our guys were just taking control.” He also said Mayer Lutheran is a young team that looks to be very good in the future. He was very pleased how the Thunderbirds handled themselves on the field.

Regie Mattes went 12 for 145 yards rushing and one touchdown. Owen Swenson went 15 for 29 with three touchdowns and two 2-point conversions. Stegeman was 17 for 76 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively for the Thunderbirds, Luke Bastian had three tackles, three assists, one sack, one tipped ball and one fumble recovery for GFW. William Bastian added three tackles, one assist, one sack and one tipped ball. Matthew Lee had three tackles.

Gabriel Shimanski went 9 for 25 for 87 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Crusaders. He also had 9 rushes for 24 yards and one fumble.

Cole Jacobson handed off the ball to Stegeman who scored GFW’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run with 26 seconds left in the first quarter. Owen Swenson made some extra effort as he carried the ball in for the 2-point conversion and an 8-0 Thunderbird lead.

Jacobson gave the ball to Stegeman who scored on a 6-yard run at 9:52 of the second quarter. Dominic Krumwiede ran for the 2-point conversion and a 16-0 GFW lead. Mayer Lutheran answered with 3 seconds left in the second quarter on 15-yard touchdown pass from Shimanski to Joshua Clark. Shimanski tossed the ball to Nolan Hoese for the 2-point conversion and it was 16-8 GFW at halftime.

Swenson scored on 1-yard run at the 4:08 mark of the third quarter. Stegeman tried to run for another 2 points, but it was unsuccessful.

With it fourth down and 8 yards to go, Jacobson tossed a pass while he was being pulled down by a Mayer Lutheran defender. Swenson caught the pass for the first down. Two plays later, Jacobson gave the ball to Swenson, who scored on a 5-yard run at 10:56 of the fourth quarter. William Bastian ran the ball in for the 2-point conversion and a 30-8 GFW advantage.

Later, Swenson ran 29 yards for another Thunderbird touchdown. He took the ball on the next play and ran it in for the 2-point conversion. The Crusaders answered with 2:26 left in the game as Shimanski tossed a 7-yard pass to Clark for their next touchdown. Shimanski kicked the ball through the uprights for the extra point.

GFW took the ensuing kickoff at the 20-yard line on a touchback. Jacobson handed the ball to Mattes, who broke free from the line of scrimmage and he ran 80 yards for GFW’s final touchdown.