And if it was unclear to anyone after that, the Greyhounds made it crystal clear by scoring on their next two drives on the way to a 45-6 win over the Mountain Lake Area Wolverines at Johnson Field.

That first drive saw a short field for the Greyhounds following a punt and they needed just two plays to find the end zone, with 29-yard run by Alex Portner setting up a 4-yard touchdown run up the middle by senior Adrian Henry.

“I feel really good with what we’re doing right now,” Henry said. “Alex, he’s running the ball really well. Our line has opened up the holes and that’s the only reason I can get out there.”

A 2-point conversion run by quarterback Eli Anderson made it 8-0.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm Cathedral’s Evan Blekestad (41) blocks Mountain Lake Area’s Jason Wright (7) in Saturday afternoon’s nine-man football game at Johnson Field.

Portner led the Greyhounds with 14 carries for 166 yards and three touchdowns, while Henry finished with 15 carries for 122 yards and two scores.

After forcing a second straight MLA punt, the Greyhounds started from their own 46 and took eight plays to score, getting a QB sneak from 2 yards out by Anderson to go up 14-0. The Greyhounds forced a turnover on downs on the next Wolverines drive and showed off Portner’s speed again seconds later as he took a handoff to the outside and scored untouched on a 28-yard run. A 2-point conversion run by Lane Ruch made it a 22-0 game with 1:34 still to play in the opening quarter.

Ike Kirschstein, who had seven tackles, recovered a fumble for the Greyhounds on the Wolverines’ fourth drive of the game.

“We just come out with energy,” Kirschstein said. “We talk with the guys on defense, keep contained.”

While the Greyhounds were unable to score after that fumble recovery and turned it over on downs, they forced the Wolverines to turn it over on downs after a tackle for a loss on fourth down by Camden Berg, who led the Greyhounds on the day with nine tackles.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm Cathedral’s Adrian Henry carries the ball during Saturday afternoon’s nine-man football game against Mountain Lake Area at Johnson Field.

Portner scored his second touchdown of the game with 8:22 left in the half on a 7-yard run and a 2-point conversion throw and catch from Anderson to Josh Forstner made it 30-0.

The only play that hurt the Greyhounds came moments later, a deep pass down the field from MLA quarterback Tryton Khounsanthone to Carson Wall for a 60-yard touchdown.

“I think we’re doing great,” Berg said. “Our D line, I’ve got to give a lot of credit to them guys. They’re taking up the blocks for me and Evan Blekestad, our other linebacker. Our DBs, they’re covering guys downfield, just that one little mishap [the MLA touchdown], but that’s a tough play.”

Portner showed off his shiftiness the next Cathedral drive before the half when he bounced out to the right side of the field. After that, he broke two tackles, squeezed between a pair of bodies and lost his footing but recovered to scamper into the end zone for a 29-yard TD run. Another 2-point throw and catch from Anderson to Berg made it 38-6 with 3:44 left in the first half.

The Greyhounds got the ball to start the second half and worked the clock, finishing the drive with a 4-yard TD run by Henry. The PAT kick was good by Andrew Stern to put what ended as the final score on the board with 7:14 left in the third quarter.

Also for the Cathedral defense, Blekestad finished with five tackles and an interception, while Ruch had five tackles.

The Greyhounds (3-3) host their final home game of the regular season at 7 p.m. Friday when they welcome Renville County West to Johnson Field.

Cathedral ends the regular season with a trip to Edgerton on Oct. 15.

For more photos, see this Tuesday’s edition of The Journal.