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United comes back but falls late to NRHEG

By Ari Selvey 6 min read

SLEEPY EYE -- Down by 21 in the third quarter of a nondistrict football game against New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva at Sleepy Eye High School, Sleepy Eye United made a comeback to take a 37-36 lead with under six minutes to play in the game.

But NRHEG was able to march down and score to take the lead once more with a touchdown leaving just 51.8 seconds for SEU to travel 60 yards for a score.

United was able to get all the way to the 3-yard line with 1.4 seconds to play, but the final pass of the game fell incomplete as SEU suffered a heartbreaking loss to open the season.

SEU head coach Joe Hoffmann said that, despite the loss, United was able to show some grit by giving itself a chance to win at the end of the game.

"It shows a lot of the heart and character of the kids we have on the team," Hoffmann said. "They have that never-quit attitude, and they kept battling. They kept scratching and clawing and found a way to get back in the game. Proud of their efforts."

While SEU had some learning moments in a game that ultimately ended in a loss, it also showed quite a few things to build on for the rest of the season.

"We learned a lot about ourselves," Hoffmann said. "We learned we're not going to quit and we're going to keep battling. Ultimately, we're going to come back to work, we're going to clean up some of our mistakes and give ourselves an opportunity to make those plays when we get those opportunities."

Keeyan Netzke took 20 carries for 108 yards in the game for SEU, while Gavin Fischer had 11 carries for 66 yards and two scores. Brayden Heiderscheidt completed 9 of 17 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown, with Carson Uecker catching two passes for 42 yards and a TD and Adam Steffensmeier catching three passes for 33 yards. Defensively, Uecker had five tackles, while Nick Tauer had an interception and a sack, Steffensmeier had an interception, and Netzke had a sack.

SEU had to punt on its first possession, while the Panthers were able to work the ball 80 yards for a touchdown, thanks in large part to running back Sean Lassahn, who had several big runs and the 1-yard scoring play for an 8-0 lead after the conversion. SEU was able to gain two first downs on its next drive, but fumbled the ball in NRHEG territory. However, the SEU defense got the ball back on the very next play, with Steffensmeier intercepting a pass to give SEU the ball at the Panthers 35.

United was unable to convert on the field position as the game ran into the second quater, turning it over on downs, but after NRHEG punted it away, SEU had its first scoring drive of the game, using big runs from Merrick Mathiowetz, Netzke and Adam Braulick before Fischer punched it in from 6 yards out to cut the lead to 8-7 after the extra point.

The Panthers connected 55-yard catch-and-run from Brooks Gilliland to Ryan Schlaak to score on the next possession and take a 16-7 lead, but SEU briefly turned the tides as a ball tipped up by Uecker ended with a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown by Tauer on NRHEG's next drive, making it a 16-15 game. The momentum was short-lived, however, as Tyler Piepho returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to give the Panthers a 24-15 advantage. NRHEG added one more touchdown after a blocked punt, with Lassahn scoring from one yard out, to go up 30-15 before halftime.

After the teams exchanged punts to start the second half, the Panthers took the largest lead of the game with a seven-play, 80-yard drive ending in another 1-yard run by Lassahn to go up 36-15 with 5:24 to play in the third quarter.

But SEU responded with a touchdown drive of its own, with Heiderscheidt connecting with Netzke for 10 yards and Fischer running it in from 12 yards out for the touchdown. A long scramble by Heiderscheidt ended in a successful 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 36-23 with 3:11 to go in the third.

On the defensive end, SEU began to make stops, plugging the holes in what had been a leaky run defense in the first half.

"We brought another defender up in the box and played Cover 0," Hoffmann said. "We let our DBs get on an island and they played outstanding, which allowed us to have an extra defender, which helped slow down their running attack. They have a very strong running back and their offensive line was strong, too."

Tauer and Netzke recorded back-to-back sacks to force an NRHEG punt, and SEU marched 60 yards in 12 plays, including two fourth-down conversions, in a drive that ended in a 17-yard pass from Heiderscheidt to Uecker for a touchdown. Fischer converted for 2 points to make it a one-score game, 36-31. The Panthers were unable to handle the bouncing kickoff from SEU's Braylon Nelson, turning it over and giving SEU the ball at their own 45-yard line. United capitalized, with Heiderscheidt throwing a 25-yard fade to Uecker to set up the team at the 5-yard line, from where Heiderscheidt ran it in four plays later for the go-ahead touchdown. While the extra point was no good, SEU still held a 37-36 lead with under six minutes to play in the game.

However, NRHEG finally found some second-half offensive success, converting a fourth down by inches on its way to a nine-play, 50-yard touchdown drive that ended in Lassahn's fourth score of the game. SEU had a good return on the kickoff, getting to the 50-yard line, but had just 51.8 seconds to score a touchdown down 5 points.

A pair of connections to Braulick and Steffensmeier opened the drive, but two incompletions followed as SEU had just 17.2 seconds to play. Steffensmeier gained 12 yards with a toe-tapping catch at the sideline to stop the clock with 13.1 seconds to go, then Steffensmeier again got the first down and stopped the clock with 8.4 seconds in the game. Mathiowetz took a reception down to the 3-yard line, and SEU was able to call a timeout with just 1.4 seconds to go. For the final play of the game. SEU ran a reverse pass, but the throw was just short of the fingertips of the open receiver as the clock hit zeros.

SEU travels to play BOLD in Olivia next Friday.

Starting at /week.