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Tigers push past SEU in 2nd half

By Travis Rosenau 4 min read

SPRINGFIELD -- With the score knotted up at 14-all heading into halftime, Sleepy Eye United showed it wasn't looking to come to Riverside Park and be another victim for the Springfield Tigers to steamroll.

But at the end of the night, the Tigers did enough to get the job done thanks to their ability to move the ball on the ground.

While the second half was just as back and forth as the first, the Tigers avoided seeing their undefeated streak come to an end with a 34-20 victory in a Mid-South District, Purple Subdistrict football game on Thursday night.

While the Tigers (6-0) like to air it out and did so to some success on Thursday, it was the ground game leading the charge as sophomore running back Carter Jackson took 12 carries for 196 yards and three TDs. Colten Sell also had 14 carries for 93 yards and a TD.

Tigers quarterback Parker Kuehn completed 9 of 17 passes for 183 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Ely Streich was Kuehn's go-to target as he had five catches for 94 yards, while Braxton Brown had two catches for 56 yards.

Aiden Moriarty led the Springfield defense with 14 tackles, while Leo Hovland had 11 tackles and an interception, Mahesh Allen had nine tackles and Tayte Hall had eight tackles and an interception. Tyson Horkey and Conner Schmitt also each had a sack for the Tigers.

SEU (4-3) was led by Keeyan Netzke, who had 27 carries for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Merrick Mathiowetz had eight carries for 58 yards and a score. Quarterback Landry Folkens completed 10 of 21 passes for 164 yards and two interceptions, while Carson Uecker had four catches for 105 yards and Adam Braulick had three catches for 21 yards.

The SEU defense was led by Nick Tauer, who had 10 tackles, while Uecker had an interception.

The Tigers got on the board first with a four-play drive ending in a 44-yard TD pass to Braxton Brown. The PAT kick from Madden Lendt made it 7-0.

SEU countered on its next drive with a six-play drive ending in a 3-yard TD run by Mathiowetz. That drive was aided in a big way when 6-foot-8 tight end Brecken Hulke, who caught a pass for 27 yards during the drive. The PAT kick missed and it was a 7-6 game.

Streich hauled in a big pass on the run for 44 yards on the next Springfield drive to help set up their next score. Jackson got that next Tigers' score with a 15-yard TD run to put his team up 14-6 after Lendt's PAT with 5:38 left in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter after forcing a Springfield turnover on downs thanks to a tackle for a loss by Tauer, SEU marched down the short field and finished with a 1-yard TD run by Netzke. A 2-point conversion pass from Folkens to Uecker tied the game at 14-all with 9:31 left in the half.

Both teams had a chance to take the lead late in the half after Uecker caught a sideline pass on the run for 47 yards. The ball hit off his shoulder pad before he juggled it a few times and secured it for the big catch. After two short runs and an incomplete pass, Folkens threw to the end zone from the Springfield 19 and was intercepted by Hall.

Springfield returned the favor on its next drive after Kuehn was picked off by Uecker on a throw to the middle of the field. SEU was unable to capitalize on that interception, however, and punted away in the final minute of the half.

With nine seconds left in the third quarter, Sell finished off a Springfield drive with a 1-yard TD run to put the Tigers back in front. Netzke had a 6-yard TD run to answer with 10:10 left to play. A 2-point conversion try failed and the Tigers led 21-20.

Jackson saved the best for last with a dominant second half on the ground, finishing the game with a 56-yard TD run and a 47-yard TD run to lead to the final score.

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