Second-half woes slow Chargers in loss to Knights
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Blake Sexton is wrapped up by a pair of Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial defenders after a catch in the second half of Wednesday night’s Mid-South District, Brown Subdistrict football game at Johnson Field in New Ulm.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial running back Carson Othoudt runs the ball during Wednesday night’s Mid-South District, Brown Subdistrict football game against Minnesota Valley Lutheran at Johnson Field in New Ulm.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Jamis Stewart celebrates a sack during the first half of a Mid-South District, Brown Subdistrict football game against Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial on Wednesday at Johnson Field.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Levi Christensen (60) works to block Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial defensive lineman Mason Adams (58) during the first half of a Mid-South District, Brown Subdistrict football game on Wednesday at Johnson Field.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Blake Sexton is wrapped up by a pair of Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial defenders after a catch in the second half of Wednesday night’s Mid-South District, Brown Subdistrict football game at Johnson Field in New Ulm.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial running back Carson Othoudt runs the ball during Wednesday night’s Mid-South District, Brown Subdistrict football game against Minnesota Valley Lutheran at Johnson Field in New Ulm.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Jamis Stewart celebrates a sack during the first half of a Mid-South District, Brown Subdistrict football game against Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial on Wednesday at Johnson Field.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Levi Christensen (60) works to block Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial defensive lineman Mason Adams (58) during the first half of a Mid-South District, Brown Subdistrict football game on Wednesday at Johnson Field.
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NEW ULM -- Against a powerful Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial football team on a five-game winning streak entering Wednesday night, Minnesota Valley Lutheran matched up with the Knights' physicality well enough to take a 7-7 tie into halftime.
The Knights continued to wear away at the Chargers in the second half, however, getting into the end zone two more times to earn a 21-7 win in a Mid-South District, Brown Subdistrict football game at Johnson Field.
"They made a few adjustments in their blocking scheme [in the second half] and I thought we missed some tackles," MVL head coach Jim Buboltz said. "Whether you call that being tired or what, we missed some tackles."
The Chargers started out hot on the ground on their first drive, getting a handful of short runs before a 31-yard run by Chase Tweit set them up at the LCWM 25. On a fourth-and-5 from the LCWM 17, Ben Riesgraf took a run for 8 yards to set up a first and goal. A few short runs by Riesgraf led to a fourth-and-goal at the 1, but the Knights were able to stuff a QB sneak by Eli Schauland and force an MVL turnover on downs.
The Chargers defense returned a strong effort after one LCWM first down, forcing the Knights to punt it away after a sack from senior Jamis Stewart on third-and-4.
The Chargers got the ball at the LCWM 34 after that punt and after three plays went nowhere, Blake Sexton hauled in a sideline pass over a defender and took that defender with him another 5 yards for a 25-yard reception. That big catch ended up setting up an 8-yard TD run by Tweit, who then kicked the PAT for a 7-0 MVL lead with 9:40 left in the first half.
The Knights answered that touchdown drive with one of their own, capping off a 13-play scoring drive with a 1-yard TD on a QB keeper from Brody Herbst with 2:54 left in the half. The PAT kick by Hunter Lopez tied it up.
Schauland was intercepted by Connor Othoudt on the next MVL drive on a deep pass at the LCWM 46, but the very next play saw Sexton intercept a deep throw by Herbst that set the Chargers back up at their own 10. The Chargers then ran the clock out and took a 7-7 tie into the half.
The Knights scored with 2:58 left in the third quarter on a 44-yard TD run by Carson Othoudt, with the PAT kick by Lopez putting them up 14-7. LCWM took advantage of a second MVL turnover after a deflected pass intended for Sexton was picked off by Griffin Larson and taken to the Knights 37-yard line.
The Knights chewed the clock on the ground after that and ended up forcing the Chargers to use all three of their timeouts in the fourth quarter. The Knights were stopped just inches short of a first down at the MVL 12, but they converted on fourth down with a 1-yard run up the middle to continue their drive. Moments later, the Chargers forced another fourth down for the Knights, who needed 3 yards for a first down and 4 for a touchdown. The Knights didn't settle for the first down as they got a run outside by Braxton Dudgeon for a score and a 21-7 lead after Lopez's PAT kick with 1:39 left.
MVL got a 7-yard catch by Sexton during their next drive on second down, but back-to-back incompletions turned it over on downs and let LCWM kneel out the rest of the clock.
Tweit finished with 85 yards rushing on 13 carries, while Riesgraf had 55 yards rushing on 14 carries.
"I thought the way we started out and came out right away, that should be 14 points on the board instantly," Buboltz said. "It's too bad the first drive didn't happen, but I think it was the energy we came out with right away, we weren't afraid by any means. The whole game was played by two evenly-matched teams and we're gonna have another chance at them in a couple weeks to do it again."
The Knights moved to 6-1 on the year overall and 5-1 in Section 3AA, while the Chargers dropped to 3-4 overall and 3-2 in the section. The Knights are currently second in the section below Jackson County Central, while MVL is sitting third in the section, with playoffs on the horizon.
Before that, the Chargers host Sibley East in a regular season finale at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Johnson Field, while LCWM hosts Class AAA Luverne at 7 p.m. Tuesday.