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Slow start, missed tackles hurt Eagles in loss

By Ari Selvey 3 min read

ST. PETER -- While New Ulm was able to find some success on offense in the second half of a Southeast District, Red Subdistrict football game against St. Peter, the Eagles were unable to overcome a 21-8 halftime deficit, falling to the Saints 31-21 on Wednesday.

The Eagles were without their starting quarterback Owen Castleman, who was out with an arm injury, and turned to sophomore Owen Drill to run the offense on a short week of practice. While the offense struggled early, with the lone first-half touchdown coming on a long run by Parker Ranweiler, Drill was able to connect with receivers more in the second half, including two deep passing touchdowns to Brenton Seidl as the Eagles were making their comeback effort. But the slow start, combined with tackling woes on the defensive end, ultimately doomed New Ulm to the loss.

St. Peter got on the board with its first drive of the game, and a sack by Miles Castleman wasn’t able to interrupt the Saints’ passing attack as St. Peter quarterback Alex Korir connected with Ryan Moelter for a 25-yard touchdown. The teams traded three and outs, with New Ulm getting excellent field position on its second drive. Ranweiler capitalized on the first play of that drive with a 41-yard rushing touchdown, with Drill rushing in the 2-point conversion to take an 8-7 lead.

But the Saints responded quickly, methodically marching down the field until Korir hit Owen Potts for an 8-yard touchdown and a 14-8 lead. New Ulm went three-and-out again, but a sack and a tackle for loss by Isaiah Friese and a pass deflection by Drill led St. Peter to punt it right back. New Ulm’s offense again stalled without gaining a first down, and this time Korir threw a 65-yard touchdown to Ashton Guida for a 21-8 St. Peter lead before halftime.

Drill found Crosby Batt for a 12-yard pass to get warmed up in the second half, but New Ulm ultimately turned it over on downs, leading to a 38-yard rushing touchdown by Korir for a 28-8 St. Peter advantage.

But the New Ulm offense kicked into gear, with Jayden Broste taking a screen pass from Drill 35 yards and George Gag catching another pass for 15 yards before Drill hit Seidl for a 36-yard deep shot and New Ulm’s second touchdown of the day to make it a 28-14 game.

But St. Peter was able to take plenty of time off the clock on its next drive, winding the game down to 7:08 remaining before kicking a field goal to make it a three score game, 31-14. Drill gave New Ulm a chance, connecting with Seidl again on a fourth-and-long, this time for 57 yards, to cut the lead to 31-21. But St. Peter was able to recover the onside kick attempt and took the remaining four minutes off the clock to secure the win.

New Ulm (4-3) will host Waseca in its final regular season game next Wednesday.

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