Breaking News
Local Sports

Chargers run hard, rout Wolverines

By Travis Rosenau 4 min read

NEW ULM -- Minnesota Valley Lutheran kept it on the ground Tuesday night to much success as it rushed for 406 yards total in a 44-14 win over Sibley East in a Mid-South District, Brown Subdistrict football game.

Junior running back Chase Tweit had a career-high four touchdown rushes to lead the Chargers, racking up 168 yards on 17 carries.

"It means everything to do this on cancer [awareness] night, on senior night, to do it for all of them, it was bigger than us tonight," Tweit said. "The line did a heck of a job and just a great team win all around."

Fellow junior running back Ben Riesgraf also had a big game for MVL on the ground with 122 yards and two TDs on 11 carries.

"I'm really happy we get to build off each other," Riesgraf said. "One of us might have a big play and [the defense] shifts towards that side, then the other person gets a big play, so that's really special how we just get to build off each other and help each other succeed."

Noah Merseth entered late in the game and had a big 59-yard run for MVL, finishing with three carries for 66 yards, while quarterback Eli Schauland had a 25-yard run and Andrew Enter had two carries for 18 yards. Jackson Onken also added a 7-yard carry.

After a big return to midfield by Sibley East's Landon Friedrichs, who also played quarterback in the game, the Wolverines moved the ball to the MVL 29, but after a false start and back-to-back incompletions, they turned it over on downs and MVL was quick to capitalize.

After a handful of runs, which included a 35-yarder by Tweit to get the drive started for the Chargers, Tweit finished a seven-play drive with a 3-yard TD run with 4:54 left in the first quarter. The PAT kick was blocked, keeping it a 6-0 game.

The Wolverines had more success on their second drive of the game but it came after capitalizing on a 15-yard facemask penalty that set them up at the MVL 35. What followed was a 35-yard pass from running back Riley Bussler to Carson Schmidt down the sideline for a touchdown. A direct snap to Jackson Bierstedt led to a 2-point conversion run and 8-6 Wolverines lead with 3:32 to go in the opening quarter.

The Chargers got a handful of long runs their next drive, including a 20-yard run by Riesgraf, a 15-yard run for a first down by Tweit on third-and-15 and a 17-yard TD run by Riesgraf to go back in front. Senior Blake Sexton caught a 2-point conversion pass over a defender for a 14-8 MVL lead with 52 seconds left in the first quarter.

Both teams traded fumbles on their next drives, but after forcing Sibley East to punt after a three-and-out, the Chargers needed just one play, a 60-yard run by Riesgraf, to find the end zone again and go up 20-8. A 2-point conversion run by Tweit made it 22-8.

The Wolverines got a third-down pass from Friedrichs to Brody Stinson for 38 yards to keep their next drive alive and ended up finishing it with a 6-yard TD keeper by Friedrichs to trail 22-14.

A big kick return by Riesgraf set the Chargers up in Sibley East territory at the Wolverines 29. The Chargers wasted little time getting points back when Tweit took a handoff outside for a 17-yard score and 28-14 lead, which was the score at halftime.

A 4-yard TD run from Tweit on the first MVL drive of the second half and a 2-point conversion run by Schauland had the Chargers up 36-14. The next MVL drive saw Sexton take a long pass out of the hands of a defender for a 40-yard reception before an 18-yard TD run by Tweit ended the drive and put MVP up 44-14 after Schauland's 2-point conversion run.

Senior Emmanuel Edwards led the Chargers defense with 11 tackles, while Zach Burger had eight tackles, Enter and Nolan Henderson each had seven tackles and Nic Mendy had six tackles.

While it was a bit of a rocky start for the Chargers, they stood firm at the end of the night and left Johnson Field with the big win.

"We've been through it before, ups and downs this whole year and we know how to battle through adversity," Tweit said. "It's just something we've done all season long and it's great coaching preparing us for games like this and just executing as a team."

MVL (4-4) and Sibley East (1-7) finished their regular seasons and will open playoffs against an opponent to be determined on Tuesday.

Starting at /week.