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Chargers double up Wolverines, win playoff opener

NEW ULM - Coming into the opening round of the Section 3AA Football Tournament, Minnesota Valley Lutheran had the unusual challenge of facing - and beating - the same team two weeks in a row.

The Chargers were coming off of a 44-14 win over the Wolverines on Oct. 20, just seven days prior to its matchup in the playoffs. But third-seeded MVL more than rose to the challenge, taking down sixth-seeded Sibley East 43-12 to take a first-round playoff win just one season after missing the playoffs entirely.

“We started off rough on D, but everyone started playing as a team,” MVL’s Blake Sexton said. “Everyone did their job, and we got it done. And on offense, we were just pushing the ball down the field.”

MVL head coach Jim Buboltz said that, while Sibley East came out with some extra twists in the first half, he was happy with how his squad adjusted, not allowing a second-half score.

“I thought Sibley East did a great job of showing us a few new things in the first half,” he said. “And then I’m really impressed with the way our guys adjusted in the second half by not giving up a touchdown. I’ve been impressed with our offense for the past four games - hitting big ones here and there, I was happy we were able to have the run-pass mix tonight. You need to get Blake involved, he’s so dangerous out there and he does such a nice job. But I’m really impressed with how our defense shut them down in the second half.

The win marks MVL’s first playoff victory since 2023, where the Chargers also beat Sibley East.

“It means so much to us,” MVL quarterback Eli Schauland said. “At the beginning of the year, coach [Buboltz] asked us what our goals were. What I said was win a playoff game. Last year that didn’t seem realistic. But here we are now, and on to Lake Crystal.”

Schauland completed four of eight passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns and added 30 yards and a touchdown on three carries. Chase Tweit had 98 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while Ben Reisgraf had 59 yards and a TD on 12 carries. Andy Enter had 102 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Sexton caught four passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

MVL got the ball rolling right away as Tweit ripped off a 60-yard rushing touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, with Enter adding the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. MVL’s Emmanuel Edwards recovered a fumble a few drives later to set up MVL on Sibley East’s 24-yard line, and the Chargers capitalized with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Riesgraf, with Twiet adding 2 more for a 16-0 advantage. But Sibley East responded as Landon Friedrichs hit Brody Stinson for a 56-yard gain before Frederichs connected with Riley Bussler for a 15-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 16-6.

MVL regained the energy with another one-play touchdown as Schauland completed a downfield pass to Sexton, who ran it the rest of the way for a 50-yard touchdown and a 22-6 lead. Still, Sibley East stuck with it, marching down the field on a 11-play drive that ended with Friedrichs rushing it in from three yards out to make it a 22-12 ball game.

But MVL responded once more, with Schauland completing a short pass to Sexton, who turned on the jets for a 63-yard touchdown, with Schauland running in the 2-point conversion for a 30-12 lead before halftime.

“They feed off my energy,” Sexton said. “I try my best to keep the energy on the field, then everyone else can show that too.”

MVL forced a three-and-out from the Wolverines coming out of the half, then the offense put together a 10-play drive that ended in a 6-yard rushing touchdown from Schauland as the Chargers took a 36-12 lead. Sibley East threatened to score once more, using a 20-yard rush from Jackson Bierstedt and a 13-yard run from Friedrichs to get into the red zone. A penalty erased a rushing touchdown by Stinson, but the Wolverines were set up at the 1-yard line on first and goal. There, the MVL defense made a stand, stuffing a QB sneak before Jamis Stewart earned a tackle for loss. Gavin Pribbenow broke up a pass, and the Chargers stuffed one more run attempt at the 1 to keep Sibley East out of the end zone.

Tweit nearly ripped off another one-play touchdown for MVL from 99 yards out, but a holding penalty took the play away. Still, after an MVL punt, the Chargers were able to turn the Wolverines over on downs, and Enter made Sibley East pay with a one-play touchdown that didn’t get called back from 80 yards out to make its 43-12 game with 5:26 to play in the game.

“We just had to stay positive and keep grinding,” Schauland said. “We know we have the playmakers, all we had to do was hit a hole and go make a play.”

Nolan Henderson recovered a fumble to seal the game for MVL.

“It’s a huge win,” Sexton said. “We got to take this energy and bring it to next week. We played great as a team. We’ve just got to play hard and on to next Saturday.”

The Chargers (5-4) now head to second-seeded Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial, who MVL lost to 21-7 in the regular season. The game will begin Saturday at 3 p.m.

“We played Lake Crystal in such a good game here a few weeks ago,” Buboltz said. “We know how we need to match up and what we need to do there … You’ve got to be really good and sound in your tackling. Take the lead - we took the lead 7-0, and then we gave the ball up at the 1-yard line, could have been up 14-0. You’ve got to take advantage of your opportunities and you’ve got to have sound tackling.”