By Mark HaugenLuverne had to resort to another one of their patented playoff comebacks Friday night, but this time they fell short.The Cardinals battled back from a 21-0 deficit, pulling within a touchdown, but could get no closer and lost 28-19 to the Cardinals from Redwood Valley in the championship game of Section 3-AAA in Redwood Falls."We tried to spread out our formation more this time," Coach Todd Oye said. "The first time we played them the most success we had was pounding the fullback at them. We wanted to spread out our offense to still pound the fullback but open up the threat of the pass."After its defense posted a stellar three-and-out to open the game against RV, the Luverne offense took over on its own 42. With a pair of Nick Heronimus passes (17 yards to Brad Herman and 21 yards to Derek Elbers) highlighting the way, the Cardinals drove to the 15, but a 32-yard field goal attempt by Heronimus slipped just right and Luverne came up empty handed.Heronimus completed 10 of 24 passes in the game for 272 yards. Herman was on the receiving end five times for 173 yards.Luverne’s defense continued its stingy play until a lucky bounce went Redwood Valley’s way four possessions later. Going for it on a fourth-and-two from the Luverne 37, Redwood Valley quarterback Luke Radel lofted a rainbow pass down the right sideline, had it tipped by a Luverne defender, but the ball dropped into the hands of his receiver stumbling to the ground at the 7. Three plays later the quarterback sneaked in from two yards out for the score. Redwood Valley led 7-0 with 1:17 left in the half.An interception ended a seven-play last-minute drive by Luverne on the Redwood Valley 35 at halftime."On our first possession, if we score that touchdown or get that field goal, we’re maybe up at half," Oye said. "We still felt pretty good coming out at half."Luverne’s offense had trouble getting on track in the third quarter as its two possessions were stymied to three plays and a punt each time.Redwood Valley then struck twice in one minute to put Luverne deeper in the hole. RV scored on a four-yard plunge up the middle by Blake Hagert with 3:36 to go in the third.Following a fumbled pitch on Luverne’s second play, RV struck immediately with Hagert up the gut again from eight yards out at the 2:39 mark.But trailing 21-0 after the third-quarter break, the Luverne Cardinals remembered their three previous come-from-behind victories and didn’t quit. Elbers picked off a Redwood Valley pass deep in Luverne territory and the Cardinal offense set up at their own 25. After two incomplete passes, Heronimus this time hit Herman going down the right side and the 205-pound senior scampered 75 yards for a score. A PAT kick by Heronimus had Luverne on the scoreboard 21-7 with 9:12 left in the game.Luverne’s defense stiffened again, and Jose Saravia’s quarterback sack (13 1/2 for the season) on third down knocked the opposing Cardinals back to the 45. Their subsequent punt included a holding penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that forced Redwood Valley to punt again from their own 21. A short punt let Luverne take over on the RV 45."Jose played a great defensive game," Oye said. "He’s played that way all year." From there it didn’t take long for things to get interesting, as on the next play Heronimus found Mike Kunstle sprinting wide open down the middle of the field and hit him with a spiral for a 45-yard scoring pass. Despite the missed extra-point kick, Luverne was within 21-13 with 5:49 to go.But that was as close as they’d get in their first section championship game since 2000. "The kids were hanging their heads a little bit after we got down 21-0, but we reminded them of our comebacks and that Redwood’s only loss this year came when they were ahead 28-0 in the fourth quarter against Jackson," Oye said.Redwood Valley took over on their own 30, but a 20-yard run and a personal foul on Luverne had them knocking on the door right away. Eight plays later, their fullback was at it again and trudged up the middle from 17 yards out for a score. The enemy Cardinals led 28-13 with 2:40 left."Give Redwood credit," Oye said. "When we made it 21-13, we just needed to get the ball back but they did a nice job of going on a long drive and scoring what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. In the previous three games we always got a turnover, but Redwood didn’t turn the ball over."From their own 17, Luverne wasn’t done yet, though. Heronimus hit Jared Pick for a 20-yard pass. Then a huge 53-yard pass to Herman had the Cardinals down on the 10. Three plays later, Heronimus and Herman hooked up again for a four-yard tuchdown pass. The conversion pass was incomplete and Redwood Valley led 28-19 with 1:41 to go in the game. RV recovered the onside kick and three knees later were the section champs. Luverne ended the season 8-3."Our defense played real well," Oye said. "They did a nice job of holding a pretty potent team to limited yards. Their wide receiver set a state record for catches in a season and Jake Clark played pretty well on the kid. "The bounces just didn’t go Luverne’s way this time, as Redwood Valley picked up three of their own fumbles and ran with them.""We had a very successful season," Oye said. "Some people were expecting maybe a .500 season from us, but the kids set their goals at the start and they wanted to play in the state tournament. We came pretty close."Team StatisticsLuverne: 22-44 rushing, 24-10-272 passing, 316 total yards.Redwood Valley: 43-195 rushing; 17-11-133 passing, 328 total yards.Individual StatisticsRushing: Jake Hendricks 4-18, Ben Nath 6-13, Nate Siebenahler 5-8, Derek Elbers 4-4, Nick Heronimus 3-1.Passing: Heronimus 24-10-272.Receiving: Brad Herman 5-173, Mike Kunstle 1-45, Jared Pick 3-33, Derek Elbers 1-21.