By John RittenhouseThe Luverne Cardinals opened the 2004 season in a promising way by recording a 19-0 home win over New Ulm Friday.Luverne scored 19 points in the first half, which proved to be more than enough offensive support for a team that turned in one of its most impressive defensive performances in recent years.The Cardinal defense limited the Eagles to 96 total yards, recorded five sacks and gave up one first down in the game’s first half. When the contest was complete, LHS coach Todd Oye tipped his hat to the defensive unit."Our defense set the tone with a three-and-out to start the game," said Oye, who registered his first coaching win over New Ulm. "Overall, it was the most complete performance by our defense we’ve had (during Oye’s two-plus year coaching tenure).The LHS defense recorded four straight three-and-out series to start the game and came up with an interception to end New Ulm’s fifth possession of the contest. The Cardinal defense made an early statement by not allowing the Eagles to pick up a single yard during the first three plays of the game.After New Ulm punted the ball, the LHS offense took over on its own 41-yard line before mounting a 59-yard drive consisting of six running plays. The march, which featured runs of 19 and 18 yards by tailback Scott Goebel, ended with quarterback Nick Heronimus scoring on a seven-yard scamper at the 7:59 mark of the first quarter. When Chris Engesser booted the extra point, the Cards sported a 7-0 cushion.Luverne lost the ball on downs and by an interception at the end of its second and third offensive possessions of the game, but the Cards capped the scoring in the game by reaching the end zone twice in the final six minutes of the second quarter.Luverne overcame three penalties during a six-play, 45-yard touchdown drive during its fourth offensive possession of the game. After tossing a 42-yard pass to Derek Johnson that moved the ball to the Eagle 8-yard line, Heronimus scored two plays later on a one-yard plunge at the 5:53 mark of the second quarter. A bobbled snap during the extra-point attempt led to a run that fell short of reaching the end zone, leaving the Cards with a 13-0 cushion.Cardinal defender Jared Pick intercepted a pass two plays into New Ulm’s ensuing offensive possession.The turnover set up an eight-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Heronimus tossing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Brad Herman with 44 seconds left in the first half. The toss for a two-point conversion fell incomplete.Neither team could produce any points in the second half.One interception, one fumbled punt and a missed 25-yard field goal attempt played a role in keeping the Cardinals scoreless in the third and fourth quarters. The LHS defense yielded 81 yards and six first downs in the second half, but it came up with one interception while completing the shutout."Our offense executed pretty well in the first half, but we had a lot of penalties (10 in the game) and made a lot of mistakes after that," Oye said. "It was a typical first game with the mistakes and penalties, but it was a good first step for us. It’s nice to start the season 1-0, and it gives us a good start as far as collecting section playoff points."The Luverne defense will be tested again when the Cards travel to Worthington to take on quarterback Jay Scheidt and the Trojans Friday. Scheidt threw for one touchdown pass and ran for another to lead the Trojans to a 20-12 win over Fairmont last Friday."They have a talented quarterback who set a lot of passing records for them last season," Oye said of the Trojans. "We’ll have to play well in all three phases of the game (offense, defense and special teams) to be successful."Team statisticsLuverne: 174 rushing yards, 144 passing yards, 318 total yards, 11 first downs, 10 penalties for 60 yards, three turnovers.New Ulm: 37 rushing yards, 59 passing yards, 96 total yards, seven first downs, zero penalties, three turnovers.Individual statisticsRushing: Jake Hendricks 9-62, Goebel 10-44, Nate Siebenahler 9-28, Ben Nath 2-13, Heronimus 7-11, Nathan Boler 6-8, Elbers 3-8.Passing: Heronimus 7-13 for 144 yards.Receiving: Herman 2-73, Pick 2-16, Johnson 1-42, Hendricks 2-13.Defense: Tony Willers two sacks, Boler one sack, Siebenahler one sack, Jose Saravia one sack, Herman one interception and one fumble recovery, Pick one interception.