By John RittenhouseLuverne’s bid to win the Southwest Conference football championship outright came to an end with a 27-7 loss in Redwood Falls Friday.In a clash between the SWC’s top two teams (both squads brought 3-1 conference records into the game) on a wet, cold and windy night, Redwood Valley locked up at least a share of the league crown by defeating the Cardinals by 20 points.Luverne still could gain a share of the league crown, but two things would need to happen. The Cards would need to beat Windom in a game played in Luverne last night (Oct. 20), and Pipestone needed to beat RWV in a game played in Pipestone Oct. 20.A rough first half sealed Luverne’s fate in Redwood Falls.The LHS offense was limited to three first downs during six first-half possessions that failed to yield a point.The LHS defense, which played a key role in helping the Cardinals compile a 5-1 record entering Friday’s game, also struggled in the first half. RWV racked up seven first downs and scored three touchdowns on the way to a 21-0 lead at the intermission."We didn’t do very much of anything in the first half," said Luverne coach Todd Oye. "We were unable to force them to punt, and we went three-and-out two or three times. Give credit to RWV, because they were successful in the first half."The teams exchanged punts before RVW opened the scoring with its second possession of the game.RWV took over on Luverne’s 37-yard line, where it used five successful running plays and gained a 7-0 lead when Craig Kodat scored on a four-yard run at the 5:49 mark of the first quarter.The score remained 7-0 until the final three minutes of the second quarter, when RWV scored a pair of touchdowns in a span of 1:39 to increase its lead to 21 points.After the RWV defense forced the Cardinals to punt for the fourth consecutive time, the RWV offense put together a seven-play, 72-yard drive that ended with quarterback Luke Radel throwing a 49-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Busack with 2:41 remaining in the first half.RWV got the ball back three plays later when Busack intercepted a pass on Luverne’s 11-yard line, and Kodat scored his second touchdown of the game three plays later with an eight-yard run at the 1:02 mark of the second quarter.Luverne played better football in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to get the Cardinals back into the game.The Cardinals received the kick to start the third quarter and put together a 14-play drive that ended on downs inside RWV’s 20-yard line.RWV countered with an 11-play drive that ended when Luverne defender Brad Herman caused and recovered a fumble early in the fourth quarter.Luverne’s ensuing offensive possession ended in three plays when RWV defender Josh Beadell picked off a pass.The turnover set up a five-play drive that was capped by Dustin Burgemeister’s 30-yard touchdown run on a reverse play. RWV was unable to convert the extra point, leaving it with a 27-0 lead with 7:44 remaining.Luverne countered RWV’s fourth-quarter touchdown with its most impressive drive of the game.The Cardinals marched 63 yards in 10 plays when Ben Nath, who led LHS with 62 rushing yards, rammed his way into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown with 4:27 left to play. A successful extra point capped the scoring.The drive featured a 10-yard run by Nick Heronimus and a 17-yard pass reception by Derek Elbers."We did play better in the second half, but we still had trouble stopping them," Oye concluded.Team statisticsLuverne: 107 rushing yards, 72 passing yards, 179 total yards, 11 first downs, four penalties, two turnovers.RWV: 133 total yards, 148 passing yards, 281 total yards, 11 first downs, five penalties, one turnover.Individual statisticsRushing: Jake Hendricks 9-9, Scott Goebel 1-minus 2, Nath 15-62, Heronimus 9-22, Nate Siebenahler 1-8, Elbers 4-8.Passing: Heronimus 6-14 for 72 yards.Receiving: Brandon Deragisch 2-27, Hendricks 1-20, Derek Johnson 1-1, Elbers 1-17, Herman 1-7.Defense: Herman one sack, Nath one sack, Herman one fumble recovery.