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After a dominating first half, the Luverne Cardinals football team held on during the second half to secure a 31-20 Homecoming victory Friday night over New Ulm.
The win was Luverne’s second in a row and evened the team’s midseason record at 4-4.
The Cardinals started strong and enjoyed an 18-0 lead at halftime.
An early score in the third quarter expanded the home team’s lead to 25-0 before New Ulm scored twenty unanswered points to close the game at 25-20 in the fourth quarter.
When Luverne quarterback Casey Sehr ran in a late touchdown with five seconds left in the game, the Cardinals secured the eleven-point victory.
“The team did a great job of overcoming adversity when faced with injuries in the second half and when New Ulm made a run at the end of the game to try to take the lead,” said Luverne head coach Todd Oye.
“The defense came up with a big stop and the offense was able to seal the victory with a touchdown drive to end the game,” Oye said.
Luverne had an impressive offensive showing with 443 total yards of offense.
Sehr, who was crowned Luverne Homecoming king earlier in the week, completed 15 of 27 passes for 337 total passing yards.
Junior Gannon Ahrendt led Luverne receivers with 191 yards off of seven receptions, averaging 27.3 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
The Cardinals totaled 106 rushing yards with senior Ashton Sandbulte leading the ground effort with 54 yards on 15 carries.
Luverne’s defense started the scoring with 6:40 remaining in the first quarter when Eli Radtke intercepted a New Ulm pass and ran 26 yards for the first Cardinals touchdown.
Radtke totaled 79 yards off of three receptions in the game.
The two-point conversion attempt was not successful, and Luverne had the early 6-0 lead.
The Cardinals’ second score came with 47 seconds left in the first quarter when Ahrendt took in a 25-yard pass from Sehr. The conversion pass from Sehr to Ahrendt was no good.
When Braydon Ripka recovered a fumble two plays later, the score was set at 12-0 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Luverne added to its lead with a thrilling 63-yard touchdown pass from Sehr to sophomore Conner Connell. The extra point attempt by sophomore Patrick Kroski was not successful.
When neither team scored for the remainder of the second quarter, the Cardinals entered the half-time break with the 18-0 lead.
Luverne started the third quarter with the ball. Sehr connected with Radtke on a 44-yard pass on the first play of the quarter.
Three plays later, Ahrendt hauled in a 28-yard touchdown from Sehr with 10:21 remaining in the third quarter. This time the PAT kick from Kroski was good and Luverne owned a commanding 25-0 lead.
The victory would not come that easy for the home team on Homecoming, however.
New Ulm scored two rushing touchdowns and added a two-point conversion later in the third quarter to make it 25-14 at the start of the final quarter.
When the Eagles scored a three-yard touchdown and missed the attempted conversion with 11:22 remaining in the game, the score stood at 25-20.
Things got even more interesting on the first play of the next possession, when New Ulm recovered a Cardinals fumble to take the ball back and have a chance to take the lead.
Luverne’s defense held, however, and the Eagles were unable to sustain any drives in the fourth quarter.
When the Cardinals took possession with about five minutes remaining, they chipped away and gained three consecutive first downs to effectively run the clock down.
With 17 seconds left on the clock, Luverne took a timeout facing a fourth and five situation. Sehr then ran 33 yards for a touchdown and the score was 31-20 with five seconds remaining.
When New Ulm did not gain any yards off a 16-yard Riley Sneller punt and then threw one incomplete pass, the clock ran out and the Cardinals earned the win.
Defensively, Luverne was led by Sandbulte and Jamie McCarthy with six tackles each.
The Cardinals travel to Worthington Friday to face the 0-4 Trojans. Worthington’s losses have been to Jordan, Pipestone Area, St. Peter and Marshall.
Team Statistics:
Luverne: 106 rushing yards, 337 passing yards, 443 total yards, 14 first downs, 5 penalties for 40 yards, 1 turnover.
New Ulm: 248 rushing yards, 21 passing yards, 269 total yards, 12 first downs, 4 penalties for 25 yards, 4 turnovers.
Individual statistics:
Rushing: Ashton Sandbulte 15-54, Casey Sehr 1-33, Braydon Ripka 9-19
Receiving: Gannon Ahrendt 7-191, Eli Radtke 3-79, Conner Connell 3-73
Defense: Ashton Sandbulte 6 tackles, Jamie McCarthy 6 tackles, Braydon Ripka 5.5 tackles, Nathaniel Cole-Kraty 5 tackles