The Pipestone Arrows took back the Battle Axe Friday night at Cardinal Field after defeating the Luverne Cardinals 20-16.
The Cardinals looked to be in good shape after taking a 16-8 lead into halftime, but the Arrows battled back to score 12 unanswered points in the second half to take the win.
The loss snapped the Luverne Cardinals’ three-game winning streak.
“It was a tough loss for our team. The boys played hard and we just needed a couple more big plays to go our way which did not happen,” Cardinal coach Todd Oye said.
“Pipestone deserves a lot of credit for the way they played in the second half.”
Things started well for the Cardinals as they were able to get in the end zone on their first drive of the game.
After receiving the opening kickoff on their own 37-yard line, the Cardinals were able to gain nine yards in the first three plays and then converted a key fourth and one to keep the opening drive alive.
Facing second and 10 from the Cardinals’ 47-yard line, Luverne quarterback Casey Sehr was able to find senior running back Ashton Sandbulte down the right side of the field.
Sandbulte gained 22 yards on the play, bringing the Cardinals to the Arrows 31-yard line. He finished off the drive on the very next play as he took a pitch from Sehr and raced past multiple defenders up the left side of the field for the touchdown.
The Cardinals were able to complete the two-point conversion after Sehr connected on a pass to senior Zach Kruse in the end zone.
This gave the Cardinals an 8-0 lead with 8:40 to go in the first quarter.
The Arrows wasted no time answering back on their first possession of the night.
After receiving the ball at their own 44-yard line, the Arrows were able to move the ball down the field quickly, thanks to a strong passing attack led by Arrows quarterback Kellen Johnson.
The Arrows finished off their 56-yard scoring drive when Johnson connected with wide receiver Maddox Biever for a 9-yard touchdown reception.
The Arrows converted their two-point conversion to tie the score at 8-8 with 5:08 to go in the first quarter.
The Luverne offense was forced to punt on the next possession, and the Arrows moved the ball down to the Luverne 21-yard line before the Cardinals’ defense came through with a fourth down sack by sophomore Connor Connell to give Luverne the ball back at their own 34-yard line.
Luverne was able to move the ball down the field and get into Pipestone territory quickly, thanks to a couple of catches from Luverne junior Gannon Ahrendt.
Ahrendt caught a 10-yard pass for a first down and then followed that up with a 30-yard reception on a nicely thrown pass from Sehr down the Luverne sideline.
Luverne kept the ball on the ground the next few plays as Sandbulte and senior running back Braydon Ripka were able to gain valuable yardage to get deep into Pipestone territory.
The Cardinals were able to finish the drive off on a three-yard touchdown run by Sandbulte. Sehr once again found Kruse on the two-point conversion giving the Cardinals a 16-8 lead with 7:56 to go in the second quarter.
Neither team’s offense could get anything going the remainder of the half, and the Cardinals took their 16-8 lead into the halftime break.
Pipestone received the ball to start the second half, and it didn’t take them long to get back in the end zone.
After three-straight passing receptions and a Cardinal penalty, the Arrows made their way down to the Luverne seven-yard line.
Johnson threw for his second touchdown of the night when he found Ty Hansen for the score. The Arrows’ 2-point conversion attempt was no good, and the Luverne lead was now down to 16-14 with 9:53 to go in the third quarter.
The Cardinals worked their way down to the Pipestone 15-yard line in their next drive, but the Arrows defense held strong and turned the Cardinals over on downs from there.
The Arrows put together their best drive of the night on their next possession. Johnson continued his hot night, and Biever complemented him with some nice catches, runs and even a pass of his own to march the Arrows down the field. Pipestone finished their 85-yard scoring drive when Biever hauled in a 15-yard touchdown reception with 3:12 to go in the third quarter. After an incomplete pass on the 2-point conversion, the Arrows took the lead, 20-16.
The Luverne offense couldn’t get much going throughout their next couple of possessions, but their defense was able to keep them in the game.
The Cardinals were able to force and recover a fumble and gain good field position with 5:17 to go in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they couldn’t take advantage of the turnover and didn’t gain any yardage in their four downs. The Arrows were then able to run out the clock and take the 20-16 victory.
The Cardinals will look to bounce back from the loss when they face Fairmont at home on Thursday night. “Our last two games are against division and section opponents. We need to keep improving each game,” said coach Oye.
Team statistics:
Luverne: 80 rushing yards, 93 passing yards, 173 total yards, 11 first downs, 6 penalties for 40 yards, 0 turnovers.
Pipestone: 76 rushing yards, 298 passing yards, 374 total yards, 23 first downs, 5 penalties for 35 yards, 3 turnovers.
Individual statistics:
Rushing: Ashton Sandbulte 11-51 (2 TD’s), Braydon Ripka 9-35
Passing: Casey Sehr 7-16 for 93 yards
Receiving: Gannon Ahrendt 3-42, Ashton Sandbulte 2-29
Defense: Ashton Sandbulte 8.5 tackles, Casey Sehr 6 tackles, Braydon Ripka 6 tackles, Connor Overgaard 6 tackles