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Cardinals take first loss in rain-soaked game against JCC

Subhead
Next game is Sept 15 against 2-0 Windom; game starts at 7:30 p.m.
Lead Summary
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By
John Sichmeller for the Star Herald

The Luverne Cardinals took their first loss of the football season Friday night when they were shut out by the visiting Jackson County Central Huskies. 
The Huskies led 14-0 after the first half of the game and tacked on 10 points in the second half to claim a 24-0 victory over the Cardinals.
Luverne came into the game hoping to spread out the Jackson County defense by utilizing their passing game, but the wet conditions did not play into the Cardinals' favor, according to LHS coach Todd Oye.
“We had a great week of practice with warm weather, but we had different conditions during the game,” he said.
“Our game plan was affected by the weather, and unfortunately the wet conditions prevented us from passing the ball successfully.”
The combination of the wet weather and a tough Jackson County Central defense led to six Cardinal turnovers throughout the game.
“You’re not going to win a lot of football games when you turn the ball over that many times,” Oye said after the game.
The Huskies defense capitalized on the first Luverne turnover of the game. Jackson County Central took the early lead when Brenan Runge intercepted a pass by Carter Sehr from the Luverne 6-yard line and ran the ball into the end zone. After a successful point-after kick, the Huskies led 7-0 with 5:40 to go in the first quarter.  
The Cardinals were forced to punt on their next possession, but the Jackson County Central return man dropped the ball and the Cardinals recovered at the Huskies 39-yard line.
The Cardinals kept the momentum going on the next play as junior running back Gavin DeBeer ran for 31 yards down to the JCC 8-yard line. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they were only able to muster up 3 yards in the next four downs and gave the ball back to the Huskies.
On their next possession, JCC put together a solid 10-play, 95-yard drive to get back in the end zone. After a successful point-after kick, they led 14-0 with 9:18 to go in the second quarter.
Neither team scored the remainder of the half, and the Huskies took a 14-0 lead into the half.
After a defensive stop to start the second half, Luverne took over at their own 5-yard line.
The Cardinals were able to move the ball 31 yards to the 36-yard line before another turnover resulted in the ball going back to JCC.
The Huskies capitalized on the Luverne turnover and needed just four plays to get back in the end zone. After another successful extra point kick, the Huskies had a 21-0 lead with 1:43 to go in the third quarter.
Jackson County Central finished off the scoring for the game when their kicker, Alvaro Gonzalez Garcia, connected on a 25-yard field goal with 11:07 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Huskies a 24-0 lead.
“Our team played hard the entire game, and I thought the defense made some great strides and did a lot of good things,” said coach Oye.
The Luverne defense was led by sophomore Eli Woodley who recorded nine tackles. DeBeer also pitched in with five tackles.
The Cardinals will now prepare for their next opponent, the Windom Eagles, in a rare Thursday night volleyball/football doubleheader.
“It should be a fun Thursday night for the kids,” Oye said. “We play volleyball at home versus Windom, and then after the match fans can walk across the parking lot to watch the football game.”
Oye said his Cardinals will need to be ready to play.
“Windom is 0-2 but has played two very good teams,” he said. “We need to continue to improve and play a solid game.”
Game time has been moved to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Cardinal field to allow fans to watch the volleyball game, which starts at 6 p.m.
 
Team statistics:
Luverne: 84 rushing yards, 13 passing yards, 97 total yards, 16 first downs, 2 penalties for 10 yards, 6 turnovers.
Jackson County Central: 214 rushing yards, 77 passing yards, 291 total yards, 16 first downs, 9 penalties for 64 yards, 1 turnover.
 
Individual statistics:
Rushing: Gavin DeBeer 5-57, Kaleb Hein 6-12
Passing: Conner Connell 2-6, 13 yards
Receiving: Tyson Cowell 1-9, Gannon Ahrendt 1-4
Defense: Elijah Woodley 9 tackles, Gavin DeBeer 5 tackles, Conner Connell 3.5 tackles, Riley Sneller 3.5 tackles

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