By John RittenhouseThe Luverne Cardinals held on to the coveted Battle Ax trophy after defeating Pipestone 19-12 in Pipestone Friday.It looked like the Cardinals might have to give up the symbol of tradition when the rivals opened a 12-point lead early in the game, but LHS rallied to score 19 unanswered points in the final 29 minutes of the game to post their fourth straight victory.Along with gaining bragging rights over the Arrows for another year, Luverne took a big step toward a Southwest Conference championship with the win in Pipestone.The victory upped the Cardinals’ league record to 3-1, giving them a share of the conference lead with 3-1 Redwood Valley. Luverne will play RWV in a SWC showdown Friday in Redwood Falls.According to LHS coach Todd Oye, the clash in Redwood Falls will pit the SWC’s No. 1 defense (Luverne) against the league’s No. 1 offense (RWV)."RWV is 5-1, and it is a very good team," he said. "They have some talented wide receivers to throw to for big plays. They also have a strong, talented fullback who runs the ball well. A win would give us at least a share of the SWC championship."The Cards needed to beat a good Pipestone team in order to keep their SWC title hopes alive.Pipestone controlled play early by scoring 12 points with two of its first three offensive possessions of the game. Luverne battled back by scoring touchdowns in the second, third and fourth quarters to win by seven.After the LHS defense forced the Arrows to punt at the end of their first offensive possession of the game, Pipestone found the end zone the second and third times it controlled the ball.Luverne’s opening possession of the contest ended with a punt after three unsuccessful plays, setting up what turned into a seven-play, 69-yard march by the Arrows. Pipestone quarterback Matt Paulsen tossed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Seth Garrett to cap the drive at the 4:07 mark of the first quarter. Pipestone’s extra-point attempt failed.Luverne’s second three-and-out series of the game moments later set the stage for Pipestone’s second consecutive scoring-drive. A nine-play drive that started late in the first quarter ended 48 seconds into the second period when Paulsen scored on a two-yard run with 11:12 remaining in the first half. The run for a two-point conversion failed, leaving the Arrows with a 12-0 advantage.Pipestone threatened to pad its lead when Arrow David Steenstra picked off a pass three plays into Luverne’s next offensive possession, but the Cardinals’ defense stopped the Arrows downs at the Luverne 24-yard line."Preventing them from scoring after the interception was the turning point in the game," Oye said, when talking about his team’s defensive stop. "We were a little rattled at the time, but we turned things around."The stop seemed to inspire Luverne’s offense, which mounted a 10-play, 76-yard march after the drive. The drive ended with quarterback Nick Heronimus throwing a seven-yard touchdown pass to Brad Herman with 4:42 left in the first half. Heronimus added the extra point to make it a 12-7 game.Heronimus had runs of 24 and 13 yards during the touchdown march, and he kept the drive alive by completing a pass to Jared Pick for a 10-yard gain during a fourth-and-six situation.Pipestone threatened to score late in the first half, but the first of three interceptions by Luverne’s Brandon Deragisch ended the threat.A fumble by Luverne on the first play of the second half gave the Arrows another quality scoring opportunity, but the LHS defense forced the Arrows to attempt a field goal that was missed.The Cardinal offense took over on its own 21 and moved the ball 79 yards in three plays to score the go-ahead touchdown.After runs of 18 and 25 yards by Derek Elbers, Scott Goebel dashed for a 36-yard touchdown to give the Cards a 13-12 lead with 8:06 left in the third quarter.Pipestone controlled the ball five more times after Goebel put the Cards in front, but the LHS defense shut the Arrows down each time.Pipestone was limited to two first downs the rest of the game, and interceptions by Deragsich in the third and fourth quarters ended two of Pipestone’s five final possessions."Our defense played well again," Oye said. "Jose Saravia played really well on the line. He had one sack and was able to penetrate across the line of scrimmage a number of times. Jose was responsible for Pipestone taking two or three holding penalties by himself."The Cardinal offense put the game away by scoring a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. A four-play drive ended with fullback Ben Nath scoring on a three-yard plunge with 46 seconds remaining to cap the scoring."After the fumble to start the second half, we were able to move the ball pretty well," Oye said. "We had trouble passing the ball because of Pipestone’s coverage and the pressure it put on our quarterback. We did run the ball for nearly 25 yards against a stingy defense."Team statisticsLuverne: 242 rushing yards, 24 passing yards, 266 total yards, 11 first downs, eight penalties, two turnovers.Pipestone: 78 rushing yards, 148 passing yards, 226 total yards, 12 first downs, eight penalties, three turnovers.Individual statisticsRushing: Herman 1-minus 2, Jake Hendricks 5-8, Nate Siebenahler 3-12, Elbers 10-86, Heronimus 6-62, Nath 6-40, Goebel 2-36.Passing: Heronimus 3-14 for 24 yards.Receiving: Herman 1-7, Pick 1-10, Hendricks 1-7.Defense: Deragisch three interceptions, Saravia one sack, Elbers two sacks.
