By John Rittenhouse
Luverne made a bid to upset unbeaten Worthington before falling 27-22 in a Southwest Conference football game played in Worthington Friday.
A shaky start by LHS allowed Worthington to score 13 points in the game's first 3:01, but the Cards outscored the Trojans 22-14 the rest of the way in what turned into a very competitive game.
In the end, Luverne simply couldn't overcome the 13 points they spotted Worthington in the first three minutes of play.
"We never did get the lead," said Cardinal coach Todd Oye. "We probably played our best game, but itÕs tough to be happy when you spot a team all those points and don't come away with a win."
The Cardinals did make it easy for Trojans at the start the game.
LHS received the game's opening kickoff, but a fumble on the return gave WHS prime field position.
Six plays later, Trojan back Nick Raymo scored on a four-yard run at the 10:21 mark of the first quarter. A successful extra point followed the touchdown.
A bad situation turned worse when the Cardinals fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving the Trojans the ball on the LHS 25-yard line.
Worthington covered the 25 yards in four plays, with the last 15 yards coming on a touchdown run by Drew Seifert. A failed extra-point attempt left the Trojans sporting a 13-0 lead with 8:59 remaining in the first quarter.
Once the Cardinal offense received the opportunity to take the field, it made the most of it by scoring touchdowns on consecutive possessions to make it a 13-12 game.
Luverne put together an 11-play drive that was capped by a two-yard touchdown plunge by Joel Evans with 5:11 remaining in the first period. A missed extra-point attempt followed the touchdown.
Evans, who carried the ball eight times for 93 yards in the game, broke loose on a 37-yard run during LuverneÕs initial scoring drive.
The Cards made an even bigger play after Evans' long scamper. Facing a fourth-and-10 situation, the Cardinals dropped back in punt formation. Instead of kicking the ball to the Trojans, punter Adam Kurtz tricked the hosts by throwing a 33-yard pass to Joey Pick that gave LHS a first down.
Luverne's defense, which limited the Trojans to season-low points (27) and total yards (284), came up big six plays after Evans' touchdown as Brad Herman picked off a pass and returned it 22 yards to the LHS 49.
The Cardinal offense then moved the ball 51 yards in five plays to trim Worthington's lead to one point (13-12). Marcus Walgrave, who had a 42-yard run on the third play of the series, capped the drive with a five-yard touchdown run with 1:53 left in the opening period. A failed two-point conversion attempt followed the touchdown.
Worthington increased its lead to 20-12 with its next offensive possession. The Trojans mounted a 16-play, 84-yard drive that ended with Felipe Potter scoring on a one-yard run with 7:39 left in the first half. A successful extra point followed the touchdown.
Luverne countered with a 17-play drive that ended with Kurtz booting a 30-yard field goal with 2:31 left in the second quarter. The kick capped the scoring in the first half, which ended with the Trojans sporting a 20-15 lead.
Worthington increased its advantage to 12 points (27-15) with its second possession of the second half. A five-play drive ended with quarterback Kyle Shaughnessey throwing a 41-yard touchdown pass to Simon Boever. Another extra point followed the touchdown, which occurred at the 6:28 mark of the third quarter.
Interceptions by Luverne's Aaron Schmidt and Tyler Elbers early in the fourth quarter gave the Cardinals the ball inside Worthington territory, but the LHS offense was unable to take advantage of the field position.
Luverne did strike for a touchdown with 4:39 left to play when quarterback Tony Smedsrud hit Pick for a 30-yard pass. Kurtz supplied the extra point to make the difference 27-22.
Worthington ran the remaining time off the clock following Luverne's last touchdown.
Luverne slipped to 1-3 with the loss, but Oye is looking forward to the second half of the regular season after a promising performance against WHS.
"They scored 27 points, but our defense only gave up one long drive against a good offensive team. We held (Nick, Worthington's tailback) Raymo under 100 yards (19-67) for the first time this season," Oye said.
"We also had our best offensive performance of the season. Tony Smedsrud (10 of 23 passing for 147 yards), Ben Cornish (four receptions for 61 yards) and Joey Pick (seven receptions for 119 yards) really stepped up our passing game. Our line also did a good job of protecting the quarterback. The first half of the season is over, and weÕre still improving. Now we have to continue to improve in the second half of the season."
The season's second half begins Friday in Barnesville.
Team statistics
Luverne: 228 rushing yards, 180 passing yards, 408 total yards, 13 first downs, five penalties, two turnovers.
Worthington: 119 rushing yards, 165 passing yards, 284 total yards, 14 first downs, five penalties, four turnovers.
Individual statistics
Rushing: Walgrave 20-117, Evans 8-93, Mark Remme 3-19, Smedsrud 3-minus one.
Passing: Smedsrud 10-23 for 147 yards, Kurtz 1-1 for 33 yards.
Receiving: Pick 7-119, Cornish 4-61.
Defense: Elbers one interception and one fumble recovery, Schmidt one interception, Herman one interception.