By John Rittenhouse
Football playoffs don't officially begin until Tuesday, but the Luverne Cardinals have already found themselves in a must-win situation.
After dropping a 42-16 decision to Redwood Valley in Redwood Falls Friday, 2-5 Luverne played last night's regular season finale against Jackson County Central at Cardinal Field with a sense of urgency.
In order to qualify for the Section 3AAA playoffs, the Cards had to knock off a JCC squad that has lost two games (to Worthington and RWV) all season. To complicate matters, JCC had something to play for as the Huskies could wrap up a No. 1 seed in their section with a win over LHS.
"This game (against JCC Wednesday) basically is a playoff game for us," said Cardinal coach Todd Oye. "We need a win and a loss by either Yellow Medicine East or Morris to get into the playoffs. JCC is playing for a No. 1 seed."
Friday's 28-point loss in Redwood Falls, and every other setback Luverne has taken this year, has left it in ninth place out of nine teams in the Section 3AAA points' standings. Since only eight teams make the playoffs in the section, Luverne's post-season hopes all hinged on what happened last night.
As they have in other games this season, Luverne simply made too many mistakes in Redwood Falls to win.
A turnover and a missed field-goal attempt kept the Cards from opening a big lead early. Two more turnovers and a possession that ended on downs led to a 27-point fourth quarter for RWV, which put the contest out of reach.
The first-quarter mishaps potentially cost the Cardinals 10 points.
A 28-yard pass from LHS quarterback Tony Smedsrud to Canaan Petersen helped set up a field-goal attempt at the end of LuverneÕs first possession of the game, but the kick was off the mark.
Luverne got the ball back and moved it inside the RWV 10-yard line with the help of a 21-yard pass completion to Marcus Walgrave. The Cards, however, lost the ball moments later on the RWV five.
The Cards did mount an eight-play, 30-yard scoring drive that ended with Walgrave scoring on a six-yard run and a successful extra point with 35 seconds left in the opening quarter, but Luverne's 7-0 lead could have been a lot bigger at that point.
"We miss a field goal during our first drive, and we fumble on the five the second time we have the ball. If we don't fumble and make that field goal, itÕs a 17-0 game," Oye said.
RWV erased Luverne's 7-0 lead when quarterback Mike Karsky hit Trevor Wittwer for a seven-yard touchdown pass with 8:05 remaining in the second quarter. A two-point conversion followed the touchdown.
Luverne regained the lead at 13-8 with a nine-play, 73-yard drive that was capped by a three-yard touchdown pass from Smedsrud to Aaron Schmidt with 1:32 left in the first half.
The drive featured 12-yard runs by Walgrave and Mark Remme, and an 11-yard run by Joel Evans.
RWV, however, moved in front with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Karsky to Tom Ellingworth with 35 seconds remaining in the half. A successful extra point gave RWV a 15-13 edge at the intermission.
Luverne regained the lead at 16-15 with its second possession of the second half. A 46-yard drive ended with Adam Kurtz booting a field goal with 5:51 left in the third quarter.
RWV countered Luverne's kick with a long drive that ended with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Once RWV gained the lead, it was able to take advantage of two LHS turnovers while putting together a 27-point fourth quarter.
"Our missed opportunities hurt us, but the difference in the game was our fourth-quarter turnovers, and our inability to stop them," Oye concluded.
Team statistics
Luverne: 220 rushing yards, 81 passing yards, 301 total yards, 19 first downs, three penalties, three turnovers.
RWV: 246 rushing yards, 81 passing yards, 327 total yards, 11 first downs, nine penalties, one turnover.
Individual statistics
Rushing: Walgrave 16-114, Evans 11-63, Remme 6-27, Andy Stegemann 2-14, Kurtz 2-11, Schmidt 2-4, Joey Pick 1-4, Smedsrud 2-minus 17.
Passing: Smedsrud 7-13 for 78 yards, Kurtz 1-1 for three yards.
Receiving: Pick 3-19, Ben Cornish 2-10, Petersen 1-28, Walgrave 1-21, Schmidt 1-3.