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The Luverne Cardinal football team finished off their regular season on Wednesday night with a loss to the visiting Waseca Bluejays.
The Bluejays held a 27-0 lead at halftime and added one touchdown in the second half to complete a 35-0 victory over the Cardinals.
Waseca, who has not lost a section game all year, proved to be a tough test for the Cardinals.
“Waseca is one of the top-rated teams in the state and they definitely played that way to start the game,” said Luverne coach Todd Oye after the game.
Waseca started the scoring early after Luverne was not able to advance the ball on their opening possession. The Bluejays took over with excellent field position at the Luverne 34-yard line and quickly moved the ball downfield.
The Bluejays got in the end zone for their first score when Christian Rodriguez took a handoff and ran 3 yards for the touchdown. After a successful extra point kick, Waseca led 7-0 with 9:35 remaining in the first quarter.
After forcing the Cardinals to a three-and-out on offense, the Waseca offense picked up right where it left off when they got the ball. This time they needed just three plays to get back into the Cardinal end zone. Waseca quarterback Oliver O'Brien would finish off the drive with a 6-yard run for a touchdown. The Waseca extra point was good and they now held a 14-0 lead with 6:21 remaining in the quarter.
The Cardinals got their biggest play of the night in their next possession when Conner Connell completed a 34-yard pass to Gannon Ahrendt. The reception brought Luverne to the Waseca 25-yard line, but the Cardinals were not able to advance the ball any farther and Waseca took over possession.
The Waseca offense continued their stellar play, executing a 5-play, 70-yard scoring drive which was capped off by a 1-yard touchdown reception from Jacob Thompson. After another successful extra point kick, the Bluejays’ lead was now 21-0 with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
After another unsuccessful offensive possession for the Cardinals, Waseca was able to score on their fourth straight possession when O’Brien broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Waseca missed the extra point kick, and their lead was now 27-0 with 10:47 remaining in the second quarter.
The Cardinals had their best opportunity to score late in the second quarter after getting the ball down to the Waseca 12-yard line, but they were unable to get into the end zone.
Neither team scored again in the half, and the score at halftime remained 27-0 in Waseca’s favor.
The Cardinal defense held the Bluejays scoreless in the third quarter.
Waseca scored their final touchdown early in the fourth quarter when O’Brien threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to running back Max Neaves. The Bluejays completed the 2-point conversion to raise the score to 35-0 with 10:21 remaining in the quarter, and that was also the final score.
Despite the loss, Coach Oye was pleased with how the team finished the game.
“I felt our team played better at the end of the first half and most of the second half of the game,” Oye said. “It was a tough physical game to end our regular season. Now it’s time to get ready for the playoffs.”
The Cardinals earned the number three seed in the Section 3AAA football playoffs and will take on the sixth-seeded New Ulm Eagles.
Luverne fell to New Ulm earlier this season but led most of the game before New Ulm rallied late to win.
“It’s nice to get a second opportunity to play New Ulm,” said Oye. “We lost a two-touchdown lead and gave them 28 points in the fourth quarter of our regular season game. They have a very good quarterback and running back that we will need to contain.”
The Cardinals will face New Ulm on Tuesday night in Luverne at 7 p.m.
Team statistics:
Luverne: 68 rushing yards, 72 passing yards, 140 total yards, 10 first downs, 4 penalties for 25 yards, 1 turnover.
Waseca: 234 rushing yards, 97 passing yards, 331 total yards, 17 first downs, 7 penalties for 70 yards, 1 turnover.
Individual statistics:
Rushing: Kaleb Hein 11-40, Elliot Domagala 12-30
Passing: Carter Sehr 4-16, 37 yards. Conner Connell 2-6, 35 yards.
Receiving: Conner Connell 3-43, Gannon Ahrendt 1-34
Defense: DJ Rock 5 tackles, Gavin DeBeer 5 tackles, Gannon Ahrendt 4.5 tackles, Elijah Woodley 4 tackles.