By John RittenhouseBacked by an opportunistic offense led by a punishing ground game, the New Ulm Eagles rolled to a 43-15 victory over the Luverne Cardinals in the 2003 football opener for both teams in New Ulm Friday.The home-standing Eagles turned a pair of Luverne fumbles into a 14-0 lead in the game’s first 7:11 on the way to opening a 27-0 advantage early in the third quarter.Luverne battled back to score 15 points in the final 20 minutes of play, but New Ulm scored 15 points in the same span to beat the Cardinals for the second straight year.It was a disappointing defensive night for LHS, which allowed 328 rushing yards and 425 yards overall. Eagle backs Kevin Neidecker and Spencer Dickinson ran for a combined 274 yards to lead the charge."Our inability to stop their veer-option running game was the difference," said Cardinal coach Todd Oye. "New Ulm’s quarterback, fullback and tailback all are very good runners. We were unable to step up and stop them."The Cardinal offense did New Ulm a favor by coughing the ball up with its first two possessions of the game, and the Eagles took advantage of both mistakes.The hosts put together a six-play drive that ended with Dickinson scoring on a two-yard run at the 7:57 mark of the opening quarter. A missed extra-point attempt kept the score at 6-0.Luverne’s second fumble moments later set up a four-play, 38-yard drive. Neidecker, who ran the ball for 160 yards in the game, scored from three yards away at the 4:49 mark of the opening period. A successful two-point conversion made the tally 14-0."We settled down after that, but it doesn’t help when you start out slow and spot a team 14 points to start a game," Oye said.The score remained 14-0 until late in the second quarter, when the Eagles put together a 13-play march. Dickinson, who toted the ball for 114 yards in the contest, scored on a five-yard run with 37 seconds left in first half. New Ulm’s second missed kick of the game left the hosts sporting a 20-0 lead.A 29-yard run by Luverne’s Tyler Elbers gave the Cardinals an opportunity to kick a field goal before the first half was complete, but Adam Kurtz’s attempt was off the mark.Neidecker cast the decisive stone for the hosts when he dashed 79 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second half. A successful extra point made the difference 27-0.Luverne, however, countered with its most impressive offensive series of the game.The Cardinals mounted a nine-play drive that ended with quarterback Andy Stegemann, who completed eight of 11 passes in his first varsity start, tossing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Deragisch. When Elbers carried in the two-point conversion, Luverne faced a 27-8 deficit with 7:59 left in the third quarter.Luverne, however, was unable to get any closer to catching the Eagles as Luke Groenewald booted a 37-yard field goal to cap the scoring in the third quarter before New Ulm quarterback Jon Koeckeritz scored on a two-yard run at the 11:17 mark of the fourth quarter.The Cardinals did receive a 26-yard touchdown run from Elbers and an extra-point from Kurtz with 10:50 left to play.New Ulm capped the scoring when reserve quarterback Joey Geistfeld tossed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Groenewald with 8:30 remaining.While the Cardinals need to improve on both sides of the ball, Oye did see some things that pleased him offensively."We moved the ball. Offensively, we were able to take some of the things we planned and schemed for going into the game. Even the fumbles came after gaining positive yardage. But we’re going to be a ball-control type of team, and we can’t afford to put the ball on the ground," he said.The Cardinals will host Pipestone Area for the annual Battle Ax game Friday.The Arrows are coming off a 27-16 win over Murray County Central, and will offer the Cardinals a considerable challenge."Pipestone is a young team that starts three sophomores," Oye said. "They have good size, a talented quarterback, a speedy wide receiver and an aggressive defense."Team statisticsLuverne: 123 rushing yards, 116 passing yards, 239 total yards, 11 first downs, seven penalties, three turnovers.New Ulm: 328 rushing yards, 97 passing yards, 425 total yards, 14 first downs, five penalties, one turnover.Individual statisticsRushing: Elbers 10-82, Mark Remme 7-47, Brad Herman 2-6, Jared Pick 1-minus two, Stegemann 2-minus 14, Tim Rust 2-4.Passing: Stegemann 8-11 for 78 yards, 2-4 for 22 yards, Elbers 1-1 for 16 yards.Receiving: Remme 4-38, Ben Cornish 3-26, Deragisch 3-31, Scott Pick 1-10, Tim Boen 1-10.Defense: Boen one sack, Derek Swenson one fumble recovery.
