By John RittenhouseThe Luverne football team lost its first home game of the season when Redwood Valley used a second-half surge to nip the Cardinals 33-30 Friday.Luverne came from behind twice in the first half to take a 23-13 lead into the intermission, but RWV scored 20 points with its first three possessions of the second half to become the first team to beat the Cardinals in Luverne this year.Luverne lost the ball on downs during its first possession of the second half, giving RWV the ball on its own 32-yard line.The visiting Cardinals put together a 13-play, 68-yard drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown run from running back Scott Leopold.Leopold’s touchdown was followed by a successful extra point that trimmed Luverne’s lead to three points (23-20) with 49 seconds remaining in the third quarter.The RWV defense forced Luverne to punt four plays later, and it gave the visitors excellent field position on the LHS 43.RWV covered the 43 yards in nine plays with Blake Hagert running nine yards for a touchdown with 7:59 left to play in the fourth quarter. Another successful extra-point gave RWV a 27-23 lead.The game’s momentum favored RWV at the point, but Luverne swung the momentum in its favor 21 seconds later.Sophomore quarterback Nick Heronimus, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 269 yards, connected with senior receiver Scott Pick for a 76-yard touchdown pass on the first play of Luverne’s ensuing offensive possession.When Adam Kurtz added the extra point, Luverne regained the lead at 30-27 with 7:38 remaining in the game.RWV, however, responded to the challenge with an impressive drive that seemed to take the life out of the Cardinals.After taking over on its own 23, RWV marched 77 yards in 10 plays with Bo Hagert capping the advance with a five-yard touchdown run with 4:18 remaining. RWV missed the extra-point attempt, leaving it with a 33-30 cushion.Luverne possessed the ball two more times in the game, but the Cards couldn’t produce any points.The Cardinals did pick up a first down when RWV was flagged for a pass interference penalty during the possession following Bo Hagert’s touchdown, but one sack and two penalties on LHS forced the Cardinals to punt moments later.RWV returned the punt to the LHS 11, but the Cardinal defense stopped RWV on downs on the two-yard line with 1:31 left to play.On the second play of Luverne’s next possession, Heronimus was flushed out of the pocket and fumbled as he was being tackled. RWV’s Seth Junker recovered the loose ball on the LHS 13 with 1:15 remaining, and it ran the rest of the time off the clock.Turnovers played a big role in the first half, when the teams scored a combined 36 points.RWV received the opening kick and moved the ball from its own 10 to the LHS five before losing the ball on downs.Three plays later, RWV’s Travis Fluck picked off a pass by Luverne’s Andy Stegemann and returned it seven yards for a touchdown. Luverne’s Jared Pick intercepted a two-point conversion pass, leaving RWV with a 6-0 lead at the 4:56 mark of the first quarter.Luverne found itself in a hole when Tyler Elbers slipped fielding the ensuing kickoff and was ruled down on the Cardinal three-yard line.The Cardinals, however, surprised RWV when Heronimus dropped back to pass on the first play of the possession and delivered a 97-yard touchdown strike to Ben Cornish. Luverne missed the extra-point, leaving the score knotted at six with 4:36 remaining in the opening quarter.Luverne created another big play when defender Brad Herman picked off a pass on the first play of RWV’s next possession, giving the ball to the LHS offense on the RWV 43.Two penalties on the visitors helped the Cards move the ball to the 12, but Luverne lost three yards in three plays before Kurtz booted a 31-yard field goal to give LHS a 9-6 lead with 2:15 left in the first quarter.RWV countered by putting together an 11-play, 74-yard drive with its next possession. Fluck capped the drive with a six-yard run at the 8:32 mark of the second quarter, and a successful extra-point gave the visitors a 13-9 lead.Luverne answered the challenge by advancing the ball 90 yards in four plays with its next possession.Fullback Mark Remme, who led the Cards with 53 rushing yards, ended the drive with a 46-yard touchdown run. Kurtz added the extra point to give the Cards a 16-13 lead with 6:45 left in the first half.Luverne was threatening to score again late in the first half before RWV intercepted a pass on its own five-yard line.RWV, however, fumbled on the first play of the ensuing possession and Luverne’s Jose Saravia recovered the ball on the two.Elbers scored on a two-yard run on the next play, and Kurtz added the extra point at the 2:36 mark of the second period to give the Cards a 23-13 halftime lead.Luverne, 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the Southwest Conference, ended the regular season by playing Jackson County Central in Jackson Wednesday, Oct. 15.The Cardinals will open the Section 3AAA Playoffs Tuesday at a site and against an opponent that has yet to be determined.Team statisticsLuverne: 60 rushing yards, 269 passing yards, 329 total yards, eight first downs, three penalties, three turnovers.RWV: 212 rushing yards, 211 passing yards, 423 total yards, 21 first downs, six penalties, two turnovers.Individual statisticsRushing: Herman 2-4, Remme 4-53, Stegemann 1-minus 4, Heronimus 5-minus 8, Elbers 4-8, Scott Goebel 1-1, Nate Siebenahler 1-6.Passing: Stegemann 0-1 for zero yards, Heronimus 10-19 for 269 yards.Receiving: Nate Stehlik 3-59, Cornish 2-105, Herman 3-27, S.Pick 2-78.Defense: Saravia one fumble recovery, Herman one interception.
