LUVERNE – The Fairmont Cardinals, rated AAA # 2, finished the South Central White District football championship on the road Thursday night.
Quarterback Zach Jorgensen returned after a two-game break and threw for the best 180 yards and four touchdowns, Eli Anderson made six catches for the leading 118 yards, including two scores in the second half, while running back James Johnson won a game 121 yards to bring Fairmont to a hard-fought 28-18 District victory over Luverne.
« Luverne is always a difficult place and we are very excited to get away with a win tonight, » said Fairmont head coach Mat Mahoney, whose program added another hue to his trophy case. The Cardinals shared the 2018 South Central Red District crown before winning the South Central Silver District title straight away in 2019.
With two PAT kicks from Owen Burmeister, both sets of the Cardinal defense clung to a 14- 12-halftime lead and shutout in the first 11 minutes of the third quarter.
However, Jorgensen found his favorite target – Anderson – for a crucial 57-yard scoring blow to get a small split on the scoreboard with a remaining To create in the third minute. Anderson showed his vapor trail speed during his long distance yards-after-catch sprint before Burmeister kicked the extra point for a 21-12 lead.
The dismissal of Fairmont’s defensive lineman Tyson Kube for a nine-yard -Loss on third down forced Luverne to punt on the following series.
James Johnson delivered the tough yards – 34 of 54 – during a time-consuming ground-and-pound drive that culminated in Jorgensen getting a 3- Yard TD pass turned to Anderson near the pylon. Burmeister’s kick widened the gap to 28-12 with 6:06 as a rule.
Luverne running back Ashton Sandbulte pounded 27 yards on the lawn before quarterback Casey Sehr sent a 21-yard scoring strike to Eli Radtke narrow the gap to 28-18 with 2:18 before the game.
James Johnson then hit 27 yards and a couple of key first downs to pass the time to seal Fairmont’s 10-point lead.
Jorgensen showed no signs of rust during the player opening sequence and completed 3 of 4 passes to march the guest cardinals to paydirt. The senior signal caller sent a 24-yarder to David Maakestad, met Hudson Artz on a 4-yard screen, and covered the final 23 yards with a TD pass to Levi Pooley. Burmeister’s kick gave Fairmont a 7-0 lead at 9:23 in the first quarter.
Unfortunately for Fairmont, the 12-yard sack of Luverne linebacker Nathaniel Cole-Kraty on the third down combined with a high fourth down Snap during Fairmont’s punt situation to shorten the field for the home team.
Very who went 9 of 16 passing for 108 yards, lofted a 27-yard spiral to 6-foot-4 receiver Gannon Ahrendt for the first of his three TD throws in the game to narrow the 3:37 gap to 7-6 on the left of the opening frame. Hayden Clabaugh knocked out the following 2-point conversion pass.
Hank Artz and the Fairmont Defense later pegged Luverne on their own 3 before being punted with the home 30s late in the second quarter.
James Johnson bulldozed 25 yards with three dead to hit the 5 before Jorgensen threw a TD pass at Hudson Artz in the right corner of the end zone. Burmeister’s PAT kick extended Fairmont’s lead to 14-6 with 4:09 before the break.
However, Ahrendt used the speed of his sprinter to reel off a 44-yard kickoff return before Sehr went to the ether. Very bonded with Radtke on a 10-yarder before throwing Sandbulte a 17-yard screen for six points. Sehr’s 2-point pass was caught out of bounds to keep the differential at 2 at halftime.
Fairmont (7-0) ended the regular season by playing against Blue in the renewed Little Brown Jug game at 7pm Earth Area takes off. Wednesday at Wilson Field in Blue Earth.
First downs: Fairmont 14; Luverne 9. Hustle and bustle: Fairmont 35-114; Lüverne 31-112. Past: Fairmont 11-20-0-180; Lüverne 9-16-0-108. Fumbles lost: Fairmont 1-0; Lüverne 1-0. Penalties: Fairmont 3-25; Lüverne 2-20.
Springfield 32, Martin County West 27 – Quarterback Brendon Buerkle fired a Hail Mary 35-yard touchdown pass to McCoy Krick with no time remaining in regulation to get the Tigers help to score a five-point triumph over the Mavericks with the number 9 in class A on Thursday evening in Sherburn : Get 7 deficit in the break.
Bachenberg, who led the Mavericks floor game with 108 yards for 20 dead, crawled 3 yards for a TD to open the third quarter to fill the gap with 7:55 Minutes down to 20-13.
However, Buerkle responded by giving Krick a 5-yard scoring strike at 3:59 to restore the Tigers to a 13-point lead.
Bachenberg countered again only twice and only met someone else for 1 second in the fourth quarter 3 yard keeper before Brandon Bagwell kicked the PAT to close within six points on Springfield at 26-20. Bachenberg followed his offensive line from 1 yard with just 31 seconds to go before Bagwell’s kick put the Mavericks in the lead by 27:26.Buerkle threw a 30-yard TD pass to Carter Olson in the first quarter, before completing a 26-yard spiral to Krick in the second frame.
Bachenberg responded with a 2-yard TD pass to Tanner Sinn before Bagwell kicked the PAT at 2:28 before the break. </ p Once again, Buerkle showed his comeback skills by threading the needle on a 23-yard scoring pass to Olson with just 4 seconds to go. Ashton Johnson ran for the 2-point conversion for a 13-point lead for the Tigers.
Bachenberg completed 9 of 16 passes for 134 yards and a TD, while Joseph Forsberg won 59 yards on 16 carries for MCW. Rylan Cutler added 40 yards on eight dead.
Sense made four catches for 23 yards and a score, Zach Anderson grabbed two passes for 68 yards, while Kain Sanders had two receptions for 18 yards.
Max Olson topped the Maverick tackle chart at nine while teammates Carver Rohman and Wyatt Williamson made six stops each.
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