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STMA 63

Chisago Lakes 24

If you like offense....

Last Friday the St. Michael-Albertville Knights traveled to town with a chip on their shoulder. Flash back to last year- September 16, when the Knights were leading Chisago heading into the second half, only to watch the ‘Cats charge back to steal a 17-13 win.

This time around, the Knights were determined not to let Chisago back in.

St. Michael scored 28 points in the first half, including 22 alone in the second quarter. Then in the second, they added 35 more points. No, the Wildcats never got a chance to get back into the game.

That’s not to say it wasn’t close. The Wildcats finished the first quarter in the lead after Carl Hoffman scored on a one-yard touchdown run, making it 7-6.

However, the Knights began to roll in the second and never looked back. Back-to-back touchdowns by the Knights senior quarterback Tyler Krutzig pushed St. Michael in front 21-7 before the Wildcats answered back with a score on their own. Trailing by 14, Robert Sandgren broke free for a 62-yard touchdown run, trimming the deficit to seven. But the Knights were far from finished, ending the first half with another touchdown, pushing the lead back to 14, 28-14. A late Devin Swanberg 31-yard field goal concluded the scoring in the first half, making it 28-17 at the break.

“They (St. Michael) did what worked for them. Defensively, we just weren’t able to get a stops when we needed them, we needed to force some more things,” said Bill Weiss, head Chisago Lakes football coach. “Plus, turnovers killed us. It wasn’t like they were marching 80 yards to score. Most of their points came with a short field.”

Turnovers, mostly fumbles, did hamper the Wildcats in the first half, and it continued in the second half as well.

Down 11, Chisago got the opening kick-off, only to lose the ball on a fumble. The turnover, one of seven turnovers in the game for Chisago, gave the Knights another short field. St. Michael made quick work of it, scoring on a five yard touchdown run, pushing their lead to 35-17.

“That was a big turning point for a couple of reasons. First of all, you lose the ball. We felt that if we could’ve scored there, it would’ve been a different ballgame,” replied Weiss. “Then we lost Sandgren on the same play. He got injured and had to sit the rest of the game. That actually hurt us more than the fumble.”

The Wildcats were never the same. After a touchdown pass from Mike Tschida to Karl Kaiser closed the gap, making the score 35-24 in the third, the Knights ran away with the rest of the game, scoring four more touchdowns, all four coming on the ground. When the dust settled and the smoke cleared, the Knights had six different players score in the game, leading to a 63-24 win.

As for the Wildcats, they dropped to 1-3 on the season with the loss.

“On offense, they hadn’t stopped us. We were in position to get a quick score at the start of the third quarter, get a two point conversion, and then all of sudden you’re only down by three. It’s a different ballgame,” commented Weiss. “Turnovers just killed us. We gave them a short field several times. They (St. Michael) were good, but we helped them out.”

For the game, the Wildcats finished the game with 394 yards of total offense. Individually, Mike Tschida threw for 141 yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile on the ground, Carl Hoffman and Sandgren each finished the game with a touchdown run.

Up next for the Wildcats is Zimmerman at home this Friday. Both squads are 1-3 on the season.

“We just have to remain upbeat. Obviously a conference championship is out of the question, but there is still a lot to play for,” replied Weiss. “We’ve got some young kids playing who are getting better. We have to focus on the things we're doing right and try to correct the little things that we’re doing wrong. Right now, we can’t be concerned with our record. Our concern should be how we can continue to get better.”

STMA 63

Chisago Lakes 24

1 2 3 4 F

STMA 6 22 21 14 63

Chisago Lakes 7 10 7 0 24

Scoring:

First Quarter-

STMA- 2 yrd. TD run

(2 pt. conversion failed) 0-6

CL- Hoffman 1 yrd. TD run

(Kick good) 7-6

Second Quarter-

STMA- 43 yrd. TD rec.

(2 pt. conversion good) 7-14

STMA- 13 yrd. TD run

(Kick good) 7-21

CL- Sandgren 62 yrd. TD run

(Kick good) 14-21

STMA- 20 yrd. TD rec.

(Kick good) 14-28

CL- Swanberg 31 yrd. FG 17-28

Third Quarter-

STMA- 5 yrd. TD run

(Kick good) 17-35

CL- Kaiser 18 yrd. TD rec.

(Kick good) 24-35

STMA- 14 yrd. TD run

(Kick good) 24-42

STMA- 3 yrd. TD run

(Kick good) 24-49

Fourth Quarter-

STMA- 21 yrd. TD run

(Kick good) 24-56

STMA- 20 yrd. TD run

(Kick good) 24-63

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