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Mavericks stomp Knights in Section 3A clash

CREATING RUNNING ROOM — Martin County West running back Joseph Forsberg (middle) motors through a huge hole created by blocks from Maverick offensive linemen Max Olson (left) and Riley Allen (52) during Section 3A quarterfinal football playoff action against Russell-Tyler-Ruthton on Tuesday night in Sherburn. (Photo by LP Photography)

SHERBURN — The Martin County West Mavericks used a dominant ground game to beat the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights 42-14 in a Section 3A quarterfinal on Tuesday night in Sherburn.

“We did what we had to do,” MCW head coach Tom Elliott said. “We did what we had to do to survive. We wanted to get back to running the ball and limit the number of possessions they had. We were able to do that.”

In the other quarterfinal games, No. 1 seed Tracy-Milroy-Balaton earned a bye; No. 4 seed Murray County Central beat No. 5 seed Adrian 34-14 and No. 2 seed Springfield defeated No. 7 seed Sleepy Eye Public 42-21.

MCW (7-2) travels to Springfield to battle the Tigers at 3 p.m. Saturday in a sectional semifinal, while TMB hosts Murray County Central in the other semifinal at 3 p.m. in Tracy.

MCW played Springfield in Week 7 of the regular season, with Springfield winning 14-8. It was MCW’s first loss after starting the year 6-0. MCW has lost the last three decisions to Springfield by a combined 13 points — 14-8 in 2022, 32-27 in 2021 and 23-21 in 2019.

MCW dominated the line of scrimmage against RTR on Tuesday night.

Barret Scholl, Max Olson, Cade Williamson, Colby Schwichtenberg and Riley Allen controlled the offensive line of scrimmage, opening holes for running backs Joseph Forsberg, Carver Rohman and Rylan Cutler to gain more than 450 yards on the ground.

The Mavericks had three long touchdown runs and the defense bent, but didn’t break against the Knights’ air attack.

After forcing an RTR punt on the opening possession, Mavericks’ Joseph Forsberg took the first play and ran 75 yards for a touchdown. Wyatt Williamson missed the extra point, leaving the game 6-0 at the 9:59 mark of the first quarter.

The Mavericks made it 12-0 at the 11:06 mark of the second quarter after quarterback Zach Anderson scored on a 1-yard draw up the middle. Anderson connected with Wyatt Williamson for the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 14-0.

The Knights cut the deficit in half midway through the second quarter after Blake Christianson hit Aiden Wichmann with a 6-yard TD pass. Cody Wichmann kicked the extra point.

One of the biggest momentum shifts came late in the second quarter. It turned out to be a 14-point swing for the Mavericks.

The Knights had a go-to-goal situation, but Christianson threw an interception to Wyatt Williamson to stop a potential game-tying touchdown drive.

Forsberg ran 68 yards for a touchdown during MCW’s second drive. Williamson kicked the extra point for a 21-7 lead with only 53 seconds left before the half.

Rohman got in on the scoring act for MCW in the second half. He scored on a 4-yard run with 10:38 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Rohman ran 17 yards and 61 yards for touchdowns. Williamson kicked all three extra points to conclude the Mavericks’ scoring.

RTR scored its final touchdown in the third quarter. Christianson hit Tucker Haroldson with an 18-yard pass and Wichmann kicked the extra point.

Forsberg ran for 185 yards in the just the first half alone and finished with 280 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns. Rohman also ended the game with 128 yards on 14 attempts with three touchdowns and Anderson ran for a touchdown.

Anderson threw only three passes in the game.

On the other hand, RTR’s Christianson threw the ball 36 times, completing 17 for 236 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

MCW’s Wyatt Willliamson had the interception late in the first half and Riley Kascht had the other interception in the fourth quarter.

Olson produced a team-high seven tackles, followed by Wyatt Williamson with five.

RTR 0 7 7 0–14

MCW 6 15 7 14–42

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

MCW–Joseph Forsberg 75 yard run (extra point no good), 9:59.

2nd Quarter

MCW–Zach Anderson (Zach Anderson two-point pass to Wyatt Williamson), 11:06.

RTR–Blake Christianson 6 yard pass to Aiden Wichmann (Cody Wichmann extra point), 6:08.

MCW–Joseph Forsberg 68 yard run (Wyatt Williamson extra point), 0:53.

3rd Quarter

MCW–Carver Rohman 4 yard run (Wyatt Williamson extra point), 10:38.

RTR–Blake Christianson 18 yard pass to Tucker Haroldson (Cody Wichmann extra point), 4:52.

4th Quarter

MCW–Carver Rohman 17 yard run (Wyatt Williamson extra point), 9:01.

MCW–Carver Rohman 61 yard run (Wyatt Williamson extra point), 5:14.

Section 2AA

Blue Earth Area 62, Le Sueur-Henderson 35 — Running back Caleb Langager produced three of the Bucs’ nine touchdowns to power No. 2-seeded Blue Earth Area to a 27-point victory over the No. 7-seeded Giants during Section 2AA quarterfinal football action Tuesday night at Wilson Field in Blue Earth.

Blue Earth Area (7-2) plays host to No. 3-seeded Maple River (7-2) in a 2 p.m. sectional semifinal on Saturday back in Blue Earth. The Eagles eliminated No. 6-seeded New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva by a 55-8 quarterfinal rout on Tuesday night in Mapleton.

Running back Noah Johnson utilized his speed to break free for a 49-yard scoring sprint to trigger the Bucs’ unanswered string of 28 consecutive points during the first quarter. Parker Meyers’ 2-point conversion run staked BEA to an 8-0 lead over LSH at the 9:21 juncture.

Quarterback Ashton Lloyd, who completed 6 of 8 passes for 88 yards, then went to the air for the first of his three TD tosses. Jack Norman hauled in a 31-yard scoring strike from Lloyd before Lloyd kicked the PAT for a 15-0 margin with 6:53 left in the first.

Meyers, who generated 77 yards on five totes, raced 12 yards for a TD before Lloyd booted the PAT for a 22-0 lead with 3:38 to go in the opening quarter.

Langager, who topped all rushers with 190 yards on only nine carries, erupted for a 45-yard scoring run to widen the Bucs’ lead to 28-0 with 1:44 remaining in the first.

Talen Schwandt finally erased the Giants’ zero on the scoreboard by running for a 4-yard TD midway through the second quarter, but Lloyd countered by zipping a 10-yard scoring strike to Abe Kokos. Lloyd kicked the PAT for a 35-7 lead at the 4:09 juncture of the second frame.

Wyatt Vinkemeier crossed the goal line on a 6-yard run for LSH with 45 seconds to go before halftime, but Lloyd answered with an 8-yard TD pass to Meyers with only 7 seconds showing on the scoreboard for a 41-14 lead by intermission.

Langager scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter before breaking free for a 55-yard TD run in the fourth frame to cap his game-best ground-game totals for the Bucs.

Max Loge also reached the scoring column for BEA by finding the end zone via a 16-yard run in the fourth.

Schwandt, who topped the Giants with 108 yards on 24 carries, rushed for a 5- and a 3-yard TD during the second half, while teammate Jack Miller caught an 18-yard scoring strike.

Noah Johnson finished with 81 yards on only three carries for the Bucs, while Meyers added three receptions for 36 yards to his 77 rushing yards.

BEA generated 478 yards of total offense, including 390 on the ground, while LSH produced 316 yards of total offense, with 229 coming via the run.

LSH 0 14 7 14 — 35

BEA 28 13 7 14 — 62

Section 3 – 9-Man

Edgerton 44, Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman 26 — The No. 4-seeded Flying Dutchmen defeated the No. 5-seeded Jaguars by 18 points during the Section 3A, 9-Man quarterfinals on Tuesday night in Edgerton.

Edgerton (5-4) advances to face No. 1-seeded Mountain Lake Area in a 3 p.m. sectional semifinal on Saturday in Mountain Lake. The Wolverines eliminated No. 8-seeded Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda, 28-14, to gain the next round.

The Jaguars ended the season with a 5-4 record.

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