SWERVING AROUND — Blue Earth Area wide receiver Gage Barker (left) swerves to elude Luverne defender Carter Sehr during high school football action Friday night at Wilson Field in Blue Earth. Luverne went on to post a 30-7 victory over Blue Earth Area. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Mertens/ Faribault County Register)

BLUE EARTH — The Luverne Cardinals took advantage of dominating the line of scrimmage and benefitting from good field position to beat the Blue Earth Area Bucs 30-7 on Friday night at Wilson Field in Blue Earth.

“We had some chances to get the ball in the end zone early in the game, but didn’t do it,” BEA head coach Randy Kuechenmeister said. “We went for it a couple of times on our own side of the field because I thought we had to sustain some drives. We didn’t get the first down and they took advantage of the short fields. I give our kids credit; they played hard until the end and never gave up.”

Luverne started slowly, but scored a touchdown late in the first quarter when quarterback Carter Sehr scored on a 3-yard run with 44 seconds left.

Patrick Kroski kicked the extra point, giving Luverne a 7-0 lead.

The only scoring in the second quarter came on a Kroski 25-yard field goal with 2:38 left before halftime.

Luverne started its drive at BEA’s 8-yard line, but had to settle for the field goal after the Bucs’ defense did not allow the Cardinals in the end zone.

In the third quarter, running back Conner Connell scored on a 13-yard run with 7:38 left. Kroski missed the PAT, making it 16-0.

Luverne running back Sam Rock scored on a 1-yard run with only 47 seconds left in the third stanza. Kroski kicked the extra point, giving the visitors a 23-0 lead.

The Bucs broke the shutout in the fourth quarter when quarterback Jacob Grandgenett connected with wide receiver Gage Barker for an 11-yard scoring pass. Max Loge kicked the extra point to make it 23-7 with 8:24 left in the fourth.

Luverne put one more score on the board when Sehr took the snap and tapped the ball forward to running back Caden Kruger, who ran 12 yards for the TD with 1:47 left in the game.

Kroski booted his third PAT to conclude the scoring.

That drive also started deep in Bucs’ territory. They went for it on fourth down, but couldn’t get the first down.

The Bucs had one final possession after the Cardinals’ final TD, but time ran out.

BEA’s Grandgenett completed 8 of 22 passes for 86 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, plus ran the ball 7 times for 86 yards. He lost 25 yards when he fell on a loose ball after a bad snap and lost 32 yards when he was sacked four times.

Barker caught four passes for 42 yards and one TD for the Bucs.

For Luverne, Sehr completed 7 of 12 passes for 94 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and ran the ball a team-high 14 times for 58 yards with one TD.

Gavin DeBeer caught five passes for 70 yards and Connell ran the ball five times, gaining 49 yards with the one TD.

The Bucs (0-5) travel to Lake Crystal to battle Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial at 7 p.m. next Friday, while the Cardinals (4-1) host Pipestone at 7 p.m. next Friday.

LUV       7 3 13  7–30

BEA       0 0  0  7–  7

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

LUV–Carter Sehr 3 yard run (Patrick Kroski kick), 0:44.

2nd Quarter

LUV–Kroski 25 yard field goal, 2:38.

3rd Quarter

LUV–Conner Connell 13 yard run (kick failed), 7:13.

LUV–Sam Rock 1 yard run (Kroski kick), 0:47.

4th Quarter

BEA–Jacob Grandgenett 11 yard pass to Gage Barker (Max Loge kick), 8:24.

LUV–Sehr 12 yard pass to Caden Kruger (Kroski kick), 1:47.