ABOVE: MCW defender Barret Scholl breaks through the Wabasso offensive line putting pressure on the Rabbits quarter back Friday night in Sherburn.

SHERBURN – The Martin County West Mavericks struggled to get their offense going against an aggressive Wabasso Rabbits defense Friday night, leading to the Rabbits spoiling the Mavericks’ Homecoming.

Injuries and penalties were also the story for the South District, South-West Subdistrict football game as the Rabbits came away with a 12-6 upset win in overtime.

“Too many mistakes, too many self-inflicted wounds, pre-snap penalties,” said MCW head football coach Tom Elliott. “Getting the ball down on the 1-yard line. Three straight penalties to back you up, somewhere around the 20. Just hard to recover from stuff like that. You can’t do those things. It was just kind of the story of the night, it seemed like. We took one step forward and two steps back.”

Leading the Mavericks was Maddex Faber, who went 4 for 13 adding 34 yards through the air and had eight carries for 40 yards on the ground. MCW running back Cameron Meyer had 12 carries for 72 yards and Torrey Paplow had seven carries for 28 yards. Jacob Wilmes led the defense with a 74-yard pick-6, while Bryce Scholl and Eli Owens each added a sack.

The Mavericks’ Homecoming game got off to a slow start, with the Rabbits establishing a quick-paced run game that put the Mavericks on their heels at first. The MCW defense found its footing, however, bending but never breaking in the seven-and-a-half minute opening drive by the Rabbits, being kept off the scoreboard courtesy of Berent Kosbab disrupting a deep pass that forced a failed fourth-down conversion for the Rabbits. The quarter ended 0-0 with the ball in MCW’s possession.

A couple of quick four-and-outs kicked off the second quarter. Kosbab again went for a jump ball and this time came down with it, but the impact with the ground jarred it loose and sent him off with an apparent shoulder injury from which he did not return. With only 4:30 on the clock, Wilmes picked off Rabbits quarterback Drew Kemp and found room down the sideline for the opening and only touchdown of the night for the Mavericks. The Rabbits responded in kind with Kemp connecting with Zachary Skoblik for a 13-yard touchdown through the air.

The third and fourth quarters were a defensive battle, with neither team’s defense willing to break. Each team found themselves in scoring position on more than one occasion but neither were able to capitalize.

It came down to overtime, the Mavericks had their shot at scoring first, but the Rabbits’ defense was able to jam up the offense keeping them off the scoreboard and positioning themselves for a shot to put the game away. After a couple of runs, Kemp floated a pass into the back corner of the end zone, connecting with Nolan Leopold which secured the 12-6 victory for the Rabbits.

The injuries suffered by the team hurt the Mavericks’ offense and defense, requiring the backups to take over, who were able to hold their own.

“Berent Kosbab and Cam Meyer are big players for us, both offensively and defensively,” said Elliot. “Anytime you’ve got to take them out, it’s going to limit what you can do, what you feel comfortable doing, the backups came in and they did a fine job. Kept us in the game, kept us competitive through the end. And, you know, that’s all we can ask of them.”

The Mavericks are at Sleepy Eye United for their next matchup on Friday.