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October 21, 2011

Courrier: East, West put it all on the line

By Chad Courrier Free Press Staff Writer

— Did anyone give Mankato East a chance to win Wednesday’s football game against Mankato West?

No, at least outside of the Cougars’ locker room.

That’s not to demean the East program, which has struggled the last few seasons, but the numbers didn’t add up for an East victory. West was just too powerful, having bulldozed every opponent this season.

But with seven minutes to play in the third quarter, East had cut the lead to 14-11 and were about to try an onside kick.

That’s why high-school athletics are so much more fun to watch than college or professional.

As most know by now, West pulled away in the final 19 minutes to post a 28-11 victory, finishing an undefeated regular season with the sixth straight Jug victory. The Scarlets also claimed the solo Big Nine Conference championship when Owatonna lost to Rochester Mayo.

The victory kept West on track for its season’s goals, which include a No. 1 seed in the Section 2AAAA playoffs and home field for the semifinals and championship game. Eventually, this team has its sights on a state championship, but there will be some tough battles ahead in that pursuit.

Senior quarterback Philip Nelson didn’t have his best game, with a fumble and interception, but he still ended up with 233 yards passing and 101 yards rushing. He threw a couple of passes that few high-school quarterbacks can make, including a pump-fake, lofted pass down the middle to Alex Knutson, over a linebacker and between the safeties, that helped West run out the clock in the fourth quarter.

East also has plenty to feel good about. The Cougars pushed West as hard as any team this season, and despite having just three victories, East now looks like a formidable opponent in the playoffs. The only chance East had to pull off the upset was to use running back Tevyn Schmidt and a size advantage in the offensive line to pound the ball at the Scarlets.

And it worked, for a while. Schmidt had 186 yards on 36 carries, including a 38-yard touchdown run in which he showed some breakaway speed. By the fourth quarter, he looked tired, and the Cougars’ offense sputtered.

But had East recovered that onside kick, we might be talking about the greatest upset in the history of this rivalry.

Which made the game all that much more fun. Watching one team destroy another is no fun, and even though players can laugh and run up big numbers in those routs, it’s the hard-fought, intense games that they’ll remember.

It’s too corny to say that both teams were winners Wednesday night because that’s not how life works. You can say that both teams should be proud of their performances.

The winners were the 3,500 or so folks who sat at Blakeslee Stadium, some in the protected environment of a press box, who got to watch a very compelling, fun game.



Chad Courrier is a Free Press staff writer. To contact him, call 507-344-6353 or e-mail at ccourrier@mankatofreepress.com or check out his local sports blog.

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Chad Courrier