WASECA —
One week, Waseca loses the game on the final play of the game; the next week, the Bluejays win at the end.
Over the last two weeks, Waseca football coach Brad Wendland has seen the emotional roller coaster.
“It would have been hard to accept (another loss),” Wendland said. I think it was important to the long-term success of our team to win a close game like that.”
In Week 2, Waseca had a couple chances to win, but a PAT was blocked late in the fourth quarter, then two potential game-winning field goals were missed, one wide and another blocked, in a 20-19 loss at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown.
Last week, the Bluejays scored with 12 seconds to play on Thomas O’Neil’s 3-yard run in a 27-26 victory over Minneapolis Washburn. The touchdown capped a four-minute drive that included a couple of fourth-down conversions and some hurry-up offense after all the timeouts were used.
“I think we learned a lot as players and coaches,” Wendland said. “We had to change our practices to work on things like blocking for PATs and calling two plays in the huddle.”
After Waseca, which trailed by nine points in the second half, scored, Washburn returned the ensuing kickoff to the Bluejays’ 15 allowing one pass into the end zone that was incomplete, finally allowing the players and coaches to relax and enjoy the victory.
“That’s the best team we’ve beaten since I’ve been here,” Wendland said. “It was a lot of fun.”
Ziebarth’s 5 TDs
Cleveland’s Kyle Ziebarth scored five touchdowns in a 38-26 victory over Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton on Friday. He had four rushing touchdowns and one on a 77-yard kickoff return.
“He’s a workhorse,” Cleveland coach Rich Kern said. “The more he gets the ball, the better he runs. He works hard and runs hard.”
For the season, Ziebarth has 457 yards on 83 carries for seven touchdowns and four two-point conversion runs. He also has 12 receptions for 139 yards and two scores.
TCU has big test
Tri-City United, a cooperative of Montgomery-Lonsdale and Le Center, is off to a 3-0 start and face a good test against undefeated Mayer Lutheran on Friday.
While Le Center has had a lot of football success over the years, Montgomery-Lonsdale hasn’t had a lot of 3-0 starts.
“It’s been a lot of fun to watch theses kids come together as a team,” said TCU coach Ken Helland, who was the coach at Le Center. “The Montgomery-Lonsdale kids seem like they’re having a lot of fun playing football, and Le Center has a lot more kids on the team. The Montgomery kids only won two or three games, and we’ve got three already.”
Helland said that the competition in the Minnesota River Conference is pretty good, and every game is tough.
“Mayer Lutheran is the fastest team we’ve played, the most athletic,” Helland said. “We’ve been pretty solid on defense, which I thought we’d be, but the offense has come together a little faster than I thought.”
Games to watch
Mankato West plays at Faribault in a game between two of the last four undefeated teams in the Big Nine Conference. The Scarlets have three easy victories so far, but this will be the biggest test.
Mayer Lutheran faces Tri-City United at Montgomery, with the winner taking a huge step toward the Minnesota River Conference championship.
Even though neither team has played a South Central Conference game, the winner of Friday’s game between Fairmont and Waseca will remain in the title hunt, while the loser will have a much tougher time.
Nicollet and Cleveland are the last undefeated teams remaining in the Southern Confederacy, and they play Friday at Cleveland.
Sports
Related Photos
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Waseca High School quarterback Thomas O'Neil scored the winning touchdown last week with 12 seconds to play against Minneapolis Washburn. Pat Christman
September 19, 2012
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