Photo by Kristi Ruen
To some degree, #9 in 9-Man LeRoy-Ostrander football (3-0, 4-0) has been the cardiac Cardinals. Their last four games have all been essentially decided in the fourth quarter. At better-than-winless Lanesboro (0-3, 0-4), the Cardinals led 14-6 at halftime and 22-6 in the third quarter only for the Burros to get back-to-back scores, the last a Mason Howard 28-yard TD run, to close to down 22-20. Lanesboro had a chance for the tie but the conversion failed. But Cardinal junior QB Camden Hungerholt then hit Carter Sweeney for 70-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter. Ryder Stern tacked on the PAT to make it a two-score game at 29-20. That tally held as the final. L-O, which went 2-7 a year ago, stayed perfect on the year (4-0, 5-0) with another hard-fought win. Hungerholt (16-28, 276 yards, 2 TDs passing, 19-215 yards, TD rushing) was again the catalyst. He had a 94-yard TD run in the first quarter that came directly after a Lanesboro red zone fumble, a huge sequence. Sweeney (8-153, TD receiving) and Ryder Stern (2-25, TD receiving) caught the TD passes. Reid Hungerholt (4-60 receiving) was L-O’s second leading receiver. Carson Roe added 4-yard TD run. Lanesboro’s Boston Wright (19-136 yards, 2 TDs rushing – 62-yard TD run) carried a good deal of the load on the ground for the Burros. Mason Howard (15-97, TD rushing) helped. Lanesboro completed just one pass and one conversion through the air. L-O out-scored Lanesboro 5-2 on conversions in the game. By way of M-C’s win over formerly unbeaten #2 in 9-Man SG (4-1, 5-1), #10 Kingsland (4-0, 5-0) and #9 L-O (4-0, 5-0) lead the South-East ahead of a big matchup between the teams in week six. Lanesboro fell to 0-4, 0-5. Their last four losses have been by single digits. L-O’s last three wins have been by single digits.