Week six football had two top 10 battles. For their homecomings, R-P (#1 in Class A, 5-0) hosted Goodhue (#4 in Class A, 5-0) and Houston (#3 in 9-Man, 5-0) hosted Spring Grove (#1 in 9-Man, 5-0). The home teams had to eat onions in tough losses. Their football gear absorbed mud, following two rain-soaked sludge-fests.
‘Canes Foiled by Folz and Company
It wasn’t one player that propelled Spring Grove over Houston. The Lions did it as a team, running the ball better than Houston, playing better defense, holding the ‘Canes to a season-low in yardage. But SG quarterback Alex Folz’s long fourth quarter TD run was a crusher. The Lions led throughout, getting a 24-yard Folz to Sam Sanness TD pass in the first quarter. With conversion, SG led 8-0. Then the lightening came and a delay. The next score wasn’t until early in the fourth. Cullen Patterson’s 7-yard TD run made it 14-0 SG. But Houston replied with its best drive of the game. Jaytin Millen’s 9-yard cut-back TD run made it a 14-6 contest midway through the quarter. But Folz subsequently broke five or six tackles on a 56-yard TD run with 6-plus left. The score, on a rain-slogged night, pretty much sealed the deal. Folz hit Noah Elton (12-yard TD pass) to cap the scoring. Spring Grove defended their top ranking by a final of 26-6. Folz (17-92 yards, TD rushing; 11-16, 104 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs passing), Patterson (19-130, TD rushing), Sanness (3-46, TD receiving), and Elton (TD receiving) led the Lions. Houston was held to just over 100 yards rushing. They came in averaging over 300. No Hurricane rusher topped 50 yards. Three Houston rushers topped 50 yards in each of the four preceding games. The #1 Lions (5-0, 6-0) are in sole possession of first place in the South-East over #3 Houston (4-1, 5-1) and #8 GM (4-1, 5-1).
#5 Goodhue Grinds Up #1 R-P
R-P football started the season ranked #1, in large part due to last year’s state runner-up season, Minneapolis-North’s moving up to Class AA, and Trojan tradition. The Trojans defended that ranking for five weeks. Goodhue, a traditional power too, might usurp R-P at #1 due to their effort in week six. The Wildcats posted a 23-point second quarter and led 23-0 at halftime in a 36-0 win. Mason Huemann (19-182, TD rushing), Kaleb O’Reilly (9-83, 2 TDs rushing), Casey Ryan (11-45, TD rushing), and Mariano Bigalk (7-yard TD run) helped Goodhue pile up 350-plus yards on the ground. Ryan Schoenfelder caught three for 63 yards. The Wildcat defense authored a safety. R-P’s game stats were forgettable; under 100 yards total offense, just six pass yards, and 0-for-8 on third down (to name three). Ethan Sense (16-55 rushing) led the ground attack. Goodhue (5-0, 6-0) now leads the Mid-Southeast/East over R-P (4-1, 5-1).