Spring Grove grilled Grand Meadow, 47-16, on Sept. 24, snapping a four-game losing streak against the Superlarks with a balanced offense – 242 yards rushing, 223 yards passing – and a defense that forced 10 punts while limiting GM to 100 yards of offense.
The Lions (4-0, 4-0 East)) overcame two first half turnovers to lead 27-8 at halftime. Grand Meadow (2-2, 1-2 East) trailed only 14-8 after taking advantage of a Lion fumble at the SG 12, but it was 40-8 before the Larks added a late TD.
Photo by Lee Epps
Lion running back Hunter Holland gained 118 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns (21, 49, 10 yards), and Elijah Solum (12-20-2) completed a trio of TD passes, two to Caleb Griffin (38, 57 yards) and one to Jaxon Strinmoen (22 yards). Griffin had five receptions for 131 yards and on defense, returned an interception 20 yards. Zach Brumm closed SG scoring with a 74-yard scamper.
Spring Grove lost the turnover battle for the first time this year and lost the league lead in turnover margin. After no turnovers the previous game, the Lions lost possession three times against the Superlarks (2 interceptions, 1 fumble).
The SG defense was stellar, denying the visitors any big-yardage plays. Only three GM plays went for double-digit yardage, the longest an 18-yard pass completion late in the game. GM quarterback Cael Gilbert completed 4 of 9 passes for 20 yards with one interception. Solum was in on 13 tackles along with 12 stops by Jacob Olerud and 7 from Emmet Engeldinger.
Halfway through the season, Spring Grove leads the nine-team sub-district in total yardage, averaging 483 yards per game. Individually, quarterback Solum continues to lead the league with 1,255 yards of total offense (762 passing, 493 rushing). Strinmoen leads the sub-district in both touchdown receptions (5) and by averaging a stunning 37 yards per reception.
The B-team Lions (3-1) blanked Houston, 32-0 after crushing Mabel-Canton 44-6. The junior high boys defeated Mabel-Canton 41-7 but fell to Houston 32-14.
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SG—6—21—13—7 = 47
Hou–0—8—–0—8 = 16
Varsity team totals
YARDAGE (rush + pass)
: SG 465 (242+223), GM 100 (80+20)
RUSHING: att.-yards (avg.): SG 30-342 (8.1) 4 TD; GM 41-80 (2.0) 2 TD
PASSES: comp-att.-int, yds. (TD); SG 12-20-2, 223 (3 TD); GM 4-9-1, 20
Sacks allowed: SG 0, GM 0
TD: SG 7 (rush 4, pass 3); GM 2 (rush 2)
PAT: SG 4-7 (kick 3-5, run 1-1, pass 0-1); GM 2-2 (run 2-2)
TOTAL PLAYS: SG 50, GM 50
AVG. yards per play: SG 9.3, GM 2.0
FUMBLES – LOST: SG 3-1, GM 3-0
TURNOVERS: SG 3, GM 1
PENALTIES: SG 6-45, GM 7-32
3rd downs: SG 3-6, GM 2-13
4th downs: SG 0-1, GM 0-1
Red zone: SG 2-2, GM 2-2
First downs: SG 18, GM 6
Plays of 20+ yards: SG 7, GM 0
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LION INDIVIDUALS:
RUSHING 30-242, 4 TD: Hunter Holland 16-118, 3TD; Zach Brumm 1-74, TD; Elijah Solum 9-56; Caleb Griffin 1-7; team 3-(-13)
PASSING: Elijah Solum 12-20-2, 223, 3 TD
RECEIVING:12-223, 3TD: Caleb Griffin 5-131, 2TD; Tysen Grinde 3-42; Ethan Crouch 3-28; Jaxon Strinmoen 1-22, TD
XP KICKING: Caleb Griffin 3-5
KICKOFF RETURNS: Caleb Griffin 2-36
PUNT RETURNS: Tysen Grinde 5-79 (15.8 avg.)
SCORING 47: Hunter Holland 20, Caleb Griffin 15, Jaxon Strinmoen 6, Zach Brumm 6
PUNTING: Tysen Grinde 1-28
INTERCEPTIONS: Caleb Griffin 1-20 yards
SACKS: none
TACKLES for LOSS (incl. sacks) 5: Eli Solum 2.0, Ethan Crouch 2.0, Logan Brumm 1.0, Noah Blackburn 0.5, Emmet Engeldinger 0.5
TACKLES (solo + assists): Elijah Solum 13 (3+10), Jacob Olerud 12 (5+7), Emmet Engeldinger 7 (2+5)=, Logan Brumm 6 (2+4), Jaxon Strinmoen 5 (1+4), Zach Brumm 4 (3+1), Ethan Crouch 4 (3+1), Noah Blackburn 4 (0+4), Caleb Griffin 3 (1+2), Shawn Crouch 3 (1+2), Dash Ranzenberger 3 (0+3), Nathan Crouch 2 (1+1), Tysen Grinde 2 (0+2), Noah Heppner 2 (0+2), Bryce Berns 2 (0+2), Sylas Flatin 1 (0+1)
PASS BREAKUPS: Jaxon Strinmoen 1, Logan Brumm 1
FUMBLES FORCED: none
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: none
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East Sub-District
Lanesboro 4-0 sub-district (3-0 season)
Spring Grove 4-0 sub-district (3-0 season)
Mabel-Canton 3-1 sub-district (3-1 season)
Kingsland 2-1 sub-district (2-2 season)
Grand Meadow 1-2 sub-district (2-2 season)
Lyle/Pacelli 1-2 sub-district (2-2 season)
LeRoy-Ostrander 1-2 sub-district (1-3 season)
Houston 0-4 sub-district (0-4 season)
Southland 0-4 sub-district (0-4 season)
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Spring Grove football 2021
4 wins, 0 losses (4-0 sub-district
7:00 p.m. kickoff unless noted (series records go back to 1949)
W vs. Houston 60-30
W at Lyle/Pacelli 48-20
W vs. Mabel-Canton 56-14
W at Grand Meadow 47-16
Fri. Sept. 30….at Southland (Adams)——last year, Sou 46, SG 16 & Sou 19, SG 12 (Rebels lead series 12-3)
Sat. Oct.08…..LeRoy-Ostrander 5 p.m.—last year, L-O 46, SG 6 (L-O has won the last three, leads series 15-13)
Fri. Oct. 14……at Kingsland (Spring Valley)—last year, SG 21, KHS 20 (Lions lead series 3-0)
Wed. Oct. 19…Lanesboro———-last year, LHS 72, SG 27 (Burros have won last two; SG leads series 27-23-3)
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B-team Football
3 wins, 1 loss
W at Mabel-Canton 54-0
L vs. Kingsland 6-14
W vs. Mabel-Canton 44-6
W vs. Houston 32-0
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Junior High Football
1 win, 3 losses
L at LeRoy-Ostrander 6-26
L vs. Kingsland 14-40
W vs. Mabel-Canton 41-7
L vs. Houston 14-32