NEW ULM — In the first half of the game between Westbrook Walnut Grove and New Ulm Cathedral, the Westbrook Walnut Grove Chargers ran 30 offensive plays compared to 21 for the Greyhounds.
The Chargers did not score in either game, but New Ulm Cathedral did.
The Greyhounds scored on all seven of their first-half attempts, led 52-0 at halftime and shut out the Chargers 64-0 in a South/West Division nine-man game Friday night at Johnson Field.
Josh Bentler scored three touchdowns for the Greyhounds on runs of 60, 65 and 36 yards, Alex Portner had touchdown runs of 4 and 7 yards and Eli Anderson added a run of 13 yards. Jake Finstad scored twice on runs of 30 and 35 yards and threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Collin Anderson.
Bentler carried the ball nine times for 184 yards, Portner carried the ball seven times for 129 yards, and Finstad ran for 72 yards on three carries.
Overall, Cathedral’s complete domination over Westbrook Walnut Grove did not surprise Cathedral head coach Denny Lux.
“I wasn’t surprised by how we played tonight.” He said. “We were tested by three good football teams and it showed tonight. We came out and we responded. We learned a lot from the previous games and we played a really solid game tonight.”
The Greyhounds took the lead when Lane Ruch stepped in front of a Kevin Curry pass at the Cathedral 24-yard line, the first of three turnovers they forced in the first half.
A pass interference call against the Chargers led to a 15-yard pass from Finstad to Joe Gillis, which led to Finstad’s 29-yard scoring run. Bentler’s two-point conversion run made the score 8-0.
The Greyhounds defense set up Cathedral’s second touchdown, blocking three straight attempts and then stealing the ball on a punt at their own 40-yard line, but the score was only one play away when Bentler ran for a 60-yard touchdown. Bentler then scored again for two points, making the score 16-0.
On the Chargers’ next possession, Collin Anderson intercepted a Curry pass, and three plays later Finstad ran 35 yards for a score and a 24-0 lead with 2:40 left in the first quarter.
The Greyhound defense again held up, forcing the Chargers to punt.
On the Greyhounds’ first play, Bentler ran 65 yards and another score to give them a 30-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A Collin Anderson interception early in the second quarter sparked a four-play, 55-yard scoring drive that culminated in Bentler’s 35-yard touchdown run for a 38-0 lead.
Two more stops by the Greyhounds defense late in the first half led to two more touchdowns — the first on a 53-yard scoring pass from Finstad to Anderson and the second on a 4-yard run by Portner — gave the Greyhounds a 52-0 lead at halftime.
“Our guys flew to the ball tonight.” Cathedral defensive coordinator Jesse Nosbusch said. “They played fast defense, just like we’ve coached them to do. Everything went well tonight and they did what we asked them to do. We saw some smashmouth and spread plays. They’re learning how to play both styles of defense.”
Touchdowns from Portner and Anderson in the third quarter made the score 64-0 going into the final quarter.
Defensively, Joe Gillis had 11 tackles, Brock Carlson and Bentler had seven each, and Collin Anderson had two interceptions.
The Greyhounds (2-2) travel to Madelia next week.
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