Brothers Chase and Carter Johnson combined to account for five touchdowns last Friday night (October 4), leading the state-ranked and undefeated LeRoy-Ostrander Cardinals to a 49-12 victory over the Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda Coyotes in a 9-man high school football game at Memorial Field in Heron Lake.
Ranked second in the latest state polls, the Cardinals improved to 6-0. HL-O/F is now 2-4 this season.
“It was a night where it was tough to get anything going, but I thought the kids really battled hard,” Coyotes co-head coach Jonathon Curry said. “We played pretty well in the first half and trailed 19-6 at halftime, which was a solid showing by our guys. Unfortunately, L-O showed why they are #2 in the state with a huge third quarter.”
Turnovers hurt the Coyotes most of the game, and HL-O/F lost a fumble on its very first play from scrimmage — just moments after the opening kickoff.
L-O recovered the loose ball and capped a short drive with a four-yard touchdown run by quarterback Chase Johnson at the 9:53 mark of the first quarter. The two-point conversion was no good, leaving the Cardinals with a 6-0 lead.
The Cardinals were driving again early in the second quarter, but the Coyotes got a big defensive stop when Eli Fest recovered a fumble — forced by Joe Fischer (five tackles) — at the HL-O/F three-yard line with 11:06 on the clock.
However, backed up near their own goal-line, the Coyotes turned the ball over again. This time, the Cardinals’ Riley Olson forced and recovered a fumble in the end zone for another L-O touchdown.
Gavin Sweeney kicked the PAT, lifting the Cardinals to a 13-0 lead with 9:37 to play in the first half.
Carter Johnson (138 yards rushing) scored on the Cardinals’ next series, as his 23-yard touchdown burst gave L-O a 19-0 lead with 4:50 to go. The Coyotes’ Ethan Koep blocked the PAT kick.
HL-O/F answered with a touchdown drive of its own, set up by a huge 60-yard reception by Matt Madsen. Fest capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run, as the Coyotes trimmed the gap to 19-6 (two-point attempt was no good) with 2:13 remaining.
L-O, though, opened the second half with a 60-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Isaac Collier. The two-point conversion was good, increasing the Cardinals’ lead to 27-6 with 11:49 to play in the third quarter.
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