11/28 football: Caledonia’s defense shuts down Luverne
MINNEAPOLIS — The only play that really worked was a pass that a receiver tipped twice in the air before catching it and turning it into a 77-yard touchdown play.
The Luverne High School football team tried 39 other plays, and they resulted in just 67 total yards.
That’s the best way to put in perspective what the Caledonia defense accomplished Friday evening in a 47-7 MSHSL Class AA state championship rout of Luverne at the Metrodome.
The Warriors (13-1) completely handcuffed an offense that entered the game averaging 31 points per game and a team that’s been good enough to play for the state title three years in a row.
“I feel real fortunate to be able to beat that team twice,” said Caledonia coach Carl Fruechte, whose Warriors beat Luverne 14-7 in last year’s championship game. “That’s a good football program.”
He’ll hear that about his program a lot more now after the performance it provided a state-wide audience the day after Thanksgiving.
Yes, the offense was overpowering. It had eight scoring drives and finished off six of its 12 possessions in the game with a touchdown.
But a defense that made life miserable for another good offense might be what is remembered most about this dominant performance.
“We had two weeks to prepare, and we picked apart their offense,” said senior defensive lineman Eddie Hodges, who was credited by the MSHSL with five tackles and one of his team’s four quarterback sacks. “We said they weren’t going to get anything, and all they got was one play.
“I don’t know if we could have done any better, but I think we lived up to our expectations in this game.”
Casey Bauer, Trent Meyer and Troy Frank were also credited with one sack apiece. Ryan Goetzinger recovered a fumble that was caused by Phil Schulze late in the first quarter, and Bauer intercepted a pass in the fourth.
The Cardinals (12-2), ranked third in the state by The Associated Press, were 1-for-9 on third-down conversions and were stopped on both of their attempts at converting on fourth down. They tried two fake punts, and junior safety Isaac Fruechte was there to defend successfully on both of them.
Take away the 77-yard pass play, and Luverne averaged 1.7 yards per play. It averaged 2.2 yards on 26 rushing attempts with a long run of 9 yards.
“Our guys were in position all day long,” Caledonia defensive coordinator Brent Schroeder said. “We pretty much stayed in our base defense the whole game and got 11 guys to the ball.
“I thought they’d try to get over the top on us a few times, and they only got the one.”
