MAYNARD -- Murray County Central's beat MACCRAY at its own game, scoring thewinning touchdown on a pass play with under five minutes remaining in the game, edging the Wolverines 31-26 in a Little Sioux Conference game Thursday night.
MCC (5-2, 5-2) showed early it liked to control the clock, taking the opening kickoff and keeping the ball for the first 5:58 of the game. The drive ended on a Jeremy Storm four-yard run.
The Wolverines (3-4, 3-4), who are perenially among the pass-attempt leaders in the area, showcased the legs and arms of quarterback Justin Koenen, who ran for 161 yards on 16 carries and threw for 109 more. He scored both of MACCRAY's touchdowns in the first half on runs of 10 and 30 yards.
Koenen also was responsible from bringing MACCRAY back from a 25-13 deficit in the third quarter. He completed a 29-yard pass to Andrew Meyer near the end of the quarter, then after the defense recovered an MCC fumble in the fourth, scored from six yards out for a 26-25 lead.
But Murray County Central marched down the field and scored on a Paul Counter nine-yard reception with 4:22 left to play.
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Reed Davids led MACCRAY's defense with six solo and 12 assisted tackles. Mitch Grussing and Alex Sweep each recovered a fumble for the Wolverines.
MCC 31, MACCRAY 26
MCC (5-2, 5-2) 6 6 13 6 -- 31
MACCRAY (3-4, 3-4) 6 7 6 7 -- 26
MCC - Jeremy Storm 4 run (kick failed)
MAC - Justin Koenen 10 run (kick failed)
MCC - Tony Falk 17 run (run failed)
MAC - Koenen 30 run (Aaron Pauling kick)
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MCC - Paul Counter 58 pass from Tom Spartz (Joachim Liljenberg kick)
MCC - Derek Johnson 29 pass from Spartz (kick blocked)
MAC - Andrew Meyer 29 pass from Koenen (kick failed)
MAC - Koenen 6 run (Pauling kick)
MCC - 4:22 Counter 9 pass from Spartz (run failed)
Murray County Central
Team statistics
First downs: 20 ... Rushing: 52-375 ... Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 5-7-131-0 ... Fumbles lost: 2 ... Penalties: 4-20
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Individual statistics
Rushing: Falk 16-152, Storm 12-79, Brady Johansson 8-63, Ackerman 14-76 .... Passing: Tom Spartz 5-7-131-0 .... Receiving: Counter 2-67, Derek Johnson 1-29 .... Punting: Paul Counter 1-25 .... Interceptions: none
MACCRAY
Team statistics
First downs: 14 ... Rushing: 36-231 ... Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 6-9-109-0 ... Fumbles lost: 1 ... Penalties: 8-65
Individual statistics
Rushing: Mitch Grussing 20-70, Justin Koenen 16-161 .... Passing: Justin Koenen 69-109-0 .... Receiving: Ryan Aiekens 2-33, Mitch Grussing 1-4, Andrew Meyer 1-29, Zach Thissen 1-38, Tyler Steen 1-5 .... Punting: Aaron Pauling 3-29 .... Interceptions: none .... Fumble recoveries: Mitch Grussing 1, Alex Sweep 1 .... Tackles (solo-assist): Mitch Grussing 2-12, Brock Madsen 2-8, Reed Davids 6-12, Mark Conboy 2-8 ... QB sacks: none
NEXT -- MACCRAY: Wednesday at Fulda
Southern Minnesota Mt. Lk-Butterfield-Odin 48, Renville County West 14
The Jaguars (0-7, 0-7) lost another starter to injury, as Isaac Johns took a finger in the eye and had cuts above and below the socket. He had only eight carries for three yards. RCW had six starters out with injuries.
Luke Handahl led the team with 70 yards rushing and a touchdown. Zach Freiborg had the Jaguars' other score.
Griffin Zieske was in on seven tackles and Ryan Marcus recovered a fumble defensively.
RCW (0-7, 0-7) 0 0 0 14 -- 14
MLBO (4-3, 4-3) 14 28 6 0 -- 48
MLBO - Lee Fast 45 run (Danny Snyder kick)
MLBO - Matt Meyers 3 pass from Kyle Schroeder (Snyder kick)
MLBO - Snyder 11 run (Snyder kick)
MLBO - Meyers 13 pass from Schroeder (Snyder kick)
MLBO - Fast 30 pass from Schroeder (Snyder kick)
MLBO - Jerome Rodney 7 run (Snyder kick)
MLBO - Cody Fast 6 run (kick failed)
RCW - Zach Freiborg 12 run (Michael Fischer kick)
RCW - Luke Handahl 8 run (Fischer kick)
Renville County West
Team statistics
First downs: 8 ... Rushing: 43-140 ... Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 2-7-20-2 ... Fumbles lost: 1 ... Penalties: 3-15
Individual statistics
Rushing: Luke Handahl 13-70, Zach Freiborg 12-49, Colin Rehbein 9-25, Isaac Johnson 8-3 .... Passing: Andy Erickson 2-7-20-2 .... Receiving: Chad Mulder 1-12, Luke Handahl 1-8 .... Punting: Chad Mulder 5-15 .... Interceptions: none .... Fumble recoveries: Ryan Marcus 1 .... Tackles (solo-assist): Griffin Zieske 2-5, Brent Jansen 5-1, Drew Hultquist 1-4, Bob Huseby 1-3 ... QB sacks: none
Mt. Lake-Butterfield-Odin
Team statistics
First downs: 7 ... Rushing: 25-188 ... Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 4-7-64-0 ... Fumbles lost: 1 ... Penalties: 3-30
Individual statistics
Rushing: Lee Fast 3-42, Jerome Rodney 7-42, Danny Snyder 5-70, Barrett Herrig 3-14, Mike Smith 3-15 .... Passing: Kyle Schroeder 4-7-64-0 .... Receiving: Mike Meyers 2-16, Lee Fast 1-30, Derek Radtke 1-18 .... Punting: Louis Grosklags 1-31, Reed Feil 1-42 .... Interceptions: 2 .... Fumble recoveries: 1
NEXT -- RCW: Tuesday vs. Sleepy Eye at Danube
