Prep Football: 'Cats dominate all-around

NEW LONDON - With a balanced offense gaining 403 total yards combined with a defense that gathered up six takeaways, second-seeded New London-Spicer made short work of seventh-seeded St. Cloud Cathedral on Tuesday with a 52-12 win in the Section 6AAA quarterfinals at Pederson Field.

Payton Madison and Gideon Mische carried the Wildcats in the first quarter with three combined touchdowns for a 21-0 lead. The second quarter saw NLS use the aerial game to put numbers on the board. Quarterback Brandon Adelman hit Nick Perkins for a 12-yard strike, and Adelman later became a receiver for a 32-yard touchdown pass from Kelly Bennetts.

After three quarters, the Wildcats were up 54-0.

Madison was the Wildcats' top rusher with 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just nine attempts while Mische finished with 87 yards on 10 attempts. Adelman finished the evening with 81 yards on 8 of 13 passing.

On defense, Nick Perkins had three takeaways with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Mische had a recovery and an interception, and Ethan Haugen also came away with a pick. As a unit, the NLS defense held Cathedral to 34 rushing yards.

In a Week 8 rematch, NLS will host third-seeded Albany at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Wildcats won the previous game over Albany, 27-22.

NLS 54,

SCC 12

SCC (0-9) 0 0 0 12 - 12

NLS (8-1) 21 14 19 0 - 54

Scoring Plays

NLS - Payton Madison 2 run (Griffin Duininck kick)

NLS - Gideon Mische 3 run (Duininck kick)

NLS - Madison 33 run (Duininck kick)

NLS - Nick Perkins 12 pass from Brandon Adelman (Duininck kick)

NLS - Adelman 32 pass from Kelly Bennetts (Duininck kick)

NLS - Mische 22 run (kick failed)

NLS - David Barthel 3 run (Duininck kick)

NLS - Jack Novak 5 run (kick failed)

SCC - Talon Lenzen 14 run (PAT failed)

SCC - Jackson Jangula 5 pass from Jack Pelzel (PAT failed)

St. Cloud Cathedral

First downs: 9 ... Penalties: 8-84 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Talon Lenzen 5-26, Andrew Tolman 4-15, Jack Pelzel 4-(-4), Sam Schneider 1-2, Andrew Rott 1-(-5). 15-34 ... Passing (Individual and team): Pelzel 12-26-208-3, Jackson Jangula 0-1-0-1. 12-27-208-4 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Jangula 5-79, Caleb Leintz 1-6, Schneider 3-41, Lenzen 2-51, Chris Wrenn 1-19 ... Interceptions: None ... Fumble recoveries: N/A ... Tackles (solo-assist): N/A ... QB sacks: N/A

New London-Spicer

First downs: 14 ... Penalties: 4-45 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Payton Madison 9-108, Gideon Mische 10-87, David Barthel 3-32, Jack Novak 2-10, Kelly Bennetts 2-32, Brandon Adelman 3-(-13), Nathan Vosika-Scherzberg 2-13, Robert Holmquist 1-2, Tim Thein 2-15, Carter Swenson 1-8, Brandyn Harlow 1-6. 36-300 ... Passing (Individual and team): Adelman 8-13-81-0, Bennetts 1-2-22-0. 9-15-103-0 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Bennetts 4-38, Nick Perkins 2-21, Adelman 1-22, Jacob Holmen 1-12, Mische 1-10 ... Interceptions: Perkins 2, Mische 1, Ethan Haugen 1 ... Fumble recoveries: Perkins 1, Mische 1 ... Tackles (solo-assist): Harlow 5-0, Blake Vagle 3-1, Madison 3-0, Novak 3-0, Isaac Jones 3-0, Nick Perkins 3-0 ... QB sacks: Harlow 1/2, Sawyer Magnuson 1/2

Albany 48,

Montevideo 7

Albany rolled up 453 total yards and took command with three first-quarter touchdowns in a win over Montevideo on Tuesday in Albany.

Montevideo broke the shutout on Cam Ward's 15-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.

Montevideo (2-7) 0 0 0 7 - 7

Albany (7-2) 22 6 7 13 - 48

Scoring Plays

A - Will Megen 49 run (run failed)

A - Noah Reuter 22 run (pass good)

A - Gabe Zierden 14 run (Mergen run)

A - Reuter 85 punt return (kick failed)

A - Zierden 60 run (kick failed)

A - Ben McLachlan 6 run (Reuter kick)

M - Cam Ward 15 run (Selvin Hernandez kick)

A - Dylan Wenning 50 run (kick failed)

Montevideo

First downs: 8 ... Penalties: 6-45 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Chase Korte 14-42, Cam Ward 10-36, Trent Dreyer 6-18, Brady Hogrefe 2-15, Jonah Sulflow 1-6, Jackson Snell 1-(-2), Hunter Freeman 1-(-2), Cade Weber 2-(-3), Tyler Blue 1-(-9) ... Passing (Individual and team): Blue 4-15-66-0 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Snell 3-57, Kadin Huntley 1-9 ... Interceptions: None ... Fumble recoveries: NA ... Tackles (solo-assist): Korte 5-6, Logan Abrahamson 4-4, Dreyer 5-1, Jose Maldonado 4-1, Hogrefe 1-3 ... QB sacks: None

Albany

First downs: 24 ... Penalties: 3-20 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Will Mergen 11-98 ... Passing (Individual and team): Alex Seiler 3-5-36-0 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Ben Buttweiler 2-34 ... Interceptions: None ... Fumble recoveries: NA

Melrose 27,

Litchfield 18

Litchfield led Melrose 18-14 in the second quarter after Brandt Pedersen threw a 67-yard scoring pass to Bennett Lecher, but Melrose's Rowan Nelson ran for the go-ahead score and caught a pass for a third-quarter score as the Dutchmen defeated the Dragons on Tuesday in Melrose.

Pedersen ran for Litchfield's first two touchdowns, and the Dragons' Logan Nelson picked up 83 yards on 18 carries.

Melrose moves on to play at Pierz at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Litchfield (3-6) 6 12 0 0 - 18

Melrose (7-2) 7 14 6 0 - 27

Scoring Plays

L - Brandt Pedersen 1 run (kick blocked)

M - Rowan Nelson 1 run (Nelson kick)

L - Pedersen 10 run (pass failed)

M - Brad Hellermann 4 run (Nelson kick)

L - Bennett Lecher 67 pass from Pedersen (run failed)

M - Nelson 10 run (Nelson kick)

M - Nelson 20 pass from Adam Helmin (kick failed)

Litchfield

First downs: 14 ... Penalties: 3-32 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Logan Nelson 18-83, Brandt Pedersen 14-41, Ben Alsleben 4-14. 37-139 ... Passing (Individual and team): Pedersen 1-7-67-0, Alsleben 4-10-52-0 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Bennett Lecher 2-71, Logan Graphenteen 1-26, Jacob Schneider 1-13, Carter Block 1-9 ... Interceptions: Graphenteen 1, Alex Gruenke 1 ... Fumble recoveries: Patrick Benson 1 ... Tackles (solo-assist): Drew Kotzer 10-4, Pedersen 9-4, Dylan Isaacson 8-3, Benson 5-1, Schneider 4-3 ... QB sacks: None

Melrose

First downs: 19 ... Penalties: 5-51 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Rowan Nelson 18-115, Brad Hellermann 16-52, Adam Helmin 6-81 ... Passing (Individual and team): Nelson 10-19-89-2, Helmin 1-1-20-0 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Helmin 4-35, Cooper Goerdt 3-20, Karter Wenzmann 2-24 ... Interceptions: None ... Fumble recoveries: None

Other area scores

Section 4 9-Man

Hancock 43, Brandon-Evansville 12

Section 5A

Ortonville 49, Lac qui Parle Valley 15

1/4: New London-Spicer quarterback Brandon Adelman (4) makes a throw to receiver Jacob Holmen (44) on a crossing pattern during the first quarter of Tuesday's Section 6AAA quarterfinal game against St. Cloud Cathedral in New London. Joe Brown / Tribune

2/4: New London-Spicer's Gideon Mische fights through a pack of St. Cloud Cathedral defenders during Tuesday's Section 6AAA quarterfinals at New London. Joe Brown / Tribune

3/4: New London-Spicer receiver Nick Perkins looks for room to run in the first quarter of Tuesday's Section 6AAA quarterfinal game against St. Cloud Cathedral at Pederson Field in New London. Joe Brown / Tribune

4/4: New London-Spicer's Gideon Mische (32) blocks a passing attempt while Jacob Holmen hits St. Cloud Cathedral's Jack Pelzel during Tuesday's Section 6AAA quarterfinals at Pederson Field in New London. Joe Brown / Tribune