Prep football: Wildcats take down Tigers

NEW LONDON - A big third quarter saved New London-Spicer from the upset as the Wildcats defeated Morris/Chokio- Alberta 48-30 on Saturday to the Section 6AAA championship game.
Down by one at half, NLS head coach Dan Essler had some simple advice for his team:
“Quit shooting yourself in the foot, play with some emotion and have fun out there,” Essler said to the Wildcats are halftime.
Led by Trey Austvold, the Wildcats went on a scoring spree in the second half to mow down the Tigers and advance to play Melrose at 5 p.m. Saturday at St. Cloud State.
Austvold scored four touchdowns, running for three, apparently back to full speed after missing much of the season with an injury.
“Trey Austvold is a very good high school football player,” Essler said. “We missed him this season for most of the year but having him come back right now is a big boost for us emotionally as well as physically because you saw what he can do on the football field.”
The teams both scored two TDs in the second quarter and the Tigers held a 15-14 edge at the break.
NLS scored touchdowns on four of their next five possessions to put the game away, especially with the Wildcats’ defense contributing an interception and a fumble recovery.
“I thought coming out in the second half we made some adjustments offensively and defensively,” Essler said. “In that third quarter, we played very well with some emotions, finally.”
The Wildcats will run into a team rounding into form for the section title. Melrose (8-2) has won six straight after a 2-2 start and features Zack Pierskalla, one of the area’s top backs.
NLS 48, Morris/CA 30
Morris/CA (5-5) 0 15 7 8 - 30
NLS (8-1) 0 14 19 15 - 48
M – Riley Biesterfeld 7 pass from Trent Marty (Trent Wulf kick)
N – Trey Austvold 2 run (Cody King from Ethan Bohlsen)
M – Trent Wulf 6 run (Wulf run)
N – Austvold 6 run (pass failed)
N – Jared Travis 1 run (run failed)
N – Shane Zylstra 3 run (run failed)
N – Austvold 9 pass from Zylstra (Blake Shuck kick)
M – Bo Olson 26 pass from Wulf (Noah Grove kick)
N – Austvold 4 run (kick failed)
N – Jared Travis 1 run (Shuck kick)
M – Eric Staebler 20 pass from Wulf (Isaac Wente run)
N – Safety
Morris/Chokio-Alberta
First downs: 10 … Rushing: 39-115 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 7-16-91-1 … Fumbles lost: 1 … Penalties: 8-78
Rushing: Isaac Wente 15-66, Trent Wulf 15-73, Marty 9-(-24) … Passing: Trent Marty 5-14-45-1, Wulf 2-2-46-0 ... Receiving: Riley Biesterfeld 2-9, Bo Olson 3-42, Wulf 1-20, Eric Staebler 1-20 … Punting: Noah Grove 5-161 (32.2)
New London-Spicer
First downs: 16 … Rushing: 40-232 … Passing (com-att-yds-int.): 12-17-125-0 … Fumbles lost: None … Penalties: 7-72
Rushing: Shane Zylstra 9-64, Jared Travis 3-6, Sjoberg 1-(-2), Austvold 21-89, Ethan Bohlsen 6-75 … Passing: Bohlsen 11-16-116-0, Zylstra 1-1-9-0 ... Receiving: Zylstra 3-19, Austvold 3-19, James Magnuson 5-69, Alex Groff 1-18 … Punting: Shuck 6-39.0 … Interceptions: Ethan Parsons 1 … Fumble recoveries: Derrick Laudenbach 1 … Tackles (solo-assist): Kellon Knutson 9-6, Jacob Klavetter 5-4, Ethan Parsons 4-4, Brandon Knisley 5-1, Taylor Engelke 4-2, Noah Welsh 3-2, Chris Schmitz 2-3, Magnuson 2-2, Derrick Laudenbach 2-1, Tanner Walstrom 2-1 … QB sacks: Knisley 2, Welsh 1, Laudenback 1, Travis 1