East stuns Owatonna 28-7 in season opener

Only a year removed from making a state semifinal run, Owatonna will begin its 2025 season with an 0-1 record after losing 28-7 to Mankato East at Federated Field last Friday.

The relatively inexperienced Huskies suffered from a plethora of mistakes both big and small that added up to the three-score deficit.

“We were a couple of big plays away from being in a pretty good football game. We had some breakdowns in coverage in the first half that led to some big plays where I thought we could have gotten off the field… A couple missed tackles and improper fits, and all the sudden there goes another big play,” said Owatonna Head Coach Jeff Williams on the difference in the game.

Mankato East was able to kick off the scoring on its opening drive, finding a 50-yard passing touchdown on a third-and-nine play to lead 7-0 and silence the energetic Owatonna crowd.

Owatonna answered soon after by getting the ball deep into Mankato East territory via a sustained drive but stalled at the Cougars’ 29-yard line and eventually turned the ball over on downs.

Both teams bunkered down defensively for the next few possessions with neither willing to give an inch.

However, it was Mankato East that once again broke through to light up the scoreboard.

With 7:59 left in the half, Owatonna pinned the Cougars deep with a punt to their 12-yard line and looked primed to make another stop on third-and-10.

However, disaster struck for the Huskies when Mankato East’s running back burst through a huge hole and got loose into the secondary for an 88-yard rushing touchdown.

Mankato East was unable to add the extra point and kept a 13-0 lead.

Another Owatonna drive stalled before Mankato East began another march down the field.

This time the Huskies pinned the Cougars down to their six-yard line, but again it was not enough as the opposition breezed downfield for a 94-yard scoring drive.

Once again, Mankato East was unsuccessful on the point after attempt and settled for a 19-0 lead with 1:31 left in the half.

Owatonna tried its hand at a two-minute drill drive but came up empty handed to enter halftime down by three scores.

After the half, Owatonna received the kickoff and showed signs of life by working its way down the field and scoring a 17-yard passing touchdown from quarterback Aedan Tackmann to wide receiver Bentley Arvig.

The drive gave Owatonna temporary momentum and got the crowd back in the game, but it was not enough to slow down the Cougars.

Just over four minutes later, Mankato East found another big hole in the run game and capitalized for a 67-yard touchdown and extra point to lead 26-7.

Matters were only made worse for Owatonna when the Cougars elected to attempt a sneaky onside kick that took a ricochet off the front row and wound up in the kickoff team’s hands.

The Huskies were able to force a punt, but quickly found themselves in a bind when Arvig chose to attempt a daring return that wound up with him being tackled at the Owatonna one-yard line.

The next play from scrimmage was a safety after a swarm of Cougars swallowed up running back Tristan Graham in the backfield.

The safety was the final dagger and gave Mankato East its final points en route to beating the Huskies 28-7.

Owatonna’s next opponent will be another tough one when the Huskies travel to take on Mankato West.

The Scarlets are 0-1 to begin the season as well, but are coming off a much closer game in a 19-21 loss to Mahtomedi.

Player Stats

Passing

#7 Aedan Tackmann – 12/25 99 yards 1 TD

Rushing

#20 Tristan Graham – 21 att. 90 yards; #21 Kade Hullopeter – 3 att. 8 yards; #32 Carter Flatland – 1 att. 4 yards; #27 Emilio Garza – 1 att. 3 yards; #7 Tackmann – 3 att. -4 yards

Receiving

#1 Bentley Arvig – 6 rec. 60 yards 1 TD; #2 Nolan Rolloff – 3 rec. 19 yards; #20 Graham – 1 rec. 10 yards; #6 Mason Klecker – 1 rec. 6 yards; #81 Brendan Klecker – 1 rec. 4 yards