Late touchdown boosts Huskies past Spartans

The top spot in the Northstar – South-Maroon Division once again belongs to the Owatonna Huskies after the team traveled to Rochester last week and took down the Mayo Spartans 21-16 in hostile territory.

The Spartans put up a fight and held a 16-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Huskies managed to find the endzone and hold their opposition off the scoreboard in the second half to come out with the five-point win.

“We knew that we were going to run into probably one of the best defenses we’ve seen other than Mankato West. They haven’t given up more than two scores to anybody all season, and it was tough sledding for us offensively. We had to work for every yard, and every score that we got, but our persistence on offense paid off,” said Owatonna Head Coach Jeff Williams.

The Huskies started the first quarter by returning the opening kickoff to their own 49-yard line and immediately went to work putting together the first scoring drive of the game.

It took Owatonna 12 plays to work the ball down to the Spartan’s five-yard line where quarterback Aedan Tackmann connected with tight end Ashton Wilkemeyer for a touchdown pass.

After a steady dose of rushing playcalls, Owatonna’s offense caught Mayo off guard with a play-action pass that saw Wilkemeyer slip off of a block and find separation from the secondary on an out route.

Tackmann hit him on the numbers with a perfect pass for the score and kicker Canaan Zinter tacked on the extra point for the Huskies to lead 7-0 with 6:45 left in the first quarter.

The Spartans took the ensuing kickoff out to the 25-yard line and put together their first sustained drive of the game to work the ball deep into Huskies’ territory late in the first.

Mayo’s drive sputtered out right as the team hit the redzone, forcing the Spartans to settle for a 30-yard field goal that cut the Huskies’ lead to 7-3 with 1:06 left in the first.

Owatonna looked to answer on its next drive but instead gave away a quick turnover when a pass from Tackmann was intercepted by Mayo at the Huskies’ 20-yard line.

Mayo took full advantage and scored in just four plays, punctuating the drive with a two-yard rush to take a 10-7 lead with 11:04 remaining in the half.

Owatonna’s next drive fizzled out quickly, allowing Mayo to work with its momentum and continue building its lead.

The Huskies were able to flip the field with a punt to the Spartans’ 30-yard line, but Mayo was undeterred.

The Spartans marched 70 yards in eight plays and managed to find the endzone again on a 24-yard passing touchdown to extend the lead to 16-7.

The extra-point attempt was unsuccessful, keeping the game at just a nine-point edge for the hosts.

Mayo looked primed to take its two-possession lead into halftime with momentum on its side, but Williams’ squad showed stellar resilience in the face of adversity.

With one final possession before the intermission, Owatonna started from its own 35 and went the length of the field in 10 plays, cutting the deficit to 16-14 with 17 seconds until halftime.

Tackmann was sharp again to find wide receiver Lee Smith open in the corner of the endzone for a three-yard passing touchdown and another seven points.

The fast-paced, high-scoring first half was followed by a much more methodical second half where defense was on full display by both teams.

Neither side was able to score in the third, sending the game into the final 12 minutes with Mayo still holding its two-point lead at 16-14.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Owatonna’s Tackmann found wide receiver Cooper Routh open for a 25-yard completion that set the Huskies up at the Spartans’ nine-yard line for a goal-to-go opportunity.

After two unsuccessful run plays from inside the 10, the Huskies decided to go with some trickery for the go-ahead score.

Owatonna played into Mayo’s beliefs that standout runningback Kade Hullopeter would get the ball again and instead ran a halfback pass to attempt to fool the secondary and break down the Spartans’ coverage.

Before the snap, Tackmann motioned Smith from his outside receiver position back into the formation to decoy as an extra blocker on the edge, but when Tackmann pitched the ball to Hullopeter, the latter found Smith wide open in the back of the endzone after shedding his block and fooling the defense.

The touchdown was followed by a successful extra point and gave the Huskies’ their 21-16 lead with 9:56 left in the game.

Owatonna shut down Mayo for the remainder of the game, and after a close first half, the Huskies’ defense proved too much by holding the Spartans to zero second-half points to secure the win.

The Huskies’ final game of the regular season will be on the road against Apple Valley on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.

Player Stats

Owatonna

Passing

#7 Aedan Tackmann – 11/16 105 yards 2 TD 1 Int.; #21 Kade Hullopeter – 1/1 6 yards 1 TD

Rushing

#21 Hullopeter – 30 att. 127 yards; #7 Tackmann – 3 att. 3 yards

Receiving

#8 Lee Smith – 4 rec. 35 yards 2 TD; #1 Cooper Routh – 1 rec. 25 yards; #3 Lucas Ginskey – 1 rec. 22 yards; #88 Wilkemeyer – 3 rec. 18 yards 1 TD; #9 Nolan Johnson – 3 rec. 11 yards