Owatonna leaves Rochester in critical condition

A season of struggles continued for Owatonna in Rochester last Friday when some unwanted history was made in a 12-7 loss to the Century Panthers.

Panthers’ fans stormed the field to celebrate the program’s first win over the Huskies dating back 15 years to the 2010 season, but the sting of the loss seeped deeper into Owatonna’s reputation.

The usual powerhouse program will now start its season 0-3 for the first time in head coach Jeff Williams’ 30 seasons at the helm.

Century did not enter the matchup as a visually dangerous opponent with its 0-2 record matching Owatonna’s, but the first possessions of the game indicated that the Huskies were not going to breeze to the win in the same way as years passed.

After receiving the opening kickoff, Owatonna’s initial possession stalled following an unsportsmanlike penalty call, quickly giving the ball to the Panthers.

Century wasted no time finding the endzone and making a statement after a first-play, 71-yard touchdown to take a 6-0 lead just under four minutes into the game.

The Panthers were unsuccessful on their extra point attempt, allowing Owatonna the opportunity to take the lead with one Century slip-up.

Owatonna’s response was a strong one as the team marched down the field late in the quarter to take the lead following a 10-yard rushing touchdown by workhorse running back Tristan Graham.

Graham’s touchdown marked the first points Owatonna had scored in the first half of any game this season and tied the team’s season-high total for points scored in a game.

The point after attempt sailed through the uprights to give Owatonna the 7-6 lead, which it held all the way through the remainder of the first half.

The Huskies had an opportunity to score again before the end of the half, but the stingy Panthers’ defense held Owatonna out of the endzone on a fourth-and-goal situation at the Century three-yard line.

Century received the opening kickoff of the second half and began working on exposing some of Owatonna’s defensive flaws.

Though the Huskies’ pass rush was able to penetrate into the backfield on many occasions during the Panthers’ opening drive, Century’s elusive quarterback used his legs to create space and find open receivers during scramble-drill plays.

Multiple times it appeared Owatonna would earn the sack and set the Panthers back behind the chains, but instead, chunk gains resulted in an eventual 35-yard passing touchdown for the Panthers to regain the lead at 12-7.

The score was quick enough to afford Owatonna plenty of time to recover with 9:40 left in the third quarter, but the Huskies’ offensive woes resulted in multiple punts and wasted opportunities in the red zone.

The game appeared to be close to over when Century marched deep into the Huskies goal-line area with under five minutes to play in the game, but some late-game heroics from Owatonna’s defense gave the team one more chance to flip the game on its head.

After forcing a fourth-and-goal scenario at the eight-yard line, Owatonna blocked the Panthers’ field goal attempt and returned the loose ball for a small gain to begin its final drive.

The offense began to do its part by moving the ball down the field, but another stalled drive resulted in a turnover on downs to ice the game for the Panthers.

Owatonna’s next matchup will be its homecoming game against New Prague on Friday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.

The Trojans step into the matchup 0-3 as well, but are coming off of three close losses to Hastings, St. Francis and Rochester Mayo.

Player Stats

Passing

#7 Aedan Tackmann – 11/24 135 yards

Rushing

#20 Tristan Graham – 24 att. 113 yards 1 TD; #26 Zachary Roesner – 4 att. 23 yards; #7 Tackmann – 8 att. 17 yards

Receiving

#2 Nolan Rolloff – 3 rec. 48 yards; #15 Cooper Routh – 1 rec. 33 yards; #6 Mason Klecker – 3 rec. 30 yards; #9 Nolan Johnson – 3 rec. 15 yards; #1 Bentley Arvig – 1 rec. 9 yards