Late Touchdown Lifts No. 5 Northfield Past No. 1 Owatonna 21-17
Northfield drove 74 yards in eight plays and 35 seconds, with no timeouts, and scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds left to beat top-rated Owatonna 21-17 at Memorial Field in Northfield Friday night. The drive started with 53 seconds remaining. Senior quarterback Lars Prestemon went 6-for-9 on the drive. Alex Rasmussen caught the TD strike and a 38-yard pass that set it up.
The Huskies had taken the lead on a 48-yard screen pass from Abe Havelka that Noah Budach raced up the left sideline with the help of a great block from fellow-receiver Dalton Kubista that put OHS up 17-14 with 4:44 to go. Northfield punted on its next possession and forced Owatonna to do the same, leading to the winning drive.
OHS led 10-0 at the half on a 23-yard field goal by Josh Nelson and a 20-yard screen pass touchdown from Havelka to Jason Williamson. Northfield stormed up the field on their first drive of the second half, ending on a 48-yard sprint by Joe Vitito to pull within 10-7. Northfield took their first lead early in the fourth quarter. Prestemon forced his way into the end zone on a one-yard plunge, completing an 11-play, six-minute, 67-yard drive for a 14-10 advantage.
The Raiders used multiple sets on offense and a few trick plays, including a fake field goal. That was attempted after an OHS fumble set up Northfield inside Owatonna territory early in the fourth quarter. The backup quarterback was sacked on the try. Owatonna also blocked a field goal in the first half.
Prestemon had about 240 yards passing. Northfield out gained Owatonna on the ground 175-105. Jason Williamson needed 32 carries to reach 101 yards rushing. Havelka threw for about 270 yards.
Northfield (7-0) wrapped up the top seed for the Section 1-5A tournament and secured at least a share of the Big Southeast, Red Division title. Owatonna (6-1) wraps up the regular season Wednesday October 18 at New Prague at 7PM. The Raiders go to Century.
Football scores, Friday October 13
Northfield 21, Owatonna 17
Blooming Prairie 28, Mayer Lutheran 27
NRHEG 24, LeSueur-Henderson 10
Triton 42, Lewiston-Altura 14
Medford 29, Minnesota Valley Lutheran 14
Bethlehem Academy 27, Lester Prairie-Holy Trinity 26
Byron 34, Plainview-Elgin-Millville 12
Caledonia 40, Cannon Falls 8
Elk River 69, Anoka 54
Fillmore Central 16, Wabasha-Kellog 0
Goodhue 44, Kingsland 6
Kasson-Mantorville 35, Pine Island 21
Mankato West 62, Faribault 6
Maple River 25, WEM 13
Rochester Century 20, Rochester JM 16
Rochester Mayo 24, New Prague 0
Rushford-Peterson 41, Hayfield 7
St. Clair 24, Kenyon-Wanamingo 14
Waseca 48, St. Peter 14
Worthington 14, Albert Lea 0
Zumbrota-Mazeppa 34, Dover-Eyota 7