Defense sets the tone for Stewartville’s Prep Bowl berth

Defense sets the tone for Stewartville&#8217;s Prep Bowl berth

Brian Jerzak

November 18, 2023 @ 07:08 PM

The Stewartville defense had been out on the field for a long time. Despite their offense's first-half struggles, the Tigers' defense gave up just seven points and went into the half trailing by just one point. Going into halftime, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton's offense completed a 21-play, 85-yard touchdown drive just before the half. The Tigers' defense would be back on the field coming out of halftime, but they weren't on the field nearly as long. Stewartville's Mikhail Heydt read a short pass and grabbed it for a pick-six, giving his team a lead they would never give back. The defense would continue its great play, and the usually high-scoring offense found a rhythm and blew open a close game in the second half to grab a spot in the Prep Bowl with a 28-7 win.   After both teams exchanged opening possession punts, Stewartville's offense got rolling. Facing a fourth and five, Stewartville quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1142977' first='Ayden' last='Helder'] found wide receiver Tegan Malone for ten yards and a first down. Helder would then find tight end [player_tooltip player_id='1142973' first='Blake' last='Turner'] in the flat for a first down. Helder would use his legs for 14 yards, setting up a first and goal. Carter Miller capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown run.   Stewartville's Lincoln Dube stuffed a run on third and short to force a DGF punt. Stewartville converted on third and long for 22 yards, but a bobbled shotgun snap would short-circuit the drive.   The DGF Rebels would get the ball at their own fifteen-yard line early in the second quarter. The Rebels' offense is based on a tough running game and typically doesn't throw the ball much. The Rebels decided the offense needed to open the playbook to move the ball against this tough Tigers' defense.   The Rebels picked up two first downs on the ground, but a run for no gain and a false start had DGF behind the chains. DGF quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='362306' first='Caleb' last='Johnson'] used a throwback pass into the flat for ten yards. Near midfield, the Rebels went for it on fourth and two at their own 47. Johnson rolled out and connected on a short pass to Brody Friend, moving the chains. Another 4th down conversion saw Johnson and Friend connecting again – this time with the senior making a leaping catch for fifteen yards and a first down. Another throwback to Friend picked up another first down, and Johnson would complete the drive on a one-yard sneak with sixteen seconds to play in the half.   On the field for roughly a full quarter, the Tigers' defense was right back on the field after the half. Down one point, Stewartville's Heydt had seen the throwback pass one too many times in the first half. The Rebels tried it out of halftime, and Heydt read it, picked off the pass, and sprinted 32 yards into the end zone for a 14-7 lead.   Right back on the field, Stewartville's defense came up big again. The Rebels would convert on a third and long, but then the interior of the Tigers' defense stuffed a later fourth and short.   Off the turnover on downs, Stewartville finally got its offense going. They used the short passing game and a run by Helder to start the drive. The senior hit wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='234881' first='Parker' last='Wangen'] on a slant for ten more yards. Running back Miller kept the drive going with a six-yard run on third and 1. The Tigers went back to the air when Helder hit Wangen in the end zone on a fade route.   After the defense forced another punt, Stewartville running back Miller followed a kickout block by tight end Turner and made a great cut for a ten-yard gain. Then, Helder and Wangen hooked up for two big plays. First, they connected on a crossing route to pick up a first down on third down. Then, they hit the big play – putting the game out of reach with a 50-yard touchdown for a 28-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.   The Tigers' defense would force one more turnover on downs, and Stewartville would use a long, time-consuming drive - mostly behind the running of Miller and the right side of the offensive line to close out the game. They didn't score but took five minutes off the clock before turning the ball over on downs with less than two minutes to play.