Stevens returns to his old stomping grounds as Cardinals top Rebels

Published 10:40 pm Friday, October 4, 2024

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ADAMS – It was a surreal, but satisfying night for senior Tyson Stevens as he played on a familiar field as an opponent for the first time Friday night. After a slow start, Stevens and the LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle-Pacelli Cardinals walked away with a 55-13 win over the Rebels.

Stevens, who is originally from LeRoy, had played with Southland for the past three varsity seasons before moving back to LeRoy this past summer. He helped seal the victory as he busted off a 59-yard TD run in the third quarter and he also won a jump ball in the back of the end zone for a key interception. 

“I saw (the quarterback) looking my way and I saw the receiver and I just kind of went up and got the ball,” Stevens said of his interception. “I was fired up tonight. I knew they were going to come out with their best, and it was a good game.”

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The game was close early on as the Rebels (3-3 overall) tied things up at 7-7 when Henry Wiste found Kaleb Yunker for a 32-yard TD pass with 24 seconds left in the first quarter, but the Cardinals piled on three TDs in the second quarter to go up 28-7. Camden Hungerholt found Carter Sweeney and Landon Meyer for scoring strikes and he also had a six-yard TD run in the frame.

Sweeney put the Cards up 35-7 to start the second half when he picked off a tipped pass near the line of scrimmage and took it back 38 yards for a score.

Hungerholt ran for 279 yards and three scores and he threw for 132 yards and two TDs. He said the Cardinals (6-0 overall) were unfazed when the game was close early on.

“We knew we just had to lock in and do what we could do. We started slow, but it’s how we finished that mattered,” Hungerholt said. “We want to execute on the passing game. We’re still working on some of that and we’re going to get better every day.”

Hungerholt, a Minnesota State University in Mankato commit, recently surpassed 100 career rushing TDs and he credits his entire team with that accomplishment.

“It was awesome. It’s cool to see all of the hard work the whole team puts in,” he said. “The line and the receivers are blocking and it’s kind of like a team milestone.”

For the Rebels, the game was a lesson for a defense that started one freshman and four sophomores. Head coach JJ Galle said the team is still working on communication and learning how to play together, but they put forth all of the effort they could provide.

“We wanted to come out on fire and we did, but we kind of lost our focus in the second quarter a little bit with a couple of mishaps,” Galle said. “We still fought in the second half and we played hard against a good team. You can see they care and this one was tough against a crosstown rival with emotions, but I love these guys to death and I’m still proud of them no matter what.”

LOLP 7 21 20  7  –  55

Southland 7  0  6    0  –  13

First quarter

(LOLP) Camden Hungerholt 32 run (Ryder Stern kick) (6 plays, 71 yards) 9:33

(S) Kaleb Yunker 32 pass from Henry Wiste (kick good) (6 plays, 44 yards) :24

Second quarter

(LOLP) Carter Sweeney 32 pass from Hungerholt (Stern kick) (6 plays, 70 yards) 11:33

(LOLP) Hungerholt 6 run (Stern kick) (6 plays, 68 yards) 6:04

(LOLP) Landon Meyer 9 pass from Hungerholt (Stern kick) (7 plays, 70 yards) :27

Third quarter

(LOLP) Carter Sweeney 38 interception return (kick failed) (1 play, 38 yards) 9:57

(S) Beau Sathre 80 kick return (kick blocked) (1 play, 80 yards) 9:40

(LOLP) Tyson Stevens 59 run (Hungerholt run) (1 plays, 59 yards) (1 play, 59 yards) 8:45

(LOLP) Hungerholt 9 run (kick failed) (9 plays, 55 yards) 2:37

Fourth quarter

(LOLP) Hungerholt 2 run (Stern kick) (10 plays, 80 yards) 7:33

LOP STATS

Rushing: Camden Hungerholt, 21-for-279, 3 TDs; Tyson Stevens, 15-for-113; Marek Leif, 1-for-28; Hunter Wollenburg, 2-for-22; Jayden Smith, 2-for-15

Passing: Camden Hungerholt, 8-for-17, 137, 2 TDs

Receiving: Carter Sweeney, 5-for-65, TD; Reid Hungerholt, 2-for-63; Landon Meyer, 1-for-9, TD

Defense: Tyson Stevens, 1 interception; Cam Hungerholt, 1 interception; Reid Hungerholt, 1 interception; Carter Sweeney, 1 interception; Carson Roe, 1 sack

SOUTHLAND STATS

Rushing: Henry Wiste, 11-for-72; Royce Jax, 11-for-21; Beau Sathre, 4-for-6; Logan Volkart, 2-for-0

Passing: Wiste, 9-for-19, 101, TD, 4 INT

Receiving: Cael Smith, 2-for-41; Kaleb Yunker, 2-for-39, TD; Jax, 4-for-12; Sathre, 1-for-9

Defense: Cam Forthun, 1 sack