Hilltoppers bring home third straight win after traveling to Minnesota

By Kelsie Hoitomt

CHASKA, MN – The Glenwood City football team continued their winning streak after traveling to Minnesota to play against the Melrose Dutchmen on Saturday, September 8.

The Dutchmen have a strong front line with several big players, but the Toppers were able to put aside the size difference as they won the contest 28-20.

“Melrose is a big physical team with a very good three year starter at quarterback and our kids did a great job stopping their run despite the great size difference,” said coach Shane Strong.

With the game underway, Hilltopper Adam Holmquist scored the first touchdown of the afternoon with 50 seconds left in the first quarter on a ten yard run.

Quarterback Nick Mrdutt called the team to huddle for the two-point conversion play, which was successful as Mrdutt himself ran the ball in the end zone to put the Toppers ahead 8-0.

The Dutchmen quickly answered back as they marched down the field for a 13 yard touchdown run by Isaac Sawyer with 12 seconds left in the first quarter.

The extra point was good and the score was 8-7 going into the second quarter.

Again with the clock winding down, the Toppers would finally bring the ball within sight of the goal line.

Mrdutt would hand the ball off to Jeff Kopacz for a 16 yard touchdown run with 51 seconds left on the clock.

The Hilltoppers would set up for the extra point kick by Richard Ross, which was successful, to put the game at 15-7 going into half-time.

The energy continued within the Hilltopper team as they took the field in the third quarter.
With 6:43 on the clock, Mrdutt handed the ball off to Isaac Tuttle who blew past the Melrose defense for an impressive 57 yard touchdown run.

Ross would square up to put the extra point between the goal posts to give the Toppers a 22-7 lead over the Dutchmen.

The Hilltoppers would officially dominate the third quarter as Mrdutt connected with Matt Schouten for a 10 yard touchdown pass run.

The extra point was no good, but the Toppers still held the lead 28-7.

With a solid lead going into the fourth quarter, several of the rookie Hilltopper players were pulled off the side lines and put into the game.

The Dutchmen managed to take advantage of this as runner Seth Noll scored on a 45 yard catch with 6:15 on the clock.

The score would now be at 28-13 after the extra point attempt was unsuccessful.

The Dutchmen would again make their way down the field. With ten yards to go, the ball would be handed off to Sawyer for the touchdown.

The extra point attempt was good and the score would stay at 28-20.

“Our kids stayed focused and made some big plays throughout the game in key situations to overcome some great plays by the Melrose offense,” said Strong.

The Hilltoppers dominated in yardage with a total of 335 rushing yards and 35 passing yards.

The Toppers held the Dutchmen to just 93 rushing yards, but they did allow for 224 passing yards.

Tuttle had 11 carries for 104 yards. Kopacz had 14 carries for 84 yards. Holmquist had 15 carries for 101 yards. Mrdutt had 15 carries for 43 yards and he went two for four on passing for 35 yards.

“This was a great win for our kids. Overall we learned a great deal about our team and we are improving each week and our team chemistry is growing every game,” shared Strong.

The Hilltoppers will travel to Elk Mound on Friday evening to play against the Mounder’s starting at 7:00 p.m.

“They will be a tough opponent, but we are looking forward to the challenge ahead of us,” said Strong.