Mounders take early lead but lose to Cardinals

SPRING VALLEY — Elk Mound’s Noah Zurbuchen rushed for 102 yards but it wasn’t enough as the Mounders let an early lead slip away and dropped their conference opener at Spring Valley 25-13 Sept. 5.

The Cardinals scored first for a 7-0 lead on a 56-yard pass from Cardinals’ quarterback Remington Schneider to Logan Newton.

The Mounders responded with a touchdown by quarterback Dane Lew and his extra point kick to knot the game at seven all.

Zurbuchen found the end zone from six yards out to give Elk Mound the lead at 13-6 midway through the second quarter, but Spring Valley tied the score with just five seconds left in the half on Schneider’s second touchdown toss of the half, this one a 25-yard pitch-and-catch to Jed Schlegel.

It was all Spring Valley in the second half as Remington Schneider scampered in for six points on a 69-yard run for a 19-13 lead after three quarters.

The Cardinals final points came on a pass from Schneider to Logan Newton from 11 yards out with 20 seconds left in the game. It was the quarterback’s third touchdown pass of the game and second to Newton.

Zurbuchen’s 102 yards came on 22 carries with the Mounders racking up 254 total yards in the game. Lew rushed for 52 yards on 13 attempts and was 2 for 8 in the passing department for 18 yards with Cole Tyman catching one and Jordan VanSchoonhoven snaring the other. Jon Storing ran for 18 yards on nine carries and Hunter Adleman added 13 yards on three attempts. Adleman returned three kickoffs for 25 yards and one punt for 10 yards.

“I felt our boys grew up tonight and I was proud of their efforts and enthusiasm,” Mounder coach Dave Lew said. “We gave up big plays and that hurt us. We will continue to battle every week.”

Both teams had similar rushing totals as Elk Mound tallied 236 yards on 52 carries while Spring Valley finished with 229 yards on 50 attempts. The Cardinals, however, held a decided advantage in the air, collecting 89 yards and three touchdowns to the Mounders 18 yards with an interception.

Elk Mound, now 0-3, will host Glenwood City this Friday night, September 12.

The Hilltoppers were the Division 7 state runners up last year but are dealing with a lot of new players including several freshman and sophomores. But they improved 2-1 after posting a huge 52-6 road win over St. Paul Academy this past Saturday.