Glenwood City salvages points in near shutout by Spring Valley
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THE TOPPERS’ Maxwell Janson tried to squeeze through a pair of Spring Valley defenders during a run in Glenwood City’s September 20 football contest in Spring Valley. Janson finished with 76 yards rushing to lead the Hilltoppers in a 45-8 loss to the unbeaten Cardinals. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
By Laura Giammattei
Sports Correspondent
SPRING VALLEY — A second half running clock loomed over the Glenwood City football team for the second straight week, as they conceded a 45-8 loss to the undefeated Cardinals Friday in Spring Valley.
Because of lapses on both the Hilltopper defensive and special teams caused the Cardinals to have a 28-0 lead after the first quarter of play in the September 20 Dunn-St. Croix contest. By the time the first half came to a close, Spring Valley had boosted their advantage to 38-0.
“We are struggling to consistently move the ball on offense,” Glenwood City head coach Shane Strong said. “We need to improve our level of effort in our execution and blocking mechanics.”
After holding Glenwood City (0-5, 0-3), who had just one first down in the first half and finished with six, to only three offensive plays on their first drive, Spring Valley (5-0, 2-0) returned a 37-yard punt by Cole Logghe to the Hilltopper 40-yard line. On a fourth and one, the Cardinal quarterback, Aaron Borgerding, crossed the goal line on a 31-yard run for the initial score at 8:24. Borgerding tacked on the extra point kick for a 7-0 Valley lead.
After the Hilltoppers’ second punt away, Spring Valley took over on their one 41-yard line, but needed just two plays to infiltrate the end zone. Borgerding found running back Brenden Williams wide open for the 50-yard pitch and catch that upped the Cardinals’ advantage to 14-0 followed Borgerding’s PAT kick at the 5:45 mark.
With 4:10 left in the first quarter, the Cardinals took possession once again to march 70 yards in five plays capped by an 8-yard Borgerding touchdown run.
The Toppers were again forced to punt after only three offensive plays. This time Brenden Williams returned Logghe’s punt 70 yards for his second touchdown of the game with just 16 seconds remaining in the opening period of play. Borgerding kicked the PAT, his fourth of the quarter, and the rout was on with Valley leading 28-0.
While the Cardinals slowed their momentum in the second quarter, Borgerding’s 28-yard field goal right down the center boosted their lead to 31-0 with 3:08 left, and they weren’t done tacking points on to the board just yet. After another three and out for the Hilltoppers, the Cardinals embarked on their second 70-yard drive of the first half, capping a six-play drive with a 5-yard Borgerding TD run, his third of the half. Another good point after kick made it 38-0 at intermission.
The Cardinals didn’t waste anytime opening up the third quarter, adding their final score of the night on an 88-yard Carter Deppa kick-off return just 14 seconds in.
Borgerding finished 3-for-4 passing for 90 yards and a touchdown while rushing five times for 56 yards and three scores. In all, the Cardinals had 321 yards of offensive production.
Although the Hilltoppers were facing a 45-0 shutout and a game clock rapidly ticking away, the junior varsity unit hit the field to avoid the shutout with 6:35 left in the third.
Brady Klatt wrapped up a 60-yard, 10-play Hilltopper drive with a 2-yard push into the end zone for Glenwood City’s lone score of the game and Dan Loring capped the scoring off with a good two-point conversion.
Glenwood City finished the night with 151 yards, 132 rushing and 19 passing. Max Janson led in yards on the ground with 76 yards on eight carries, followed by Brady McCarthy with 31 on half a dozen attempts. Quarterback Gavin Janson went 3-for-8 in the air for a total of 19 yards, connecting with Brandyn Hallquist all three times but was twice intercepted.
“I thought our younger kids came in and played well when they had their chance,” Strong remarked. “If we want to have success, we need eleven kids giving all they have every play.”
The Hilltoppers return to their home field this Friday to take on the conference leading and state-ranked Mondovi Buffaloes (5-0, 2-0) before hosting Fall Creek (0-5) for their Homecoming match October 4.