Glenwood City gets defensive, climbs passed Warriors with second-half rally

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CLEAR LAKE — It wasn’t pretty but a win is a win.

In an error-filled game that included five turnovers, Glenwood City used a strong defensive effort and 19 unanswered, second-half points to snap its two-game losing streak as it rallied for a 26-14 Dunn-St. Croix football victory in Clear Lake September 16.

After scoring the game’s initial touchdown in the first quarter following a turnover, the Hilltoppers found themselves trailing the host Warriors 14-7 at the intermission. But a stalwart performance by its defensive unit, which held Clear Lake to just 99 yards of total offense for the game, coupled with a determined ground attack, particularly in the second half, allowed Glenwood City to pick up its first conference win of the 2022 season.

“Our defense played very well holding them to less than 100 yards,” stated Glenwood City head coach Shane Strong of his squads’ effort against Clear Lake.

“We controlled the ball in the second half, limiting their possessions. I believe we nearly doubled their number of plays for the night. We were able to get our power game going, which wore them down in the second half,” added Strong.

Glenwood City’s rushing attack accounted for all 293 yards it accumulated in Clear Lake last Friday. It also allowed the Toppers to hold a huge advantage in total plays – 63 to 36 – as Coach Strong alluded to in his comments.

Turnovers and penalties also played a role. Glenwood City lost and fumble and threw an interception while Clear Lake tossed a pair of picks and had a fumble which led to the Toppers’ first touchdown.  

“We need to limit our number of penalties,” Strong commented. “We had two long touchdown runs called back on holding calls.”

The Hilltoppers kicked off to open the game but quickly took the football back when senior defensive lineman Aaron Brigham recovered a fumble on just the second play from scrimmage.

Taking over on the Clear Lake 34 yard line, the Toppers put its entire backfield in action. Max Janson had a run of nine yards to open the series. Jackson Halbach carried for an 11-yard gain, followed by nine from quarterback Gabe Knops and a four-yard haul by Morgen Eggert to set up a first and goal at the Warrior one yard line. On the ensuing first-down play, Knops called his own number and carried it into the end zone to give Glenwood City the lead at 9:10. Senior placekicker Brady Klatt booted the PAT through the uprights to make it 7-0.

Clear Lake went three and out on its second possession and had to punt and Glenwood City ended up with good field position at its own 44. But, the Warriors stuffed a fourth-down-and-one run by the Toppers to take over on downs near midfield.

It looked like the Warriors would have to punt once again but on third and 11 from their own 46, Clear Lake quarterback Jacob Burbach connected with Andrew Campion for a 22-yard pass completion to gain a fresh set of downs. The Warriors gained just a single yard on three straight running plays and were faced with a fourth and nine at the GC 31. Clear Lake went to the air once again where Burbach completed a 31-yard scoring strike to Jordan Blanchard with 1:45 left in the first quarter. Glenwood City stopped the conversion to maintain a slim 7-6 advantage.

Those two completed passes would account for 55 of the Warriors’ 60 passing yards.

As the first quarter wound down, Glenwood City prepared to punt again. But Max Janson who handles GC’s punting duties, was hit which resulted in a roughing the punter penalty and a fresh set of downs. Janson then ripped off a 14-yard jaunt that took the ball to the Clear Lake 40 yard line as time expired on the first-quarter clock.      

Three plays into the second quarter, Janson broke free on what appeared to be a 25-yard touchdown run. Instead, the score was called back on a holding penalty. Glenwood City eventually turned the ball over when Gabe Knops’ fourth-and-8 throw to the end zone was picked off to end the threat.

Clear Lake was forced into another punt but Glenwood City gave the ball right back when Janson fumbled and the Warriors’ Dominic Leintz pounced on the loose ball at the GC 17.

Five plays later, Leintz scored six from five yards out and then added the two-point run to give host Clear Lake a 14-7 lead with 1:36 left in the half. That’s how the contest would stand at intermission.

The Toppers received the second-half kick and on the first play from scrimmage, Janson took the handoff and raced 56 yards to pay dirt. Unfortunately, another holding call wiped the touchdown off the scoreboard. Despite back-to-back runs of seven yards by Janson and Morgen Eggert, the Toppers were faced with a fourth and four and lined up to punt. Instead, Brady Klatt took the direct snap and rumbled 30 yards down the sideline to keep the drive alive at the Clear Lake 21. Four plays later, Knops dove across from the one yard line and with Klatt’s good kick, the Toppers had pulled even at 14 with 8:18 left in the third.

After forcing yet another Clear  Lake punt, Glenwood City’s offense went back to work at its own 21 yard line. The Toppers assembled a 12-play drive in which Janson rushed six times for 44 yards including the go ahead touchdown from seven yards out with 18 ticks left in the third. Eggert, Knops and Mitchell McGee also contributed nice gains during the drive to six. Despite a missed pass attempt on the two-point conversion try, Glenwood City went back in front 20-14. 

A nice 28-yard punt return by Eggert midway through the final frame put the Hilltoppers at the Warriors 27 yard line. A four-yard run by Eggert opened the drive which was followed by runs of eight and six yards from quarterback Gabe Knops. Janson covered the final nine yards to give Glenwood City an insurance score with 6:14 to play. Klatt’s extra point kick was blocked but the Toppers lead 26-14.

Despite a flurry of action in the final six minutes of play which included a pair of Clear Lake interceptions sandwiched around a Glenwood City fumble the score remained unchanged as the game clock finally expired.

Of the Toppers’ 293 rushing yards, Janson accounted for 95 yards and two scores on 20 hauls, Eggert added 72 yards on 14 carries, Knops had 43 yards and two TDs on 16 attempts and McGee finished with nine carries for 45 yards. Knops did not complete any of his five pass attempts and threw an interception.

Clear Lake finished with just 99 yards including 60 passing by Burbach who had a touchdown and two picks. Leintz lead the Warriors’ ground game with 11 rushes for 26 yards and a score.

Glenwood City improved to 1-2 in conference play and 3-2 overall as they prepare to host a tough Cadott squad in this Friday night’s annual homecoming game.

“Cadott has a very solid team this year. We will need to play our best game to beat them,” concluded Strong.