Glenwood City loses first-half lead and game to Spring Valley in D-SC opener

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by Joel DeWitt

Sports Correspondent

SPRING VALLEY — Heading into their September 1 matchup against Spring Valley, the Glenwood City Football team was looking to end a decade of losses to the Cardinals. Not since a 30-29 victory on October 18, 2013, have the Hilltoppers notched a victory against their foe to the south.

Glenwood City started out strong, scoring touchdowns on three of their first five possessions to take a 22-21 lead into halftime. However, the perennial conference favorites didn’t roll over so easily.

The Cardinals used their ball control rushing attack to limit the Hilltoppers second-half possessions and put up 21 unanswered points to secure a 42-21 victory in the Dunn-St. Croix opener for both teams.

Spring Valley had 358 total yards on the night, with 323 coming on the ground. Only two passes were complete by Cardinal QB Wyatt Goveronski on the evening, and both went for scores.

Regardless of the recent history between these two clubs, the Hilltoppers were the aggressor in the first half. The two possessions Glenwood City failed to score on in the first half ended deep in Cardinal territory, one by turn over on downs and the other an interception at the 10 yard line.

The Hilltoppers started the scoring on the evening. After receiving the opening kickoff at their 35 yard line, they marched 65 yards down the field leveraging mostly the quick passing game.

Mitch McGee would seal the touchdown on a 4-yard rush up the middle at the 7:22 mark of the opening quarter. The kicking PAT was unsuccessful and left the Toppers ahead 6-0.

Spring Valley would counter with their rushing attack on the next possession. Starting on their own 38 yard line, the Cardinals drove the ball 62 yards on 11 plays, including two fourth down conversions, to take the lead at 7-6 with 1:38 remaining in the first.

Glenwood City’s passing attack once again controlled the field on its next possession. A 26-yard reception by Brody Riba on third and long put the Hilltoppers in Cardinal territory. A catch by Steven Booth three plays later set the Hilltoppers up with a first down on the 8 yard line.

The Hilltoppers were not able to find the end zone as a pass by Brody Olson to Zach Hill fell incomplete in the end zone on fourth down. However, the Hilltopper defense came up big two plays recovering a fumble on the Cardinal 18 yard line.

The next play saw McGee find a hole up the middle for the 18-yard scamper for the touchdown. A 2-point completion from Olson to Morgen Eggert gave Glenwood a seven point lead with 9:39 left in the half.

The Cardinals struck back two plays later for a 54-yard rushing touchdown. The ensuing kicking PAT locked the score at 14 apiece.

The Hilltoppers look again to take the lead on the next possession. However, a Cardinal interception on their own 10 yard line, and return to midfield, stopped the Hilltopper opportunity.

Spring Valley took advantage of the turnover and converted it into their third touchdown of the half for the 21-14 lead.

However, Glenwood City wasn’t to be outdone. Starting on their own 31 yard line with 2:55 in the half, they pushed the ball down the field in 1:49 seconds for the score and the lead at halftime.

Olson completed three, third-down opportunities, the first two to Brady Thompson and Eggert, for first downs to keep the drive going. He then connected with Eggert again for the 10-yard touchdown. The 2-point reception by Hill gave Glenwood the 22-21 advantage at half.

“I thought our line protected well and Brody made good decisions with the ball,” indicated coach Shane Strong on his team’s first half offensive performance.

Despite the Hilltoppers performance in the first half, the second was controlled by the Cardinals. Spring Valley used a tough rushing game to control the line of scrimmage and chew up clock.

The Cardinals first three drives of the half used 17:04 of the game clock, resulting in three touchdowns and a 42-22 lead with only 3:05 left in the game.

“Spring Valley controlled the ball with a physical run game,” coach Strong commented. He continued, “We needed to get stops on defense, our offense was working well.”

Spring Valley’s defense also contained the Hilltopper passing attack in the second half. Glenwood’s first two possession only saw them run 12 plays and resulted in a punt and an interception.

While the past two weeks showed a balanced Hilltopper attack on offense, the passing game was front and center against the Cardinals.

Olson was 20-34 for 249 yards, a single touchdown pass, and two interceptions. Eggert paced a receiving corps that had six different receivers log catches. He led the way with six receptions for 92 yards.

McGee logged 12 carries for 39 yards and two scores on the night to lead the ground game.

Their next opportunity for a win comes September 8 when they host Clear Lake at 7:00 p.m. for their conference home opener.

“I believe we can move the ball on anyone we play, defense is our priority right now,” indicated coach Strong going into the matchup with Clear Lake. “We need to fix our mistakes and start playing more physically.”

The loss drops Glenwood City to 2-1 (0-1 in D-SC) a third of the way through regular-season play.