Owatonna Defense Stands Tall at Northfield

Owatonna scored on two of their first three plays from scrimmage. That was more than enough for a 26-7 victory at Northfield Friday night as the Huskies defense repeatedly shut down scoring chances for the Raiders.

Huskies coach Jeff Williams said, "It was really fun to get out of the gate fast like that...The last couple of weeks the defense has absolutely been lights out." After the Raiders had a bit of success early, "Our kids just clamped down," holding the Raiders to about zero yards rushing in the second half, one first down and intercepting three passes.

In fact, OHS caught more of Soren Richardson's passes in the second half on picks by Collin Vick, Owen Beyer and Caleb Veriede then his own receivers who only grabbed two completions. Northfield drove inside the OHS 25 twice in the first half, but lost the ball on downs each time. One of those drives started at the Huskies 15 after a long return and penalty following a blocked field goal.

The win was the fifth straight for OHS over Northfield.

The Raiders fumbled on their second play of the game. The Huskies recovered on the five-yard line and quarterback Jacon Ginskey snuck in for the touchdown on the next play.

OHS forced a Raider punt on their next possession. Dylan Maas dashed for 47 yards and a score on second down and OHS was ahead 14-0 with over seven minutes to go in the first quarter. Drew Henson was two-for-two on PAT's.

Northfield scored on their next possession, going 80 yards on ten plays with a 27-yard scoring pass. The only other scoring in the first half was a 34-yard field goal by Henson as time expired in the second quarter for a 17-7 lead.

The Huskies scored a fourth quarter touchdown on an eight-yard pass while Ginskey scrambled, finding Luke Wottreng open in the end zone. The Raiders took over deep in the own territory on an interception midway through the fourth quarter. The Huskies sacked the quarterback for a safety on the next play for the 26-7 final.

The game was Northfield's homecoming. A big crowd of students on both sides of the field engaged one another throughout the evening. The Raider band was in the stands to start the night, but was forced to leave when rain fell just before the start of the game.

OHS (3-2) will host Rochester JM Friday, October 8 for their homecoming game. It is also Tackle Cancer Night.

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