McLeod West edges Knights in 3OT, 20-14

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- It was a hell of a game. Mere words could never hope to describe it -- you had to be there to truly enjoy it.

Brent Pichotta caught a 12-yard pass from Nathan Strand to send the Class 1A No. 1 McLeod West Falcons past the Class 1A No. 4 Sleepy Eye St. Mary's Knights 20-14 in three overtimes Friday night in Southern Minnesota Conference football.

Pichotta was an unlikely hero. With the St. Mary's defense expecting another run from Tyler Evans, Pichotta feathered out into the left flat.

He was wide open, caught the ball at about the 1-yard line and crossed the goal line to end the game after three hours and five minutes.

"I was thinking, 'I got to catch this one, I got to catch this one,'" Pichotta said. "I'm not sure where I caught it."

McLeod West (4-0, 4-0 SMC) scored the winning touchdown after the Knights failed to score on their possession in the third overtime. Two penalties -- an illegal block and a motion -- left St. Mary's (3-1, 3-1) at the 28-yard line after twice getting plays wiped out that got St. Mary's inside the 2.

Four straight incompletions ended the Knights possession.

"It was a fun one, that's what football is all about," St. Mary's coach Jason Jund said. "We knew tonight would be a good measuring stick for how good we are. We just fell short. It was an awesome defensive battle."

It was. The game was tied at 6 at the end of regulation and a strong argument could be made that St. Mary's played better than the Falcons.

If not for a missed extra point -- and extra point that ricocheted off the cross bar -- the Knights might have won.

McLeod West outgained St. Mary's 413 yards to 411. That's how close it was.

The Knights did about as good a job as any team has done in stopping Evans, the Falcons tailback. Evans, whose longest carry was for 36 yards, gained 158 yards on 42 attempts.

"That was the toughest game of my entire life," Evans said. "Honest to God, they were the hardest-hitting team I've ever played against."

For the second straight week, Evans went 48 minutes without scoring. He finally got into the end zone in the second overtime, scoring on a 1-yard run to give McLeod West a 14-6 lead with Pichotta's two-point run.

The Knights needed only one play to answer. Chad Armbruster, who went 13 of 35 for 232 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, found Paul Fuchs on a 10-yard pass; Armbruster ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14 and send the teams to a third overtime.

McLeod West scored the game's first points, marching 83 yards in 15 plays. With Evans carrying the ball nine times on the drive, the Falcons turned to the air when the drive stalled at the Knights 26. Strand floated a pass to a wide-open Nick Pichotta on 4th-and-12 to give the Knights a 6-0 lead with 55 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Knights answered two drives later after the first of two Evans fumbles. St. Mary's went 91 yards with Armbruster hitting senior Darrin Haala on a 63-yard strike with 7:45 left in the first half.

Haala's extra-point attempt was low, but got through the line, and then slammed into the left side of the crossbar, bouncing harmlessly toward the line of scrimmage.

Both teams mounted scoring threats in the remainder of regulation, but none came to fruition. St. Mary's got to the McLeod West 15 in the third quarter.

Evans' biggest gain through three quarters was a mere 11 yards, but on the first play of the fourth quarter, the 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior busted through the middle for a 36-yard gain. But at the end of the run, Evans -- struggling for additional yardage with at least three Knights on his back -- fumbled and the Knights took over at their own 13.

"I knew it was going to be tough, but triple overtime, no one expects that tough," Evans said. "I don't even know how we'll be able to crawl out of bed tomorrow."

MCLEOD WEST 6 0 0 0 0 8 6--20

ST. MARY'S 0 6 0 0 0 8 0--14

1st Quarter

MC--N.Pichotta 26 pass from Strand (run failed), :55.

2nd Quarter

SM--D.Haala 63 pass from Armbruster (kick failed), 7:45

2OT

MC--Evans 1 run (B.Pichotta run)

SM--Fuchs 10 pass from Armbruster (Armbruster run)

3OT

MC--B.Pichotta 12 pass from Strand