Games are different than practice

NEW ULM -- The two-point conversion pass from quarterback Joey Schugel to Billy Schreiber that gave New Ulm Cathedral a 27-26 double-overtime win over Sleepy Eye St. Mary's Friday night was a play that the Hounds have had trouble running successfully in practice.

"I always get caught up in the linebackers because I have to go through them all," said Schreiber. "Coach (Lux) knew that their linebackers were blitzing a lot so I would not get caught up in them."

Schreiber said that the success of the play came because Schugel drew the linebackers in when he started to run. "That is what freed me; I was wide open because he threatened to run and played the defensive backs pretty well. The only thing that I thought when I saw the ball coming to me was playing catch with Joey. I wasn't thinking about anything else."

Schreiber said that the game was hard physically as well as mentally. "It was tough because after every (overtime) period, you had to start over again. We heard the 10 o'clock whistle and the end of regulation. But we knew that we had to pick it up each time. It is big confidence builder because our last two games, we have played teams that weren't as strong as us and we could set up our plays and our defense was able to get in rhythm, as well as in our offense. But we were able to take that momentum into St. Mary's and use it."

Asked when he runs that play in practice again if he would be open, Schreiber said, "no."

NOSBUSH BIG MAN IN MIDDLE: Jesse Nosbush continues to excel at linebacker for the Greyhounds, racking up 26 tackles in the win. "As a coaching staff, it is comforting to know that he is there in the middle," said Cathedral head coach Denny Lux. "We are taking a look at what teams are doing on the perimeter and we can focus less on what is happening in the middle because of Jesse. But we have to be reminded that it is not just Jesse but it is the two defensive tackles in Tim Portner and Pat Johnson and nose guard Joey Penkert.

"Plus last night we had Matt Furth play defensive tackle because we needed to get a pass rush on. It was his first time playing defensive tackle and he did a nice job. When he started to get through, that took a load off of Penkert and Johnson because they could not double-team those guys as much. We did a good job of making (SESM quarterback) Andy Konz really have to work in the pocket."

CAME OUT FLAT: Lux said that the Hounds came out flat for the start of the game. "Both schools were not in session Friday and sometimes when the kids are off all day they tend to sit around and burn up some adrenaline early. We hit harder in the second half and we are seeing that we are believing in ourselves. Our offensive line (Portner, Jeff Berg, Nosbush, Penkert and Tim Brown) did an outstanding job in the overtimes. St. Mary's did do some things to us defensively in regulation but in the overtime when we had to score, we scored."

NUHS DEFENSE STILL STRENGTH: Robbie Geistfeld, who had six tackles and two assists on defense and caught four passes for 47 yards and a touchdown in New Ulm's 28-0 win over St. Peter Friday, feels that the size of the Eagles' defensive line has been a big key to the 3-0 South Central Conference record.

"They (defensive line) have been taking on a lot of the loose stuff so that we (linebackers Geistfeld, Charles Ganske, Travis Boddy) don't have a lot of interference. It makes it easier for us to make tackles. We are dominating the line (of scrimmage) and it makes it easier for our linebackers to get to and make tackles."

Geistfeld is also catching passes from his tight end spot. "We have been going to Scott (Krzmarzick) early and then they worry about him. Plus, having Micah (Neidecker) there keeps their defense honest."

He feels that the Eagles "have not played their best game thus far this year. We did not play well offensively (against St. Peter). We can play with anybody and we have yet to show how good we really are."

NEIDECKER CLOSES IN ON 1,000: Micah Neidecker's 175-yard performance Friday increased his season total to 801 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is averaging 9.1 yards per carry. Larry Zimmermann holds the NUHS single-season rushing record of 1,184.

BETTER DEFENSIVE TEAMS: Eagle head coach Rick Van Roekel said that this year's Eagle defensive team " is probably the fastest squad that we have had, on offense and defense. It also ranks up there as one of the better defensive teams here."

Winning has also brought in that positive attitude in recent years. "It is nice to have that winning because before the chances of winning were slim. Now, we can play with anyone; years ago we could not say that."

INDIANS FAST: Minnesota Valley Lutheran quarterback Dan Unke said that the Sleepy Eye Indians' defensive ends "were fast and hard to get around and outside. I felt that I played better in the second half."

He also felt that the Chargers are improving. "It is tough because we have not had everyone healthy at once. But I think that we will peak towards playoff time."

MISS RUSSOW ON DEFENSE: The Chargers really missed linebacker Joel Russow in the Sleepy Eye game. "You take away 13-15 tackles a game and he makes Jon (Beilke) better,"commented MVL head coach Jim Buboltz. "And Jon had 23 tackles last night."

Buboltz said that the Indian linebackers Isak Rasmus and Marty Hoffmann "blitzed the middle more. Then, we were able to attack outside the tackles. But I feel that the game was a step forward; we came back and we are getting healthy."

Column by Jim Bastian, Journal sports writer