Big first half sparks MVL

By JEREMY BEHNKE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- On Saturday's game with Gopher-Valley Conference foe Maple River, Minnesota Valley Lutheran sophomore quarterback Jake Unke showed why coach Jim Buboltz chose him as the starting quarterback at the beginning of the season.

Unke looked more and more confident with each drive and he led his team to four first-half touchdowns as the Chargers won 26-7 at Johnson Field.

The Charger's, who have won three straight, wanted to carry over the same momentum they had in the second half against Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop a week earlier and they scored on every possession in the first half to take a 26-0 at the break.

"That was really big," Buboltz said. "We wanted to start the game like we ended it a week ago, and the guys really did that."

The Chargers were up and running right away on the first drive. Luke Beilke broke open a 36-yard run to get the Chargers to the Maple River 24. Beilke scored from 10 yards out with 8:27 left to go up 6-0 after the failed conversion.

"The first drive, right off the bat coming out and setting the tone," he said.

After a three-and-out, the Chargers again got on the board after Unke hooked up with Jason Costello on a 39-yard touchdown pass. The PAT failed and the Chargers led 12-0 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Unke and Costello combined to make the play of the day and pin the Eagles on their own 4.

Unke dropped back and saw Costello, who was double-covered to the right side. Unke threw the ball perfect, and Costello was able to hold his end of the deal as he positioned himself between the defenders and made the jumping catch. Buboltz was impressed by the way both reacted on that play.

"The ball he threw to Costello, he threw to where only Cos could get it," Buboltz said. "And he went up with a remarkable catch -- one of the best catches I've ever seen in my life live. When the receivers are going up there and making catches like that, that gives the quarterback some confidence."

Phil Holz scored the third touchdown on a pitch to put the Chargers up 19-0 after the PAT.

After a Tyler Morgan interception, Unke broke open a 35-yard run and he later scored from nine yards out for the 26-0 MVL advantage.

Unke had 10 carries for 89 yards and was 5-of-6 passing for 92 yards.

"I think Jake, making some great decisions, probably had his best game as a starter here today running and throwing the ball."

Maple River scored its only touchdown with 10:53 left after the Eagles recovered an MVL fumble on the Chargers' 5.

Buboltz said that the Eagles didn't pass as much as they usually do and they had to do some different things on the defensive side of the ball.

"Defensively, we weren't really ourselves today, because you gotta play them true to the pass," Buboltz said. "They're primarily a passing team -- today they ran the ball a lot more than we've ever seen them."

Beilke rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and Holz had 41 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. Costello caught two passes for 63 yards and a score. The Chargers had 341 yards of total offense.

Defensively, Ben Olson had 13 tackles and Morgan had nine and an interception. The Chargers had four picks on the day.

MVL (4-2, 4-1) faces Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Thursday at Johnson Field.

Jeremy Behnke can be reached at jbehnke@nujournal.com.