Johnson Field hosts busy week of prep football

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Week 7 will be like a seven-course meal for local football fans, with three high schools and Martin Luther College all playing home games.

Beginning tonight, Johnson Field will be busier than a one-armed paperhanger; there are contests tonight, Friday and Saturday night, and MLC has an afternoon meeting Saturday with Crown College.

Two state-ranked teams are involved: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, ranked third in Class AA, and New Ulm Cathedral, now the top-ranked team in Class A.

WEM AT MVL TODAY, 7 P.M., JOHNSON FIELD

WEM enters its meeting with the Chargers with a perfect 6-0 record and ranked third in Class AA.

"They have looked very strong," Charger coach Jim Buboltz said. "They have a good balance of running and passing. A good amount of speed with a lot of experienced seniors."

Buboltz said that the Bucs will mix up their offensive plays with throwing a lot on first downs to get positive yards. They will start with short passing routes and then try and open it up with longer routes for the big play.

"They will also use a strong running game with some big linemen. They are bigger than we are and also have some speed on us," Buboltz said. "I am pretty worried about that."

That will mean that the MVL defense will have to try to slow down the Bucs "by hitting them hard. We need to stay very physical with them -- that was one thing that we have done very well the last two weeks," Buboltz said.

Defensively, the Bucs play a 4-4 front but will shift it around, according to Buboltz.

"They will try and give you different looks. They use the same guys on both sides of the line, so we have to just keep hitting them hard and keep battling," he said. "We have had success with them in the past by just staying in the game for four quarters."

Buboltz added that the Chargers need to stay in the game both mentally and physically.

"In the last two games that we have had with them, we have won the turnover battle by quite a few, so we want to try and keep that going," he said. "I am not concerned about the first score but as the game goes on, we cannot have a bad quarter or two. They will make you pay for them."

A win would also put the Chargers in line for at least a share of the Gopher/Valley Conference title.

BLUE EARTH AREA AT NEW ULM, FRIDAY, 7 P.M., JOHNSON FIELD

The Eagles are coming off their first win of the season as they beat Fairmont 27-20 last week.

A big plus for the Eagles going into this game will be the win over Fairmont last week.

"That is a big boost for us. When you start losing three, four, five games in a row it gets tough at practice," VanRoekel said. "We talked about kids doubting themselves, but the way we won that game at the end with the goal-line stand is a positive for us. We need to not turn the ball over and force turnovers. I think that our offense is starting to come around. If we can hang onto the ball, that will be a big plus for us."

BEA not only bring a 2-4 record into New Ulm's homecoming but also an unusual offense.

"They run a wedge offense where they go toe-to-toe on the offensive line with a couple of wings," Eagle coach Rick VanRoekel said. "They do a lot of motion. It is a unique offense -- last year we had a little bit of trouble trying to stop it. We will make a couple of adjustments this year and maybe we can slow them down a little bit.

"It [the wedge offense] stops any penetration from the defensive line or from blitzing. It is almost a goal-line offense all game," he said. "It is straight ahead at you with their fullback right behind the quarterback so he is hard to see. They use a lot of quick-hitting plays."

Last week, the Bucs lost in overtime to a strong St. James' squad.

CROWN AT MARTIN LUTHER COLLEGE, SATURDAY 1 P.M. MLC FIELD

Crown enters its meeting with MLC with a deceiving 1-3 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference mark.

"They are a lot better than that," Knights coach Chuck Hussman said. His team is riding a four-game winning streak entering Saturday's contest.

"They gave Northwestern all that they wanted and they lost to Principia 36-35, so they can score points," Hussman said.

Crown runs a pro-I formation and will throw the ball well.

"They primarily pass the ball, but they can run and when they do, they use a lot of trap plays," he said.

With the passing attack from Crown, the Knights' defense needs to emphasize the play of their defensive backs.

"We have gotten better -- we picked off four last week (in a win over Minnesota-Morris) and that is what we need to have again this week. That also means putting pressure on the quarterback," Hussman said.

Defensively, Crown is as big as other schools, with a defensive end at 240 pounds and another at 260.

"And they do not appear to be very slow," Hussman added.

Hussman feels that the Knights' offense needs to run the ball to keep their defense off of the field.

"If we can sustain two or three nice drives, that would be good for us," he said.

MLC has won four straight games against tough opponents, giving the Knights confidence.

"It has been such a tough schedule -- we have not had a week where we can relax," Hussman said. "Joel Russow (Knight running back) has sore shoulders and AJ Kruse has a bad knee on defense."

A win will mean that MLC says unbeaten in the UMAC at 5-0 and will mean a Dome game for the conference title.

SLEEPY EYE AT CATHEDRAL, SATURDAY, 7 P.M. JOHNSON FIELD

New Ulm Cathedral enters Saturday's game bearing the number one ranking in the state in Class A with a 6-0 record.

But Greyhound coach Denny Lux knows that his team has a tough game coming against the Indians.

"They look like they have a very strong defensive team with some good size up front and have quick linebackers," he said. "They will come over and be a solid team.

"On offense, they have quickness at slotback and very good fullback in Lupe Trevino," he said. "It will be one of those games that will go down to the end."

Lux feels that the Indians, who scored 35 points last week, will primarily run the ball.

"For the past five years, they have run the ball. But their coaching staff is good enough that once they see our defensive backs coming up to stop the run, they will pass deep against us," Lux said.

While Trevino is the main threat, Jason Schueler and Justin Sellner have had big games.

"And we all know that Joey Walter has good speed. We have to respect all of them," Lux said.

Defensively, Lux said that Cathedral has to stay put and let the counter plays come to them.

"The keys to the game will be the play of both the offensive and defensive lines," Lux said. "It is important that we do the blocking assignments do the right things."

And a Greyhound win would assure Cathedral of at least a share of the Southern Minnesota Conference title.

"I have been coaching here long enough to know that this game is the most important for us," Lux said. "These final games are big because sections are coming up soon and this is an important game for us as well as Sleepy Eye."