Eagles capture first section crown

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

MANKATO -- Crown the New Ulm Eagles the Section 2AAAA football champions.

Kevin Neidecker, who broke his older brother Micah's single-season rushing record of 1591 in the game, carried the ball 32 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles eliminated the defending Section 2AAAA and State AAAA champion Mankato West 21-19 Friday night at Todnem Field.

Neidecker now holds the record with 1,697 yards. He scored on first half touchdown runs of six and two yards as the Eagles jumped to a 21-7 halftime lead.

Josh Thorson's interception of a Jordan Stolp pass with 2:49 left in the game sealed the win and gave the Eagles their first-ever sectional football title.

The win means the New Ulm, now 9-2, will play in the state AAAA quarterfinal game next Friday at Farmington.

"Our guys came to play tonight -- they haven't quit all year," Eagle coach Rick VanRoekel said. He has seen his team knock off both Mankato East and Mankato West -- two Big Nine schools -- in successive weeks. "I thought that in that first half, we dominated the line play on both sides. That was the whole key; and we played well enough to win, and that is fine with me."

But it was the domination of West by New Ulm's offensive and defensive line that saw the Eagles take a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.

"We thought that we could go straight at them," offensive co-ordinator Ron Bunkers said. "Low and behold, we did. Our kids just really, really took it to them in that first half. We went straight ahead and got some nice one-on-one blocking; we had them back on their heels."

New Ulm's first touchdown was set up by a bad snap on a punt that gave the Eagles possession deep in Scarlet territory at the West 13-yard line.

A Spencer Dickinson seven-yard run moved the ball to the six yard line. Dickinson had 22 carries, 83 yards in the game. Kevin Neidecker then worked his way into the end zone at the 6:16 mark.

Luke Gronewold's kick made it 7-0.

The Eagle defense, which held West's offense to a negative 38 yards in the first quarter, sacked Stolp as both Dickinson and Travis Auderheide met at Stolp on third down forcing a second West punt.

Taking over at the Scarlet 49-yard line, the Eagles used the power running of Dickinson and Neidecker to move to the 1-yard line where the 6-foot 3, 235 pound Dickinson bowled his way in from a yard out with 43 seconds left in the first half before a stunned West crowd.

Mankato got a little life back into the crowd when Denerio Hill returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown. Stolp's kick sliced the lead to 14-7.

But the Eagles responded to that with their longest scoring drive of the evening, marching 87 yards in 15 plays for the score with just over five minutes left in the first half.

Three runs by Neidecker, a 15-yard pass completion from Jon Koeckeritz to Brett Burgau, and alternating possessions by Dickinson and Neidecker saw the ball sitting at the 2-yard line where Neidecker strolled in for the Eagles' third score of the evening for a 21-7 halftime lead.

New Ulm's defense held West to minus 23 yards offense from scrimmage and were in the face of West quarterback Stolp.

"We knew that their receivers were so big and quick that we could not give him time to pass," VanRoekel said. "I don't think that West had a game this year where Stolp was hit so many times."

Stolp's Halloween nightmare was Dickinson and Aufderheide, who were in the Scarlet backfield almost as much as the West running backs were.

But West, which finished its season at 8-2, came back with a touchdown in the third quarter when Stolp hit Isaak Mees for a 20-yard touchdown with under two minutes to go in the third quarter.

Stolp missed a 32-yard field goal before he later found Tom Johnson for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 9:03 left in the game. West's two-point conversion attempt failed for a 21-19 Eagle lead.

Thorson's pick of Stolp then sealed the deal.

"The kids were ready to play today," line coach Scott Stuckey said. "You could see it in their eyes at school."

And West saw in their eyes during the game.

NEW ULM 14 7 0 0 -- 21

MANKATO WEST 7 0 6 6 -- 19

FIRST QUARTER

NEW ULM: Neidecker, six run. PAT: Gronewold, kick.

NEW ULM: Dickinson, one run. PAT: Gronewold, kick.

WEST: Hill, 77 kickoff return.PAT: Stolp,kick.

SECOND QUARTER'

NEW ULM : Neidecker, two run. PAT: Gronewold, kick.

THIRD QUARTER

WEST: Mees, 20 pass from Stolp. PAT: Failed.

FOURTH QUARTER

WEST: Johnson, 14 pass from Stolp.PAT: Failed.