Mankato East tops Eagles,

claims Section 2-4A crown

By PAUL DUNLAP

Journal Sports Writer

MANKATO -- The New Ulm High Eagles worked all week on stopping the feet of Mankato East Cougars quarterback Ben Kaus.

In the end, though, it was Kaus' arm that sunk the Eagles.

The senior signal caller threw three touchdown passes to wide receiver Doug Espenson Friday night, lifting East to the Section 2-4A championship with a 34-6 win at Wolverton Field.

The Cougars, now 8-2 on the season, will host Totino-Grace at 7:00 p.m. Friday in Class 4A state quarterfinal action. The Eagles end their season with an 8-3 record.

"Mankato East. ... this is the first team all year that took it to us, I think," New Ulm High coach Rick VanRoekel said. "I didn't feel Detroit Lakes or Luverne took it to us, but this team did. They got some big plays early, and when they got up by three touchdowns, we were still having trouble getting the ball in the end zone. We were beaten by a good team tonight."

Kaus set the tone early as, on the opening drive, he had runs of 11 and 50 yards to set up his first scoring strike to Espenson -- from four yards out -- that gave East a 7-0 lead just 2:54 into the game. Kaus ended the first half going 5 of 6 for 74 yards and two scores -- a 37-yarder to Espenson with 8:06 left in the second quarter -- as the Cougars built a 14-0 lead at the break.

"We were worried about (Kaus) running," VanRoekel commented. "It set the tone when he got that big (50-yard) gainer on the second or third play of the game. We knew we had to contain him, but Espenson's a heck of a receiver. He made some big catches, including a couple of times when Micah (Neidecker) had good coverage on him.

"That put us on our heals a little bit, deciding whether (Kaus) was going to run the ball or pass the ball. I thought we shut the run down pretty well in the first half, but their passing game is really what hurt us."

The Eagles, meanwhile, did a nice job of moving the ball in the first half but were unable to get any points on the board. A nine-play drive in the first quarter ended when Brad Pederson intercepted a Matt Schmidt pass, and New Ulm then marched 67 yards in seven plays before East quashed a fake field goal option play at its own 6. The Eagles also had an eight-play drive stall on downs at the Cougar 26 in the waning seconds of the half.

"I thought the first half we moved the ball up and down ... did everything except put the ball in the end zone," VanRoekel said. "I really thought the second half we could come out and do the same thing, but we had some mistakes and (East) popped another one in on us. It's tough to come back from that."

The Eagles punted on their first two possessions of the second half, the second leading to a 10-play, 53-yard scoring drive for East. Aaron Herzberg had a 25-yard run on the option that set up Kaus' 1-yard sneak on 3rd-and-goal with 2:41 left in the third quarter.

Kaus and Espenson hooked up on one more scoring strike -- this one a 33- yarder -- before the Eagles got on the board. Facing 3rd-and-8 from his own 28, Schmidt found wide out Scott Krzmarzick on a slant and Krzmarzick sprinted down the left side for 72 yards and the touchdown to cut the East lead to 27-6.

East backup quarterback Craig Dahl added the final points as he went 46 yards on the option after the Cougars recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Jared Haynes was the Eagles main ground threat as he went for 76 yards on 15 carries. Neidecker, who had a bull's eye on his chest for most of the night, still managed 58 yards on 14 tries.

"You hate to have the season come to an end, but I'm real proud of this group of guys," Van Roekel said. "We did some things this year that New Ulm (High) hadn't done before.

"I know everybody's hurting right now, but give it a week or two down the line and everybody will be able to reflect on what a great season we've had. Plus, we've had a lot of fun."

New Ulm High 0 0 0 6 -- 6

Mankato East 7 7 7 13 -- 34

FIRST QUARTER

ME -- Espenson 4 pass from Kaus (Kaus kick) 9:06

SECOND QUARTER

ME -- Espenson 37 pass from Kaus (Kaus kick) 8:06

THIRD QUARTER

ME -- Kaus 1 run (Kaus kick) 2:41

FOURTH QUARTER

ME -- Espenson 33 pass from Kaus (kick blocked) 7:47

NU -- Krzmarzick 72 pass from Schmidt (kick failed) 6:48

ME -- Dahl 46 run (Kaus kick) 5:16