Defense, special teams lead

Sleepy Eye High to 1A final

By PAUL DUNLAP

Journal Sports Editor

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Indian defense came to play Thursday afternoon.

Despite three turnovers, Sleepy Eye High School held Murray County Central to 151 total yards as the Indians advanced to the Class 1A football championship with a 13-10 win over the Rebels at Metrodome.

The Indians, now 11-2, will play in the title game Nov. 24 at 11 a.m. MCC ends its season at 8-5.

"It wasn't a pretty game but it was a win, and this time of year we'll take them any way we can get them," Sleepy Eye head coach Dean Deibele said. "Once again our defense played a really great game ... it seems like the last four or five games we've gotten tougher and tougher."

The Indians got the first break of the game as a roughing the kicker penalty kept their second drive alive. Quarterback Bryce Belseth made the Rebels pay as he broke several tackles on a 39-yard run to the MCC 2, where Cody Walter went in from on a sweep right two plays later. Jeremy Ibberson's extra point gave Sleepy Eye a 7-0 lead with 5:06 left in the first.

"It was nice to get that jump on (MCC)," Deibele commented. "It gave us a little confidence, but then they came right back at us."

The second quarter belonged to MCC as the Rebels enjoyed good field position throughout. After backing the Indians up to the 3, MCC took the punt and had to go just 32 yards to knot the game on the first play of the quarter. Facing a 3rd-and-6, fullback Chris Johnson ran through several tackles as he rumbled 28 yards to paydirt, and Nick Bruning's extra point tied the game at 7-7.

"They (MCC) are a good team," Deibele said. "One thing that bothered us on defense was the missed tackles. We had a lot of broken tackles happen today."

Bruning would show off his leg one more time in the half. After an Adam Tentinger interception, the Rebels took advantage of a pass interference penalty to get into field goal range. A holding call brought back an apparent 20-yard touchdown run by Paul Mathews, but Bruning nailed a 38-yard field goal that put MCC on top with 6:28 left in the half.

It would stay that way until the turning point of the game early in the third quarter.

The Rebels got the ball first, but the Indians forced a punting situation at the MCC 23. The snap went over punter Justin Hoffmann's head, bounding into the end zone before Sleepy Eye's Jose Saenz pounced on it for the deciding score.

"We know that, in a game like this, that you sometimes need a little luck," Deibele said. "That's what we got today. It turned the game for us, and our defense held on from that point."

Neither team could mount a serious threat throughout most of the second half as there were turnovers on three straight drives in the third quarter. The Indians also gave the ball up on downs on the Rebel 30.

"It was frustrating for us on offense today," Deibele said. "You have to credit (MCC's) defensive line; they pretty much controlled the line of scrimmage all game long. The things that worked for us the past five games didn't work in this one -- the fullback trap, the option most of the time, and our misdirection plays didn't pop open at all."

A fake punt would give the Rebels their best chance to score in the second half as they drove 12 plays before Bruning's 42-yard field goal attempt fell short. The teams again traded turnovers, and after a seven-play Indian drive ended in a punt the Rebels took over at their 31 with :51 left on the clock. Sleepy Eye made it interesting with a 15-yard penalty, but the defense held strong and propelled Sleepy Eye to a shot at the state title.

Belseth had 53 yards on 13 carries and Walter had 52 yards on 13 carries to lead the Indian offense. Johnson and Mathews combined for 96 yards on 24 rushes to pace MCC.

The Sleepy Eye defense was led by Marty Hoffmann's eight tackles. Stu Krenz added seven stops, Belseth had six plus an interception, and Isak Rasmus also had six tackles.

"There's no doubt that this has been a process," Deibele said. "We've had some great teams the past few years that have fallen short, but this group of kids has, for whatever reason, just won these close games. It could be team chemistry, or maybe just the fact that we're more of a ball-control team. But it's worked for us."

MCC 0 10 0 0 -- 10

SLEEPY EYE HIGH 7 0 6 0 -- 13

FIRST QUARTER

SE-Walter 2 run (Ibberson kick) 5:06

SECOND QUARTER

MCC-Johnson 28 run (Bruning kick) 11:50

MCC-Bruning 38 FG 6:28

THIRD QUARTER

SE-Saenz fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed) 9:49

FOURTH QUARTER

No scoring.