Late Lester Prairie TD dooms Panthers, 21-14
SOMEONE TO BLOCK — The Panthers’ Nick Goette (77) zeroes in on a Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity defender to block during Friday night’s nonconference loss in New Richland. Goette, a senior, played a great game for the Panthers, according to coach Dan Stork. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
By DALE KUGATH
Sportswriter
NEW RICHLAND – A fourth-quarter score brought an end to the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva football team’s two-game win streak.
The Lester Prairie Bulldogs overcame a one-point deficit to capture a 21-14 victory over the Panthers at New Richland Friday.
The Bulldogs evened their record a 2-2 this season.
NRHEG, which lost for the second time in three games on its home field, also slipped to 2-2. The Panthers remain tied for first place in the Gopher/Valley AA Conference with Maple River at 2-0.
“Lester Prairie was very well coached and a physical team,” said NRHEG coach Dan Stork. “Their quarterback is an excellent athlete.”
NRHEG marched 60 yards in 11 plays the first time it had the ball. Dillon Parpart crashed into the end zone from one yard out, but the Panthers missed the extra point.
LP answered with scoring drives the next two times it had the ball, jumping into a 13-6 lead.
The Bulldogs went 47 yards in only four plays to grab a 7-6 advantage.
Alex Heigl scrambled in from 27 yards out and Nick Machemehl booted the go-ahead kick.
After NRHEG went three-and-out, Lester Prairie moved 36 yards in six plays.
Heigl scored again, this time from the six-yard line. The conversion was no good, leaving the Bulldogs with a 13-6 lead.
NRHEG answered with a 70-yard, six-play drive.
Trevor Tracy connected with Preston Peterson on a 27-yard scoring play.
The same combination hooked up for the two-point conversion, giving NRHEG a 14-13 lead after one quarter.
The defenses stiffened as the score remain unchanged until the final quarter.
NRHEG marched 54 yards in the third quarter before losing a fumble.
In the final quarter, Lester Prairie moved 68 yards in nine plays for the winning score.
Heigl ran for his third touchdown of the game, this one from five yards out. Heigl passed to Machemehl for the two-point conversion.
NRHEG got into LP territory with its final possession, but an interception ended Panther hopes.
“We made a few costly mistakes that killed our drives and kept theirs going,” said Stork.
NRHEG ran 64 plays for 287 total yards. LP ran 63 plays and finished with 269 yards.
The Panthers held a 178 to 167 advantage on the ground and a 109 to 102 margin through the air.
Parpart had another outstanding game running the ball for NRHEG. He carried the ball 30 times for 131 yards.
Nick Bartness chipped in with 29 rushing yards.
Heigl led the Bulldogs with 64 yards on 16 attempts. Nate Tesch chipped in with 45 yards and Jared Stibal added 34 rushing yards.
Tracy completed 7-16 passes for 109 yards. He threw one TD and two interceptions.
Peterson and Spencer Tollefson had three receptions apiece. Peterson’s catches were for 77 yards and Tollefson’s receptions totaled 28 yards.
Heigl completed 10 of 22 passes for 102 yards. He was intercepted once.
Machemehl caught five passes for 75 yards.
“Tracy played well and Parpart ran hard again,” said Stork. “Nick Goette played with a ton of intensity for us.”
Parpart sparked the Panther defense with 11 tackles. He had five solo stops and one sack.
Peterson made five hits for NRHEG, followed by Tollefson, Noah Krell and Wyatt Fitterer with four tackles apiece. Nathan Krause chipped in with three hits.
Trey Hoppe came up with an interception for the Panthers.
NRHEG travels to Lake Crystal to tangle with Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial Friday. The Knights are winless in conference play and 1-3 overall, following a 28-6 win over Mankato Loyola Friday.
“LCWM is a good team, much better than its record,” said Stork. “We have to shake this one off and be ready to go.”
Lester Pr. 21, NRHEG 14
LP 13 0 0 8 21
NRHEG 14 0 0 0 14
Scoring
1st Quarter: (NR)-Parpart 1 yd. run (EP-no).
(LP)-Heigl 27 yd. run (EP-Machemehl kick).
(LP)-Heigl 6 yd. run (EP-no)
(NR)-Peterson 26 yd. pass from Tracy (EP-Peterson pass from Tracy).
2nd Quarter: No scoring.
3rd Quarter: No scoring.
4th Quarter: (LP)-Heigl 5 yd. run (EP-Machemehl pass from Heigl).
Team Statistics
NR LP
First Downs 15 14
Yds. Rushing 178 167
Yds. Passing 109 102
Passes 7-17 (2) 10-22 (1)
Total Yds. 64/287 63/269
Turnovers 2 1
Penalties 7/51 5/40
Individual Stats
NRHEG rushing: Parpart 30/131 (1 TD), Bartness 9/26, Tracy 4/17, Krause 2/4, Tollefson 2/0.
LP rushing: Heigl 16/64 (3 TDs), Tesch 14/45, Stibal 7/34, Gebhardt 1/17, Machemehl 1/5, Hoese 1/2, Baird 1/0
NRHEG passing: Tracy 7-16, 109 yds. (1 TD, 2 intcp.); Tollefson 0-1, 0 yds. (0 TDs, 0 intcp).
LP passing: Heigl 10-22, 102 yds. (0 TDs, 1 intcp.).
NRHEG receiving: Peterson 3/77 (1 TD), Tollefson 3/28, Parpart 1/4.
LP receiving: Machemehl 5/75, Baird 3/13, Anderson 2/14.
NRHEG defense: Parpart-11 tackles (1 sack), Peterson-5, Tollefson-4, Krell-4, Fitterer-4, Krause-3, Tracy-2, Stenzel-2, Wayne-1, Bartness-1, Weller-1, Hoppe (1 intcp.).
NEXT: Friday – NRHEG at LCWM (Lake Crystal), 7 p.m.