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The biggest play, however, was one of the shortest of the game.
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La Crescent Lancers’ running back, Derek Kubicek, gets tackled by Cotter linebacker, Taylor Waldorf during the Ramblers’ season opener, Friday, at Maxwell Field in Winona.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News |
O’Brien found Patrick Bowlin for a 7-yard touchdown pass just before halftime seemed to change the game.
The Ramblers took control in the second half, erasing an eight-point halftime deficit, and held on to beat La Crescent 33-31 in the season opener at Maxwell Field at Alltel Stadium.
The game was the first in the Hiawatha Valley League for the Lancers.
“We knew if we scored before the half we’d be in good position,” O’Brien said. “We had confidence the whole time. We knew going into half that we could keep it rolling from there.”
The key play came with just 28 seconds remaining in the first half. Cotter passed up a short field goal try and went for it on fourth-and-4 from the 7.
O’Brien hit Bowlin on a slant that pulled the Ramblers within 22-14.
“They were the dominant team before the half, without a doubt,” Cotter coach Pat Bowlin said. “They they stop us on fourth down, it’s a whole different game.”
There was little La Crescent could do to stop O’Brien and the Ramblers after that.
O’Brien, a senior, threw for 422 yards and five touchdowns in the game. He completed 20 of 37 passes and was intercepted once.
He had scoring passes of 32 and 29 yards to Andy Wolfe in the third quarter and all but sealed the win with a 66-yard pass to Joe Conway with 4:50 left in the game.
That gave Cotter a 33-24 lead. The Ramblers gave up a safety with 1:02 to play and La Crescent scored its only touchdown of the second half with 28 seconds remaining.
“He have so much confidence in Thomas,” said Conway, who finished with six catches for 206 yards and two TDs. “He doesn’t make many mistakes. This was typical, really. We almost expect that from him.”
La Crescent controlled the first half with its ground game. Derek Kubicek had scoring runs of 4 and 3 yards and ran for 95 yards in the half. He finished with 108 yards on 23 carries.
Quarterback Ian Anderson gave the Lancers a 22-7 lead when he hooked up with Andrew Helland for a 58-yard score with 2:46 left in the first half.
Cotter took away the running game in the second half, forcing La Crescent to throw nearly every play.
The Lancers gained just 9 yards on the first three possessions of the second half.
Anderson finished 16 of 35 for 268 yards. He had two touchdown passes and was picked off twice. Helland had 12 catches for 208 yards.
“We dropped balls and had bad mistakes at bad times,’ La Crescent coach Brett Vesel said. “We had a breakdown here or there and that can really kill you.”
