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A perfect season is hard to achieve, and the Hurricanes bid to do so came to an end on Thursday.
Houston lost 28-12 in the MSHSL Class 9-man quarterfinals to Verndale at Hamline University.
For three quarters, Houston (11-1) kept pace with Verndale, but it was only a matter of time before Sam Moenkedick broke one for a touchdown.
The 5-foot-9, 180-pound senior, who came into the game with more than 1,700 yards rushing and 25 touchdowns, added another 250 yards and three touchdowns to his totals.
“Watching him on film is one thing,” Houston coach Jason Freed said. “Seeing him in person is another.”
As a team Verndale rushed for 373 yards to Houston’s 129. The Pirates came into the game with 258 yards passing, so it was obvious they were going to hand the ball off.
“Our kids knew who to shut down,” Freed said. “(Verndale) hit harder. I was a bit surprised by their big gains, but you give (Moenkedick) some room and he’s going to get a head of steam.”
Verndale had three plays over 40 yards, including runs of 66 and 65 yards.
The game started well enough for the Hurricanes. Andy Sires’ squib kick rolled to the middle of nowhere and Houston’s Trent Kerrigan was the first one to the ball.
Houston took over, but managed just one first down before punting.
Verndale managed just one first down on its first possession as well, but it was a sign of things to come.
On the Pirates’ first play of the game, Ethan Kern busted a run up the middle for 66 yards. Zach Stackhouse caught up to him, saving the touchdown.
“I can’t believe someone caught him,” Verndale coach Michael Mahlen said.
“I figured they would key on Sam on that first play, so we countered to Ethan.”
The teams went into halftime tied 6-6 after a pair of short touchdown runs from Verndale’s Matt Moenkedick and Houston’s Stackhouse.
The second half started much like the first — with a turnover.
Sires threw an interception on the third play from scrimmage. Three plays later, Sam Moenkedick scored from 10 yards out and it appeared as though the Pirates had all the momentum with a 14-6 lead. They didn’t.
It took the Hurricanes three plays to makeup for the turnover when Sires hit Stackhouse for a 62-yard touchdown. On the two-point conversion, Sires hit Kerrigan for the tie, but he was out of bounds.
On Verndale’s next possession, the Houston defense held and Kevin Lindh blocked the punt. The Hurricanes took over 27 yards away. Four downs later — on fourth and 18 — Sires hit Steven Thompson in the end zone, but the senior wide receiver couldn’t come up with an all-out diving catch.
Two plays later, Sam Moenkedick went up the middle for a 65-yard touchdown. He also converted the two-point try and it was a two-score game with just over a quarter to play.
Houston’s window was closing, and it was sealed shut went Sires threw the third of his four interceptions on the ensuing possession.
“Our offense just wasn’t clicking,” Freed said. “Coach Mahlen did a nice job scouting us. I don’t know what it was. We just made too many mistakes in the end.”
Houston managed just four first downs on its first five possessions of the second half. Two possessions after the interception, Verndale put the game away with a 13-play, 64-yard drive eating up 7 minutes, 42 seconds. It was capped off by Sam Moenkedick’s 23-yard score.
Houston running back Kevin Lindh had 15 carries for 72 yards. Stackhouse had 146 total yards. Sires was 10 of 22 for 223 yards with the one touchdown and four interceptions — three by Kern.
