The Worthington Trojans football team got their long-awaited first win of the season Wednesday night, rallying in the fourth quarter and then holding on to beat the host New Ulm Eagles, 14-12.
The Trojans got on the board first late in the first quarter. Following an interception by Andrew Dorcey, it was Jacari Swinea who took the football in from 11 yards out, and Tristan Sauerbrei added the extra point for a 7-0 WHS edge.
That would remain the score until the third quarter, when New Ulm – now 2-6 --- was able to mount a scoring drive of its own. A 33-yard pass play from Ayden Jensen to Jacob Martinka helped set up a four-yard TD run by Dylen Carreon. New Ulm went for two and missed, leaving the score at 7-6 with 7:37 left in the quarter.
New Ulm then took a 12-7 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 26-yard TD pass from Jensen to Jonah Tess, but Brandner found Marenono Opiew in the end zone with 3:20 to go for the game-winning score. The Trojans then stopped New Ulm on a fourth down deep in WHS territory to seal the deal on a cool, damp night.
WHS will next play a sectional game on Tuesday against an opponent to be determined.
In other high school football Wednesday night, it was:
Hills-Beaver Creek 43, Edgerton 8
Mountain Lake Area 51, Nicollet 6
Red Rock Central 28, Heron Lake-Okabena-Fulda 0
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 29, Martin County West 14
Murray County Central 34, Adrian 0
Pipestone Area 34, Windom Area 26
Blue Earth Area 42, Fairmont 13
Jackson County Central 26, St. Peter 20
Marshall 41, Belle Plaine 0
Waseca 34, Luverne 0
**
The Jackson County Central Huskies are the top seed in the south half of the Section 3AA volleyball tournament and will open postseason play Oct. 29 against eighth-seeded St. James.
The Huskies are 23-6 and ranked No. 2 in Class AA. The winner between JCC and St. James will face the victor of the No. 4 Windom and No. 5 Redwood Valley match. On the other half of the bracket, No. 2 Luverne opens against No. 7 Fairmont and No. 3 Pipestone will take on No. 6 Montevideo.
The sub-section semifinals are Nov. 1 at the high seed, and the sub-section championship match is Nov. 4 at a site to be determined. The Section 3AA championship match is Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.
**
The Minnesota West Lady Jays volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to the Gustavus Adolphus JV on Wednesday night in St. Peter. Game scores were 25-15, 25-21, 26-24.
Emily Dunlop had seven kills and Mallory Thorson added five kills for the Jays. Julia Russel contributed 16 digs, and Shelby Christensen added 14 digs. Taya Mason had 15 set assists and went 10-for-10 serving. Minnesota West will host Ridgewater on Friday night; the match will air on 104.3 The Bridge.
