Wildcats snag championship victory in final seconds, 21-20

The Buffalo Ridge Wildcats became the second team in 11 years of the Southern Plains Football League to finish a season undefeated with an 8-0 record, winning their third league championship.

The Wildcats defeated the Worthington Razorbacks Saturday night in Lake Benton by a score of 21-20 with the winning touchdown coming with only 13 seconds remaining in the game.

The Wildcats scored first in the second quarter when Joey Nelson caught a 17-yard pass from Anthony Minus. The extra point was kicked by Dana Moore to make the score 7-0 going into halftime. In the third quarter Anthony Minus ran 10 yards for a touchdown and once again the extra point was kicked by Dana Moore.

The Razorbacks scored with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. With a two-point conversion the score was 14-8 going into the final quarter.

The Wildcats couldn’t move the ball as they committed two turnovers on interceptions on which the Razorbacks capitalized, scoring on a six-yard run and a one-yard run with under two minutes remaining in the game, taking the lead 20-14 after both two-point conversions failed.

With under two minutes remaining the Wildcats moved the ball 40 yards on three passes and a couple of runs to set up the winning 25-yard pass from Anthony Minus to Josh Rasmussen with 13 seconds remaining to tie the score. Despite a bad snap on the extra point, Dana Moore’s kick was good to give the Wildcats the 21-20 lead and eventual championship win. The game ended when Skip Steinhoff got his first quarterback sack of the game.

The defensive leaders for the Wildcats were Dan Rorvick who recorded 11 tackles while Matt Gruwell added eight tackles. Drew Bunkers, Ryan Wondercheck and Skip Steinhoff each had six tackles. Skip also had a blocked punt and one quarterback sack.

Anthony Minus finished the game completing 14 of 24 passes for 209 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. Anthony was also the leading rusher with 49 yards on four rushes and one touchdown.

Joey Nelson led the Wildcat receivers with six catches for 52 yards and one touchdown, while Drew Bunkers had 51 yards and Josh Rasmussen had four catches for 40 yards and 1 touchdown.

The Wildcats would like to thank all of their fans and sponsors for all of the support in their 10 years of playing football in Lake Benton. Without your help the Wildcats would not be possible.

The Wildcats would also like to thank the school for the upkeep of the field and having the best field in the league, the S.A.L. for the concessions and all of the helpers during the game, chain gang, ticket takers, scoreboard operator, stat keepers and Ron Voelker for announcing our games.

Top left: Josh “Razz” Rasmussen gets a hearty congratulations from the Marshall Independent’s sportswriter Wayne Cook following his game-winning touchdown in the final seconds of the SPFL championship game Saturday night. Top right: Wildcat teammates proudly hoist championship trophy. Above: SPFL Champions, the Buffalo Ridge Wildcats. Championship team members include: Josh Rasmussen, Anthony Minus, Jason Goertz, Troy Chandler, Joey Nelson, Mike Miller, Art Minus, Allen Kargbo, Mike Karas, Kim Nelson, Jeff Moser, Shaun Mitchell, Jesse Ashling, Jo Stein, Drew Bunkers, Derek Bucher, Jason Miller, Skip Steinhoff, Ryan Wondercheck, Jason Grooters, Matt Gruwell, Josh Keifer, Mike Tiedeman, Jordan Keifer, Nick Gruwell, Justin Olsen, Jason Good, Jeff Kosters, Cody Plueger, Andy Viessman, Dana Moore, Kong Her, Aaron Stephens, Greg Gorter, Reggie Schulte, Curtis Lustfield, Mike Short, Justin Backland, Jason Schwing and Sean Gribben. Congratulations Wildcats! —LB News photo by Jenifer Vollmer

3-on-3 tourney results

The 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament was held on Saturday, June 17 at the school park. Seventy-four games were played and there were 102 players on 32 teams.

The champions from the elementary girls division were the “Rockers”. The team consisted of Delaney Jorgensen, Leslie Willert, and Courtney Mensen. The second place winners were the “Hot Tomalies”.

From the junior high girls division, the champions were team “RTR”. Amy Sik, Brittni Peterson, Lindsay Willert, and Christina Fehrman were on the team. Second place went to the “Skittles”.

In the high school girls division, the champions were Lacey Frensko, Jami Hauschild, and Kacie Verhuf from team “F.H.V.” Team “Big 3” came in second place.

The champions from the elementary boys team were Connor Looney, Tucker Looney, and John Peterson from team “Alaska”. The second place team was “Lake Benton”.

The junior high boys champions were Jon Schlapkohl, Zach Bootsma, and Jason Minett from team “R.T.R.”. The second place winners were the “Haters”.

The high school boys division champions were “2Hard2Guard” including players Taylor Pedeson, Brandon Ness, and Zach Busch. The second place winners were the “Jaacks”.