By Steve Morris

The Tigers learned first hand why the St. Croix Lutheran football team had the No. 1 rated offensive in the state for class AA.

On Oct. 28, it was raining touchdowns as the Tigers lost in the section 4AA semifinals 61-35.

ìI think they really shocked us right away, head coach Gary Wendorf said.

The Crusaders jumped on the score board early, setting the tone for the remainder of the game. They scored three touchdowns in the first half, making the score 20-0 in nearly the blink of an eye.

The Crusaders scored with seconds remaining in the half to make the halftime score 34-13.

ìThey definitely have a good team,î Wendorf said. ìThere veer offense is difficult to stop.î

The Tigers played without their senior defensive leader Jeremy Marty, who became ill before the game.

Senior Jerred Nelson said not having Marty on the field was a big difference maker in the game.

ìHeís a big leader on our team.î

For Nelson, ending his high school football career was difficult to accept.

ìI never thought I would cry over a football game, but I did,î he said after the game.

The Tigers had several players record touchdowns. James Fleming, James Warfield, Jake Bosman, Jason Benson and Justin Bosman each scored touchdowns.

Despite being in a substantial hole, the Tigers didnít give up. The scored three touchdowns in the final quarter, including a pass from Jake Bosman to his younger brother Justin
Bosman with seconds re-maining in the game.

Jake Bosman finished the game 9-26 passing for 154 yards.

St. Croix Lutheran plays Pierz in the section finals Nov. 3.

With a $165,000 worth of student athletes on the football field, (tuition at Breck is $15,000 per student) Breck still couldnít find a way past the Rush City Tigers in the section quarterfinals.

On Oct. 25, No. 4 seed Rush City beat Breck, a small Minneapolis private school, in front of home fans 22-0 in the first round of the section 4AA playoffs.

The Tigers held Breck scoreless, earning their fifth shutout in nine games. The Tigers were all over the field recording three interceptions, two which were made by senior Marty. The strong Tiger defense was able to naturalize Breck quarterback Nate Thiel. Wendorf said they did the best to contain Thiel, who they knew didnít like to run the ball.

Marty, who is also one of four team captains, may have had his best game of the season. He intercepted a key pass with seconds remaining in the first half to stop an approaching Breck score and intercepted a ball late in the fourth quarter to end Breckís season. Besides being a focused defensive player, he also caught a touchdown, running a corner route in the second quarter.

ìThe team played good and we hit hard and that is what we wanted to do,î Marty said after the game.

ìWe sent a message and put them back on their heals.î

The Tigers were their usual selves, having a balanced scoring attack (three different players scored touchdowns for Rush City) combined with solid all-around play of their 11 seniors. This has been the creed that Wendorf has stressed all year.

ìItís a complete team effort,î he said. ìEverybody works together.î

This creed determines how Rush City has played many blowout games this season. In uncompetitive games, Rush
City pulled their starters and put in freshmen and sophomores.

Rush Cityís first score came with less than four minutes left in the first quarter off a 3-yard run from Homecoming king Warfield. The run was set up by a 38-yard catch from quarterback Jake Bosman to Jeff Jennings.

The Tigers recovered a fumbled ball during a punt attempt which placed them in heavenly-like field position, to set up their second score of the game. Bosman found Dan Scheffer wide open for the touchdown.

Toward the end of the game, both teams were sloppy, exchanging fumbles and turnovers. Rush City was on its way to another score but fumbled on the 11-yard line.

But in the end, it was Rush City who made plays when it counted.