NEW GLARUS - The homecoming game against last year's conference champs, both teams unbeaten in conference. Regular season stakes don't get much higher than that.
New Glarus-Monticello responded to the pressure they faced against Marshall, snapping its opponent's 17-game conference winning streak en route to winning a 24-22 nail-biter.
"We talked all week about how there's two ways to go about it. We can be distracted by all the homecoming hoopla or we can rise to the occasion," Knights coach Desie Breadon said. "I said, 'Great teams rise to the occasion and that's what we've got to do.'"
The Cardinals struck first on a quarterback draw, with Ryan Link running untouched into the endzone. But the story of this one was momentum swings.
New Glarus-Monticello (4-3, 3-0 Capitol South) responded immediately with a huge kickoff return. They moved the ball efficiently and the drive quickly ended with a 26-yard TD pass from Gavin Binger to Patrick Elzen.
"It's all about persistence, every time they score we've got to come back," Elzen said. "It was a great team effort."
After a defensive stand the Knights offense started to take control. Homecoming king Jim Chenoweth broke a big run around the left corner and was finally brought down inside the Cardinal's 10. He eventually found the end zone to put his team up 14-6. After the score Marshall's defense appeared to focus on Chenoweth who rushed for 114 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown.
"The great thing about our offense is we have so many weapons in the backfield," Chenoweth said. "You start keying on one of the running backs, the other guys will take the job and keep rolling with the ball."
Then momentum shifted again. On the first play of the second half Marshall's Link hit Cam Ward on a long touchdown pass. Cardinals star Ty DeForest got the two-point conversion and just like that the game was tied.
New Glarus-Monticello was forced to punt and Marshall moved quickly down the field. Just when the team appeared to be headed for another score, they lost a fumble, the second of four turnovers for the Cardinals.
"We've had that so much on the other side when we've played them in the past where we've been driving and Marshall causes a fumble," Breadon said. "They're such a huge momentum team and to actually get a stop on that for once, it was just monstrous."
The Knights quickly capitalized on the turnover with Binger connecting with Elzen on a 24-yard TD pass to go up 21-14. Binger was 2 of 5 passing for 50 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
The Cardinals fumbled again on the very next play and the Knights recovered on Marshall's 18-yard line. They held on for a field goal to go up 10.
Marshall, however, was not shaken. A quick drive ended with a touchdown by Link and the two-point conversion brought the game to within two.
The next four possessions ended with an interception and a punt for New Glarus-Monticello and two fumbles for the Cardinals. The Knights got the ball back and began a clock-killing drive that saw a number of third downs. Marshall was forced to burn all of their time outs and eventually watch the clock wind down to zeros.
"I was in shock," Breadon said of the tail end of the final drive. "I didn't know if something was going to happen and we weren't going to end up pulling it out. It gives you quite the mental edge when you knock off the conference champions."
New Glarus-Monticello responded to the pressure they faced against Marshall, snapping its opponent's 17-game conference winning streak en route to winning a 24-22 nail-biter.
"We talked all week about how there's two ways to go about it. We can be distracted by all the homecoming hoopla or we can rise to the occasion," Knights coach Desie Breadon said. "I said, 'Great teams rise to the occasion and that's what we've got to do.'"
The Cardinals struck first on a quarterback draw, with Ryan Link running untouched into the endzone. But the story of this one was momentum swings.
New Glarus-Monticello (4-3, 3-0 Capitol South) responded immediately with a huge kickoff return. They moved the ball efficiently and the drive quickly ended with a 26-yard TD pass from Gavin Binger to Patrick Elzen.
"It's all about persistence, every time they score we've got to come back," Elzen said. "It was a great team effort."
After a defensive stand the Knights offense started to take control. Homecoming king Jim Chenoweth broke a big run around the left corner and was finally brought down inside the Cardinal's 10. He eventually found the end zone to put his team up 14-6. After the score Marshall's defense appeared to focus on Chenoweth who rushed for 114 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown.
"The great thing about our offense is we have so many weapons in the backfield," Chenoweth said. "You start keying on one of the running backs, the other guys will take the job and keep rolling with the ball."
Then momentum shifted again. On the first play of the second half Marshall's Link hit Cam Ward on a long touchdown pass. Cardinals star Ty DeForest got the two-point conversion and just like that the game was tied.
New Glarus-Monticello was forced to punt and Marshall moved quickly down the field. Just when the team appeared to be headed for another score, they lost a fumble, the second of four turnovers for the Cardinals.
"We've had that so much on the other side when we've played them in the past where we've been driving and Marshall causes a fumble," Breadon said. "They're such a huge momentum team and to actually get a stop on that for once, it was just monstrous."
The Knights quickly capitalized on the turnover with Binger connecting with Elzen on a 24-yard TD pass to go up 21-14. Binger was 2 of 5 passing for 50 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
The Cardinals fumbled again on the very next play and the Knights recovered on Marshall's 18-yard line. They held on for a field goal to go up 10.
Marshall, however, was not shaken. A quick drive ended with a touchdown by Link and the two-point conversion brought the game to within two.
The next four possessions ended with an interception and a punt for New Glarus-Monticello and two fumbles for the Cardinals. The Knights got the ball back and began a clock-killing drive that saw a number of third downs. Marshall was forced to burn all of their time outs and eventually watch the clock wind down to zeros.
"I was in shock," Breadon said of the tail end of the final drive. "I didn't know if something was going to happen and we weren't going to end up pulling it out. It gives you quite the mental edge when you knock off the conference champions."
