NEW GLARUS - Even with his left arm in a cast to protect his broken thumb, New Glarus-Monticello senior Zach Price made sure the Glarner Knights' defense would bend but not break Friday night.
Price intercepted Waterloo senior quarterback Weston Swarztrauber's pass in the final seconds and returned it 22 yards to seal New Glarus-Monticello's thrilling 35-28 win over Waterloo.
"I was just really reading what they were working on," Price said. "When I intercepted it, I was just thinking, 'Don't fumble because I have this club on after I broke my thumb against Marshall.'" I wanted to get down and win the game."
With the win, New Glarus-Monticello (5-3, 3-0 Capitol South) clinched at least a share of the conference championship.
"Waterloo is a great team and we knew that coming in," Price said. "It's really special to get at least a share of the conference. We want to come out and win it outright next week."
Trailing by seven points with about 1 minute, 40 seconds to go, Swarztrauber drove the Pirates 56 yards with the big play coming on a 30-yard pass to senior Jared Sand down to the Knights' 9-yard line. That set the stage for Price's game-clinching interception.
New Glarus-Monticello junior Bryce Eichelkraut also had a critical interception with 2:48 to go to thwart another Pirates' drive in the fourth quarter.
Swarztrauber completed 19 of 29 passes for 301 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
"It really is an amazing feat for them," New Glarus-Monticello coach Jeff Eichelkraut said of winning at least a share of the conference title one year after the Knights went 3-6. "We haven't beat Waterloo in four or five years. There were plenty of times where the momentum shifted out of our side. Our guys just never quit."
New Glarus-Monticello sophomore running back Zach Feller rushed for 214 yards on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns.
"It's crazy," Feller said. "I'm only a sophomore and this is my first time playing varsity football. To come out and play for a conference title is amazing."
The Knights grabbed the momentum early on with a a five-play, 65-yard drive in the first quarter, culminating in Feller's 47-yard TD run.
It didn't take the Pirates long to answer. Swarztrauber hooked up with senior Joey Lauth on a 64-yard TD pass to help Waterloo take an 8-7 lead with 8:22 left in the first quarter. The Knights responded with a nine-play, 68-yard drive, capped by Feller's 9-yard TD run to take a 14-8 lead.
The game had the makings of a shootout when Swarztrauber connected with Dawson Cole on a 30-yard TD pass on fourth-and-12 early in the second quarter to tie the game at 14. After Feller left on a hit to the head, New Glarus-Monticello junior Noah Zimmerman ripped off a 24-yard run. That set up senior quarterback John Chenoweth's 15-yard TD pass to senior Drew Pickett to give the Knights a 21-14 lead. Feller, who returned after taking a hit to the helmet, scored on a 37-yard run late in the second quarter to extend the Knights' lead to 28-14.
The Pirates didn't go quietly. Waterloo cashed in on a nine-play, 60-yard drive, punctuated by Braden Gafner's 5-yard TD run to slice the Knights' lead to 28-21 at the half.
The Knights dominated the line of scrimmage in the first half and racked up 289 rushing yards and 413 in the game.
"The line was great tonight," Feller said. "Running is easy when our line is blocking like that. I just had to get out into the open field and look for those touchdowns."
The Knights' took advantage of three turnovers. Waterloo sophomore Jason Perez returned the opening second-half kickoff 40 yards before fumbling and New Glarus-Monticello senior Hayden Latsch recovered at midfield.
Five plays later, New Glarus-Monticello junior Jared Carney had a 2-yard TD run to give the Knights a 35-21 lead with 7:45 to go in the third quarter.
Swarztrauber then engineered an 11-play, 70-yard drive capped off by a 16-yard TD pass to Cole that came on third-and-8. The Knights' defense made a couple of key interceptions late to foil the Pirates' comeback bid.
"We had some guys get injured and other guys had to step up," Eichelkraut said. "All the way across the board they did that. I have been around a lot of teams where they lose a game like that."
Price intercepted Waterloo senior quarterback Weston Swarztrauber's pass in the final seconds and returned it 22 yards to seal New Glarus-Monticello's thrilling 35-28 win over Waterloo.
"I was just really reading what they were working on," Price said. "When I intercepted it, I was just thinking, 'Don't fumble because I have this club on after I broke my thumb against Marshall.'" I wanted to get down and win the game."
With the win, New Glarus-Monticello (5-3, 3-0 Capitol South) clinched at least a share of the conference championship.
"Waterloo is a great team and we knew that coming in," Price said. "It's really special to get at least a share of the conference. We want to come out and win it outright next week."
Trailing by seven points with about 1 minute, 40 seconds to go, Swarztrauber drove the Pirates 56 yards with the big play coming on a 30-yard pass to senior Jared Sand down to the Knights' 9-yard line. That set the stage for Price's game-clinching interception.
New Glarus-Monticello junior Bryce Eichelkraut also had a critical interception with 2:48 to go to thwart another Pirates' drive in the fourth quarter.
Swarztrauber completed 19 of 29 passes for 301 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
"It really is an amazing feat for them," New Glarus-Monticello coach Jeff Eichelkraut said of winning at least a share of the conference title one year after the Knights went 3-6. "We haven't beat Waterloo in four or five years. There were plenty of times where the momentum shifted out of our side. Our guys just never quit."
New Glarus-Monticello sophomore running back Zach Feller rushed for 214 yards on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns.
"It's crazy," Feller said. "I'm only a sophomore and this is my first time playing varsity football. To come out and play for a conference title is amazing."
The Knights grabbed the momentum early on with a a five-play, 65-yard drive in the first quarter, culminating in Feller's 47-yard TD run.
It didn't take the Pirates long to answer. Swarztrauber hooked up with senior Joey Lauth on a 64-yard TD pass to help Waterloo take an 8-7 lead with 8:22 left in the first quarter. The Knights responded with a nine-play, 68-yard drive, capped by Feller's 9-yard TD run to take a 14-8 lead.
The game had the makings of a shootout when Swarztrauber connected with Dawson Cole on a 30-yard TD pass on fourth-and-12 early in the second quarter to tie the game at 14. After Feller left on a hit to the head, New Glarus-Monticello junior Noah Zimmerman ripped off a 24-yard run. That set up senior quarterback John Chenoweth's 15-yard TD pass to senior Drew Pickett to give the Knights a 21-14 lead. Feller, who returned after taking a hit to the helmet, scored on a 37-yard run late in the second quarter to extend the Knights' lead to 28-14.
The Pirates didn't go quietly. Waterloo cashed in on a nine-play, 60-yard drive, punctuated by Braden Gafner's 5-yard TD run to slice the Knights' lead to 28-21 at the half.
The Knights dominated the line of scrimmage in the first half and racked up 289 rushing yards and 413 in the game.
"The line was great tonight," Feller said. "Running is easy when our line is blocking like that. I just had to get out into the open field and look for those touchdowns."
The Knights' took advantage of three turnovers. Waterloo sophomore Jason Perez returned the opening second-half kickoff 40 yards before fumbling and New Glarus-Monticello senior Hayden Latsch recovered at midfield.
Five plays later, New Glarus-Monticello junior Jared Carney had a 2-yard TD run to give the Knights a 35-21 lead with 7:45 to go in the third quarter.
Swarztrauber then engineered an 11-play, 70-yard drive capped off by a 16-yard TD pass to Cole that came on third-and-8. The Knights' defense made a couple of key interceptions late to foil the Pirates' comeback bid.
"We had some guys get injured and other guys had to step up," Eichelkraut said. "All the way across the board they did that. I have been around a lot of teams where they lose a game like that."
