HARTLAND — Lake Country Lutheran quarterback Connor Lubbers scored five touchdowns to lead the No. 1 seed Lightning to a 34-21 win over the No. 3 seed New Glarus Glarner Knights in a WIAA Division 5 Level 3 playoff on Friday, Nov. 7. 

The game started out favorably for the Knights as they took the opening kickoff and scored on their first possession. The drive appeared to be stopped, but a facemask penalty by the Lightning on a third down try kept the drive alive near midfield. A few plays later, quarterback Matt Roth hit Will Pinnow with a 37-yard touchdown pass to cap a seven-play, 66-yard drive. Ashlin Mihlbauer kicked the extra point and New Glarus led 7-0 with 9:34 left in the first quarter.

The Lightning began their first drive at their own 30-yard-line and moved into New Glarus territory, but Lubbers was stopped short of a first down on fourth-and-one at the 19. 

The teams traded punts the rest of the first half until the Lightning got a score late in the second quarter. Lubbers led the Lightning on an 11-play, 70-yard-drive, aided by a fourth down scramble by Lubbers which resulted in a first down in the red zone. Lubbers put the Lightning on the board with an eight-yard run, but the extra point was no good. 

New Glarus maintained the lead at 7-6 with 3:29 left in the first half.

With the ball at their own 20 and with less than two minutes left in the first half, the Knights turned the ball over with an interception that was returned to the 7-yard-line with 1:35 remaining. Lubbers made the Knights pay by scoring on a one-yard run with 41 seconds left in the half. Noah Luedke added the extra point and Lake Country Lutheran led 13-7 at halftime.

The Lightning got the ball to start the second half and went on a 13-play, 65-yard drive with Lubbers scoring from two yards out. Luedke’s extra point made it 20-7 with 5:56 left in the third quarter. The Knights then started on their own 40 and got a big play when Bubba Weeden got a 43-yard reception to the 13-yard-line. But the drive stalled and a fourth down pass by Roth was flagged as an illegal forward pass, resulting in a turnover over on downs at the 10. 

Lake Country Lutheran followed with a 10-play, 85-yard drive as Lubbers got his fourth touchdown of the night with a nine-yard run in the fourth quarter. Luedke tacked on the extra point and the Lightning had a 27-7 lead with 9:39 left in the game.

With their backs to the wall, the Knights needed to score and score quickly. They did just that as Quinn Marty’s 21-yard reception put the Glarner Knights into scoring position at the 19-yard-line. Milo Johnson scored moments later on a four-yard run and Mihlbauer’s extra point made it 27-14 with 7:56 left. 

The Knights tried an onside kick but came up empty. The Lightning answered with a six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. Lubbers scored his fifth TD on a seven-yard run and the extra point put the Lightning comfortably in front 34-14 with 4:50 left. 

Pinnow returned the ensuing kickoff 62 yards to the 28-yard-line. Roth fired a 17-yard touchdown pass to Weeden and Mihlbauer’s extra point made it 34-21 with just over four minutes left, but the Glarner Knights were unable to get yet another onside. The Lightning (11-1) ran out the clock to win.

For New Glarus, it was a season that players, coaches, and fans won’t soon forget. The season featured an SWC league championship and a 10-2 overall record — making it the first season in New Glarus football history with 10 wins. It was also the first time New Glarus made it to Level 3 in the playoffs. 

New Glarus head coach D.J. Schuett said he’ll look back at this season with man fond memories. 

“It was a magical ride that didn’t quite end the way we wanted it to. We did some historic things for New Glarus football. We’ll have a nice group coming back (next year) to build on,” said Schuett. 

The fourth-year head coach said he is already looking forward  to next season. 

“I’m already missing the fun of prepping for next season with a great group of kids,” said Schuett.