Superior at River Falls

All the Spartans needed was to win this game and they would qualify for the playoffs. River Falls was already out of contention, but they ended up with a spirited 28-14 win over the Spartans.

Before Friday's game the Wildcats hadn't won a conference game. I'm not saying Superior thought they would roll over them, but I don't think they thought they would be a tough opponent. But with the help of running back Nick Zimmerman and wide receiver Zach Pavlichek, River Falls showed up and doubled Superior's score. Although it didn't help the Spartans to play without their first and second string fullback, where most of their rushing yards have come from as of late.

River Falls was the first to enter the end zone in the first quarter. With an 11 yard heave from Dylan Dock to Jack Herum the Wildcats scored with 3:28 left. They missed the extra point leaving the score 6-0.

River Falls scored one more time before the half ended. Ryan Kusilek threw a 10 yard pass to Pavlichek with 4:07 left in the half. They went for the two point conversion and scored, making the score 14-0 after 2 quarters.

There were no points scored in the third quarter.

Superior got on the board after the start of the fourth quarter. Zach Colvin rushed 5 yards for the touchdown with 11:54 left.

But then River Falls responded with another 2 touchdowns. One was another hook-up between Kusilek and Pavlichek, a 19 yard pass with 7:16 left in the game. The other was a 2 yard run from Zimmerman with 3:04 left.

To end the scoring for the evening, the Spartans scored off of an 8 yard pass from Kellen McCoshen to Josh Gordon with 1:48 left.

With this win the Wildcats claim their first conference victory of the year. But this is bad news for the Spartans. They need to win their last game, this Thursday, against the Eau Claire North Huskies. The Huskies haven't done well so far this season, but they do have quarterback Brett Bodenburg, a very big weapon on offense.

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THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT:

River Falls: RUNNING

With Nick Zimmerman running the ball, the Wildcats accumulated 261 rushing yards on the night, 144 by Zimmerman.

Superior: PASSING

With McCoshen having one of his biggest nights through the air, I was surprised the Spartans lost the game. They just weren't able to get into the end zone. The Spartans have yet to score more than 14 points in a game.

THINGS TO WORK ON:

River Falls: THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY

The Wildcats went 8 for 14. This isn't all that bad, but it was what caused them the most problems. They played very well against Superior.

Superior: RUNNING

Due to their loss of first and second string fullbacks, the Spartans needed to rely more on Colvin and Dan Quade. Unfortunately they were unable to produce on Friday and accumulated only 50 yards total.