The Springlake-Earth Wolverines’ varsity football team had their season come to an end on Friday night in Petersburg, as they fell to the Nazareth Swifts, 62-28, in the second round of the Class 1A Six-Man Division I football Play-offs.
With the loss, the Wolverines finish the season with a mark of 84.
After both teams turned the ball over on downs on their first possessions, the Swifts got the ball back at their own seven-yard line. Three consecutive runs by Luke Schulte had Nazareth set up with a second and 11 from their own 27-yard line. Will Young overthrew Brett Heitschmidt on second down, but on the next play, Schulte took a run to the right for a big play all the way down to the Springlake-Earth 17-yard line before he was ran down by Jerry Gallegos.
With a fresh set of downs, Schulte took the carry on first down, but was tackled for a threeyard loss by Dereck Rosalez. On second down, Young dropped back and had his pass tipped at the line, but it landed in the hands of Sterl Welps, who got back to the original line of scrimmage, before being brought down by Roel Fuentes. On third and long, Young dropped back and hit Heitschmidt for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 2:58 to play in the opening quarter. The kick was good by Heitschmidt putting the Swifts in front, 8-0.
The Wolverines took over at the Nazareth 31-yard line, after a big kick- off return from Froylan Agundiz. Fuentes picked up two yards on the dive on first down and Gallegos took a run to the left on the next play for 11 yards, making it third and two. Gallegos carried the ball again to the left, picking up first-down yardage to make it first and goal from the sevenyard line. On first and goal, the Wolverines ran an option to the right, as Fuentes pitched it to JJ Jaramillo, who took it in for the seven-yard score with 1:59 to play in the quarter. The kick by Jaramillo was no good, leaving the score, 86.
Nazareth wasted no time answereing as they came back out on offense, starting their next drive at their own 33-yard line. Schulte picked up six yards on a first-down run and Welps picked up four more on the dive on second down to make it third and five from the Wolverines’ 37-yard line.
On the next play, Schulte broke free for a 37-yard touchdown run, making the score, 16-6, after the kick with :23 seconds to play in the quarter.
Cain Tovar took the kick-off return to the left, but it was called back for a block in the back penalty, making it first and 15 from their own 27-yard line. Gallegos picked up six yards on the first-down run, but his pass on second down went through the hands of Fuentes, bringing up third and nine. On third down, Gallegos scrambled to his left, getting out of bounds at the Swifts’ 39-yard line. Fuentes took the dive hand-off on fourth down and moved the sticks for the Wolverines.
Jaramillo picked up four yards on first down taking it down to the Swifts’ 33-yard line, but Slade Beerwinkle’s pass fell incomplete looking for Gavin Gonzales. Jaramillo scrambled to his left for seven yards, before being brought down by Heitschmidt, bringing up fourth and four. The Wolverines elected to go for it, as Jaramillo took a run to the left down to the 20-yard line to pick up the first down.
Fuentes took the dive hand-off on first down for a few yards, but on the next play, Gallegos was sacked by Heitschmidt, backing them up to third and 16 from the 21-yard line. Gallegos picked up six yards on third down and they again lined up to go for it on fourth and long. Gallegos dropped back to pass on fourth down, hitting Beerwinkle over the middle who dove for and picked up the first down to make it first and goal from the four- yard line. Gallegos punched in the four-yard score on the next play to make it 16-12, after the missed kick with 5:36 remaining in the first half.
Nazareth took over at their own 32-yard line and two plays later, Schulte broke loose for a 42-yard touchdown run with 5:15 to play in the half to stretch their lead to 24-12, after the kick.
Springlake-Earth’s next possession stalled and they were forced to punt the ball away with 2:05 remaining in the first half. The Swifts took over at their own 13-yard line driving down the field, capping off the drive with a five-yard touchdown run by Schulte as time expired in the half. The kick by Heitschmidt was good, pushing their lead to, 32-12, going into the locker room at halftime.
Wyatt Hill recovered the onside kick to open the second half for the Wolverines, but their drive was derailed on third and four, as a fumbled snap by Beerwinkle was recovered by Tell Bagley with 8:49 to play in the third quarter. Three plays later the Swifts turned the turnover into points, as Schulte punched it in for a seve-yard touchdown run with 7:55 remaining in the third. The kick was good, pushing their lead to, 40-12.
Turnovers struck the Wolverines again on their next drive, after they moved the ball into Nazareth territory, Gallegos was picked off on third and long by Schulte with 5:20 remaining in the quarter. On the very next play, Schulte got free for a 49-yard touchdown run with 5:10 to play in the quarter. The kick was good, extending their lead to, 48-12.
After a turnover on downs by the Wolverines late in the third quarter, the Swifts opened the fourth quarter with a two-yard touchdown run by Welps with 9:56 to play in the game. The kick sailed through the uprights, making the score, 56-12.
The Wolverines took over on offense after the touchback on the kick-off at their own 20-yard line, as Gallegos hit Rosalez with a pass for eight yards. Gallegos’ next pass fell incomplete looking for Gonzales, but on third down, Gallegos found Rosalez again, as he bounced off a Nazareth tackler for some extra yardage, taking the ball into Swifts’ territory to set up first and 15.
Beerwinkle’s pass on first down fell incomplete and Jaramillo picked up four yards on second down before he was tackled by Welps. Fuentes took a dive up the middle on third down, but the Swifts were flagged for a horsecollar tackle, making it first and goal for the Wolverines from the eight- yard line. After a bobbled snap on first down was downed by Beerwinkle, Jaramillo took a run on the next play to the right for two yards, before being tackled by Kayle Rogers. The Wolverines would punch it in on the next play, as Beerwinkle pitched it to Jaramillo, who scored from eight-yards out to cut into the Nazareth lead. The kick by Rosalez was good, trimming the lead to, 56-20, with 6:58 to play in the game.
Nazareth answered with a sevenplay drive, capping it off with a nine- yard touchdown run by Schulte with 2:48 remaining in the game. The kick was blocked by Agundiz, making the score, 62-20.
The Wolverines would score on a five-yard touchdown run by Fuentes with under one minute to play, making the score, 62-28, after the kick by Rosalez, as they fell to the Swifts in the second round play-off match-up.