Rain may have pushed the kickoff up an hour, but it did nothing to slow down the action at Mineral Point’s Ron Murphy Field Friday night..
Moving the start time from 7:00 to 6:00 p.m. to beat the impending storm, New Glarus came out firing early. The Knights wasted no time getting on the board, converting their first drive of the night into a touchdown when Brent Weeden exploded through the middle gap for a 40-plus-yard score.
Looking to respond, Mineral Point brought out a shorthanded offensive unit, with starting senior offensive lineman Jake Dannenberg and junior wide receiver Mephis Burkhaulter both sidelined with injuries. The Knights’ defense allowed no wiggle room for the Pointers, forcing a quick three-andout.
After that monstrous opening drive, the Knights quieted down for the remainder of the first quarter. With the Pointers still struggling against the New Glarus defense, the opening quarter came to a close with a 7-0 lead for the Knights.
The second quarter featured much of the same back-and-forth action from both offenses. However, in the final minute of the half, New Glarus drove deep into Pointer territory and converted a fourth-and-goal with Weeden’s second touchdown of the night, sending Mineral Point to the locker room trailing 14-0.
The Pointers looked to turn things around in the second half. Liam Carey took a quarterback keeper into the endzone to put Mineral Point on the board and notch the first points of the third quarter.
Just seconds into the fourth quarter, the Knights’ offense came back alive for the first time in the second half. Brock Roth completed a 34-yard touchdown pass to give New Glarus back its two-touchdown edge.
Mineral Point was quick to answer. Carey connected with Elliot Kite on a short pass, and Kite took it nearly 50 yards to the end zone to bring the game back within reach.
However, the Knights quickly reclaimed control. As they had done all night, they stormed down the field and erased the Pointer score with a touchdown of their own. Senior Carson Prechel converted a first-and-goal with a short push into the end zone.
Mineral Point continued to fight in a high-scoring fourth quarter, driving back into the Knights’ territory. The drive was highlighted by Carey’s 25-plus-yard pass to Kite, putting the Pointers in the red zone on back-to-back possessions. Carey capped off the drive himself, rolling out to his left, finding an opening, and taking the quarterback keeper in for six.
Trailing by seven with 6:45 left in the game, the Pointer defense came up with a massive stop. They held the Knights deep in their own territory and forced a punt, giving the Mineral Point offense one last drive with three minutes remaining to pull off a come-from-behind victory.
The Pointers picked up a couple of quick, short passes to advance into Knights territory, inching all the way to the 3-yard line with under 30 seconds to play. But on fourth down, the comeback fell just short as the final pass rolled off a New Glarus defender’s fingertips, securing the victory for the Knights.
Despite Mineral Point’s explosive second-half surge, their slow start proved costly as they fell to New Glarus 28-21.
