Coach Dick Strand had never seen anything like it.

Sunday, September 26, 1999

Coach Dick Strand had never seen anything like it.

His team rolled up 416 rushing yards – and lost.

The Rebels fell 40-24 on the road against Mabel-Canton, leaving the veteran coach befuddled.

"I’ve never been involved in a game in which we’ve had that much offensive output and lost the game," Strand said.

Todd Osmundson carried 21 times for 181 yards and a TD for the Rebels. He was complimented by Adam Chapek, who rushed 21 times for 158 yards and a TD.

But Southland lost the battle for field position and, with it, the game.

Without kicker Sid Schramm, who played lineback but didn’t kick because of a deep thigh bruise, the Rebels left Mabel-Canton with easy pickings throughout the game.

"We’d start on our 20 every time," Strand said, "and their average start was the 43."

Mabel Canton finished with 366 yards to Southland’s 457. There were only five punts in the game.

Southland (2-2) faces Houston (0-4) next Friday for its homecoming game.

Alden-Conger 14,

Grand Meadow 7

For the third straight game, Grand Meadow (1-3) managed a mere seven points.

The home crowd watched as the Superlarks had a chance to win or tie, but it wasn’t to be.

With the clock winding down late in the fourth quarter, the Superlarks drove to a first-and-goal. But two sacks and a pair of incomple passes ended the drive.

Alden-Conger took the lead late in the third, when, down 7-6, QB Vinnie VanEnglenburg ran 18 yards for the go-ahead TD. The score was set up by VanEnglenburg’s 30-yard kickoff return.

"He’s the fastest kid I’ve seen in my life," Grand Meadow coach Gary Sloan said.

VanEnglenburg hit Derek Thorson with an 18-yard pass to start the scoring late in the second quarter.

Grand Meadow went ahead with a 76-yard drive, capped by Randy Breitbarth’s 2-yard TD run in the third quarter.

"We’re playing good defense," Sloan said. "But we’re just not getting the offense."

Blooming Prairie 33, LCWM 12

Blooming Prairie improved to 2-2 by grinding out a win on the road against Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial.

The Blossoms rushed for 369 yards and held LCWM to just 70 yards (-4 yards in the first half).

Bryan Kramer led the Blossoms with 106 yards on eight carries, including TDs of 48 and 30 yards.

Jeremy Wangen rushed for 100 yards on 17 carries with TDs of 14 and 43 yards. Kody Thurnau ran 11 times for 69 yards and QB Phil Iacovino ran for 39 yards, including a 23-yard TD dash.

"It was a great effort," Coach Chad Gimbel said. "Our kids came to play."