VERNDALE -- LeRoy-Ostrander got beat at its own game as the fifth-ranked Cardinals football team fell to Verndale, 28-13, in the quarterfinals of the state 9-man football tournament Friday afternoon.

The host Pirates, ranked second in the season-ending poll, pounded out 312 rushing yards while limiting LeRoy-Ostrander (9-2) to 195. Verndale's Kyle Ashman rushed 28 times for 179 yards and scored three touchdowns, breaking tackles and wearing down the Cardinal defense with his abusing running style. Pirate fullback Casey Finck added 13 carries for 104 yards while helping his team end the 31-year coaching career of LeRoy-Ostrander's Stan Olson.

"Our boys played real hard, we were just so outsized and that was definitely a factor," Olson said after his final game. "We didn't tackle very well, but that could be attributed as much to their size and their physical style."

Verndale (11-0) advances to the semifinal round at the Metrodome for Friday's 8 a.m. pairing with No. 10 Climax/Fisher (10-1). In Thursday's 8 a.m. semifinal, No. 3 Nicollet (11-0) meets top-ranked Stephen-Argyle Central (10-0).

Cardinal comeback

Dustin Thorson scored both LeRoy-Ostrander touchdowns, including an 85-yard kickoff return to give the Cardinals a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter. Verndale scored the next 16 points to take a 22-7 lead midway through the third period and a stingy Pirates defense held the lead.

Verndale pinned L-O deep in its own territory and Nick Norby's punt on fourth down sailed out of bounds after a 20-yard flight. The Pirates took over at the L-O 30, and after a holding penalty backed Verndale into a first-and-21 situation, Cory Umland hit Ashman on a screen pass and the Pirate tailback broke five arm-tackles on his way to a 41-yard touchdown reception.

"We've been waiting to run that all year long," said Verndale coach Michael Mahlen. "The teams in our conference won't let us run that, but we finally got it here."

Thorson caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Neal Bucknell to get L-O within nine, 22-13, but the fake extra-point pass fell through Thorson's hands to require two scores for the Cardinal comeback late in the third quarter.

The Pirates pounded the ball back down the field, marching 80 yards on 12 plays to consume 7:20 of the final period, and Umland sprinted in from 16 yards for a 28-13 lead. Verndale did not attempt a pass in the second half, rushing 27 times for 189 yards.

"We maybe wore them down at the end of the ballgame," Mahlen said. "When (Ben) Adams ran the ball he got stuck. We had a little advantage that we have two horses in our backfield."

Just short

Big Red running back Ben Adams broke the 100-yard barrier in his last career game but was unable to break the goalline on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard-line with time winding down.

After Verndale went ahead 28-13, L-O fell inches short of a touchdown on the ensuing drive. Adams went up the middle with the comeback still a possibility, but Verndale's interior line stopped him just short. Adams' helmet layed across the goalline but the ball was cradled into his midsection.

"We played very good defense all day long," said Verndale coach Michael Mahlen. "I think this is probably the best defensive day we've had. This was the first hard-nosed quality running back (Adams) we've faced, the first big, physical back we've played. This was a test for us to see if we could stop that and we did."

L-O finished with 195 rushing yards and 230 total. Bucknell was 5-of-7 passing for just 35 yards, and neither team committed a turnover.

Triple threat

The Cardinals tired as the game ran on, unable to bring down the bruising Verndale backs. Umland added a triple threat, converting a key third-down bootleg run to open the third quarter. Umland broke three tackles on third-and-eight to gain 12 yards and a critical first down.

LeRoy-Ostrander's defense had the Pirates facing first-and-20 after a holding penalty, but Umland's run prolonged the drive that eventually ended with an Umland touchdown run. Finck laid a punishing block on Cardinal cornerback Eric Nelson at the goalline to cinch the scoring run.

"We couldn't stop them off-tackle," Olson said. "They were big and powerful. They did a nice job of bottling Ben up for much of the game."

Adams was limited to 11 yards rushing in the first half. Nelson had 52 of his 81 yards on the ground in the second quarter as L-O found a soft spot on the right side of Verndale's defense.

Thorson and Adams each had 121 all-purpose yards in their final football games at LOHS.

Call Ross Thede at 434-2234 or e-mail him at :mailto:sports@austindailyherald.com.

Summary:

Score by quarters

LeRoy-Ostrander0760--13

Verndale01486--28

Scoring summary

Second Quarter

V -- Kyle Ashman 4 run (pass failed), 11:33.

Drive: 7 plays, 49 yards, 2:13. Key play: Cory Umland 8 pass to Eric Bramer on 3rd and 7 to L-O 4-yard-line.

L-O -- Dustin Thorson 85 kickoff return (Chad Orum kick), 11:21.

V -- Ashman 41 pass from Umland (pass to Bramer), 7:04.

Drive: 2 plays, 30 yards, :50. Key play: Holding penalty on first play of drive led to 2nd and 21, Verndale scored on screen pass.

Third Quarter

V -- Ashman

4 run (Umland run), 5:59.

Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 2:31. Key play: Ashman 31 run on 2nd and 13 to L-O 19.

L-O -- Thorson 6 pass from Neal Bucknell (pass failed), 1:15.

Drive: 11 plays, 63 yards, 4:38. Key plays: Ben Adams 14 run on 3rd and 12; Adams 22 run on 4th and inches to Verndale 8.

Fourth Quarter

V -- Umland 16 run (pass failed), 7:20.

Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 5:50. Key play: Umland 12 run on 3rd and 8.

Team stats

L-OVER

First downs1420

Rushing

Attempts4853

Yards195312

Passing

Completions54

Attempts79

Yards3559

INT00

Total yards230371

Punting5-283-32

Penalties2-106-43

Individual leaders

RUSHING -- L-O: Ben Adams 23-107, Eric Nelson 14-81, Dustin Thorson 2-8, Kellen Bucknell 2-1, Neal Bucknell 7-(-2); VER: Kyle Ashman 28-179, Casey Finck 13-104, Cory Umland 10-33, Tyler Fisher 1-5, Josh Richter 1-1.

PASSING -- L-O: Neal Bucknell 5-7-0-35; VER: Cory Umland 4-9-0-59.

RECEIVING -- L-O: Jake Rowe 1-21, Dustin Thorson 2-8, Chad Orum 1-5, Ben Adams 1-1; VER: Kyle Ashman 2-42, Casey Finck 1-9, Josh Bramer 1-8.