Logan-Magnolia enjoys revenge against SA...

Posted: 10/01/2005 - by

LOGAN, Iowa - One year after playing whipping boy to Council Bluffs St. Albert,

Logan-Magnolia dominated the line of scrimmage, rushing for 338 yards in a 45-25 Class 1-A, District 1 football victory over the defending state champion Falcons on Friday at Uel F. "Bob" Evans Memorial Field.

"It's a huge win for us," Logan-Magnolia coach Matt Straight said. "It's a hard thing as a coach to get your kids to believe they can beat a team like St. Albert. But these kids responded very well."

Before a reporter-estimated 800, Logan-Magnolia, unrated in western Iowa, improved to 4-1 overall and now shares the district lead at 3-0 with Griswold. St. Albert, rated sixth in WI (Class 2-A/1-A/A), dropped to 2-3 and 2-1.

St. Albert rolled to a 38-0 halftime lead last year en route to a 45-0 victory.

"They beat us soundly last year," senior fullback Matt Barney said. "We just didn't want that to happen again."

St. Albert coach Jim Duggan said his team's inability to control the line of scrimmage proved fatal.

"That was the difference in the game - both sides of the ball," he said. "They just handled us up front. They looked a lot more motivated than we were."

Both of the Panthers' starting running backs reached the 100-yard mark. Barney rushed for 132 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns, and senior tailback Kurtis Hinkel added 111 yards on 18 carries and a pair of scores.

On Friday, Logan's fans must have had a flashback to last year when St. Albert quarterback Nolan Batten sprinted 72 yards for a touchdown on his team's first running play.

This year, however, the Panthers had a quick response. After a long kickoff return, Matt Barney carried for 9 yards. On the next play, Barney exploded up the middle 40 yards for a touchdown.

"That was key, how we responded to that," Straight said. "Before the game, I could tell these kids had more focus than I've seen."

After St. Albert's first score, Logan-Magnolia scored 45 of the next 55 points to lead 45-17 with 3:45 to play in the game. The Falcons added a cosmetic score and two-point play in the final minute.

Logan held St. Albert running back Jeremy Schieffer to 43 yards on 18 carries. The Falcons finished with 282 total yards, including 67 on the final drive. Logan finished with 369 total yards.

"I think some people may have underestimated them," Duggan said of the Panthers. "They have the ability to come at you and play smash-mouth."

Logan-Magnolia dictated the first-half tempo behind the reliable ground game of Hinkel, Barney and an occasional keeper by quarterback Martin Gross. The Panthers rolled up 180 rushing yards on 28 carries before the intermission, including 82 yards on 15 totes by Hinkel.

The Panthers scored the final 14 points of the half to take a 24-10 advantage into the intermission. The first drive was an impressive 11-play, 80-yard march, all on the ground. Hinkel scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1 on a sweep to the left. That made it 17-10 at the 6:06 mark of the second quarter.

Lo-Ma then drove 65 yards on seven plays, with the big play a 29-yard pass from Gross to Hinkel. Hinkel scored from 9 yards out to make it 24-10 with 1:10 left in the half.

Straight, a former star safety at Iowa State, said only one thing would complete his weekend.

"A Cyclone win."

C.B. St. Albert......................... 7 3 7 8-25
At Logan-Magnolia.........................10 14 7 14-45
• St. Albert - Nolan Batten 72 run (C.J. Gradoville kick)
• Lo-Ma - Matt Barney 40 run (Nathan Foutch kick)
• Lo-Ma - FG Foutch 28
• St. Albert - FG Gradoville 36
• Lo-Ma - Kurtis Hinkel 1 run (Foutch kick)
• Lo-Ma - Hinkel 9 run (Foutch kick)
• Lo-Ma - Barney 51 run (Foutch kick)
• St. Albert - John O'Malley 10 pass from Batten (Gradoville kick)
• Lo-Ma - Philip Burkhart 4 run (Foutch kick)
• Lo-Ma - Marshall Barney 44 run (Foutch kick)
• St. Albert - O'Malley 13 run (Batten run)

Kevin White - Omaha World Herald - 10.1.05

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