ALBERT LEA - Worthington’s defense was good in the first half Friday at Albert Lea. In the second half, it was stellar.
The Trojans held the Tigers to only 64 yards -59 of which came on one play - after halftime as they came back from a 13-2 deficit at the intermission to pick up their first win of the season, 17-13.
“I’ve gotta be honest, at halftime we were kind of questioning fortitude,” Worthington coach Brad Grimmius said. “Our defense kept us in the game but, as a coaching staff we try to be honest with them, and at halftime we told them that was a terrible half of football. The good thing was, we were still in it because of our defense. Then we came out and dominated the second half; we took it to ‘em. We showed fortitude.”
Despite stellar efforts by both the defense and special teams, victory was still in doubt with time running down. Down 17-13, Albert Lea’s Jessie Hernandez returned a kick to midfield. From there, the Tigers proceeded to methodically move down to the Trojans’ 12 with one minute to play. On first down, the defense sealed it.
Jakob Kilby, Albert Lea’s southpaw quarterback, rolled right and threw off of his back foot toward the end zone. Worthington senior defensive back Gbrown Ochothow leapt high in the air to intercept it at the 2. He returned it to the 5 and, with a couple of kneel-downs, the Trojans had one in the win column.
“I knew I was gonna get a big play tonight,” Ochothow said. “I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m too excited. We needed a big play. I just played my position; listened to the coaches. I saw it come out of (Kilby’s) hand and I was right there at the right time.”
That was the clincher on a nice comeback that was helped along by all three phases of the game.
Worthington’s special teams came up big early in the second half. With the Tigers punting from their own end zone, a swarm of Trojans got in to block the punt. That set the offense up at the Albert Lea 7.
On third down, Robert Lovan spun away from a would-be tackler in the backfield and picked up a key block from Ochothow - a wide receiver - on the edge. That sprung him free for a 3-yard touchdown run. The conversion attempt failed, but with 8:52 in the third, the deficit was cut to 13-8.
“I saw him coming down my side and I knew we needed a big block,” Ochothow said. “It’s huge. We know that every little block counts.”
A 59-yard pass from Sam Chalmers to Jack Buendorf got Albert Lea deep into Trojan territory again on the ensuing drive. But, the defense held and the five-point disadvantage held into the final frame.
The deficit was cut to three early in the fourth. After a monster sack by Marcos Herrera and Vince Riley put the Tigers in the shadow of their own goal post, a snap out of the end zone on the punt worked for a Worthington safety; its second of the night. That made it a 13-10 game with just 8:22 remaining.
“In the third quarter our special teams did a great job setting up our offense with a short field and our defense held,” Grimmius said. “That third quarter set the tone for the rest of the ballgame. I tip my hat to (defensive coordinator) Coach (Ron) Vorwald and (special teams coordinator) Coach (Stacy) Sauerbrei. They had those guys selling out for each other.”
A 36-yard return by Lovan on the ensuing free kick set the Trojans up with a short field. That’s when Torey Rogers took over. He pounded his way to 24 yards in the series. The last 10 of those got him in the end zone to put the visitors on top. Edgar Avilia kicked the extra point and with 5:21 to play, Worthington was back on top at 17-13.
“I call that our ‘Thunder and Lightning’ package,” Grimmius said of having Rogers and Lovan in the backfield at the same time. “Torey brings the boom and Robert is so quick. But it all starts up front. The line did a nice job and those guys are able to add the yards after contact because of how hard they run.”
A muffed punt that was recovered by Ochothow - starting his huge night - kept Albert Lea’s offense off of the field for almost the entire first quarter. In fact, the Tigers ran only four plays in the entire opening session.
The Trojans took advantage of the turnover; eventually. A 24-yard run by Tucker Sorenson and a 12-yard pass to Rogers got Worthington all the way to the Tiger 5 on the ensuing drive. Albert Lea’s defense held, forcing a turnover on downs at the 6.
Though the offense was unable to punch it in, the defense got Worthington on the board. On the first play of the second quarter, the Trojans brought a heavy blitz up the middle. They put a big hit on Kilby and jarred the ball loose. Albert Lea recovered, but it was in its own end zone, giving Worthington a safety and a 2-0 lead.
The Tigers answered right back, using 11 plays to march 74 yards and eat 5:01 off the clock. Kilby finished the drive with a 2-yard run up the middle to put Albert Lea up 7-0 with 5:02 left in the second.
A turnover proved costly for the Trojans on their ensuing drive. Hernandez stepped in front of a Sorenson pass at the 25. Now on offense, Kilby rolled left and broke free down the sideline for 22 yards, setting up another 2-yard TD plunge for the senior quarterback.
That set the score at 13-2 at halftime after the two teams fumbled to one another in the final minute. Easton Sauerbrei recovered for the Trojans.
“The first half was bad,” Ochothow said. “The coaches really got on us at halftime. They told us we needed to have more energy; to stay hydrated. We scored early in the half and that just set the momentum for us.”
Lovan finished the night with 70 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries while Rogers had 51 yards and a score on nine totes. Sorenson went 7-for-16 passing for 72 yards. Ochothow caught three passes for 27 yards with Jordan Jensen catching one for 19.
Worthington (1-2 overall) returns home next week to take on Tri-City United.
“By winning tonight, that sets us up with a chance,” Grimmius said. “This got us believing.”
Worthington 0 2 6 9 – 17
Albert Lea 0 13 0 0 – 13
