If defense is what wins football games, then it should be no surprise that the Rochester Lourdes football team is undefeated.
The Eagles were at it again in Cannon Falls on Friday, holding the Bombers to 180 yards total offense en route to a 28-14 win.
"It was a great win," said Lourdes coach Marv Peters, "the defense played great again."
That makes seven in a row for Lourdes, and sets up a clash on Wednesday with unbeaten Kasson-Mantorville, which is the No. 1-ranked team in the state in Class AAA.
Last year, Kasson-Mantorville edged Lourdes 12-8.
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"We'll show up, even though they are (ranked) No. 1," said Peters.
The last time Lourdes had an unbeaten regular season was in 1991.
Friday, the Eagles scored 21 points in the first half and moved to a 28-0 lead before Cannon Falls scored twice in the fourth quarter.
Peters said his defense continues to play well, especially his linebacking crew of Danny Macken, Matt Jensen, Danny Warner and Adam Leyendecker.
"Our linebackers have come so far this year, they've played great," Peters said.
Running back Frank Meilander got Lourdes off to a flying start when he broke loose for a 57-yard touchdown run on the Eagles' first possession. It was his longest run of the season.
Meilander finished with 123 yards rushing on 11 carries. Nic Anderson was the top runner for Cannon Falls with 82 yards.
SCORING BY QUARTERS
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Lourdes 14 7 7 0 -- 28
; Cannon Falls 0 0 0 14 -- 14
; First Quarter
RL -- Frank Meilander 57 run (kick failed).
RL -- Dan Macken 3 run (kick failed).
RL -- Safety, Chris Brunkhorst tackled RB Kevin Landry in end zone.
Second Quarter
RL -- Cory Wegner 18 pass from Andrew Johnson (Paul Stellpflug kick).
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Third Quarter
RL -- Eric May 5 run (Stellpflug kick).
Fourth Quarter
CF -- Nic Anderson 25 run (Marc Kane kick).
CF -- Luke Winchell 30 run (Marc Kane kick).
RL CF
; First downs 9 7
; Total Net Yards 301 180
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; Rushes-yards 47-199 83
; Passing 102 97
; Comp-Att-Int 4-7-x 9-24-1
; INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Lourdes, Frank Meilander 11 for 123, Eric May 14-41, Mike Korsmo 9-20, Dan Macken 3-10, Trevor Leyendecker 1-9, Andrew Johnson 2-(-8), Aaron Ruff 1-3, Kurt Lentz 6-1. Cannon Falls, Nic Anderson 13-82, Logan Godfrey 1-(-5), Kevin Landry 1-1, Cole Hernke 2-1, Anthony Twaites 3-7, Luke Winchell 8-(-6), Shane Hedeen 1-4.
PASSING -- Lourdes, Andrew Johnson 4 completions, 7 attempts, 48 yards, 1TD, 1 int. Cannon Falls, Luke Winchell 9-24-102 yds, 0 TD, 1 int.
RECEIVING -- Lourdes, Dan Macken 1-14, Andrew Ziller 1-6, Eric May 1-10, Cory Wegner 1-18. Cannon Falls, Nic Anderson 1-10, Tom Banks 2-53, Logan Godfrey 2-14, Joe Novach 1-11, Erik Peterson 1-9.
