GRAND MEADOW 12, ALDEN-CONGER 10
Low score but wild finish
GRAND MEADOW — In its homecoming game, Grand Meadow led 6-0 after three fairly uneventful quarters.
That changed in the final five minutes as Alden-Conger scored and took the lead but Grand Meadow counterpunched and then had to hold off the Knights to preserve the victory.
Michael Gehling ran 2 yards in the first quarter for a touchdown for the Larks, and there was no more scoring until A-C’s Matt Brimseth ran 5 yards with five minute to go. Mitchell Kleinschrodt ran in the two-point conversion, giving Alden-Conger an 8-6 lead.
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Grand Meadow soon lost the ball on an interception but was able to hold A-C on downs and force a punt. But the snap was over the punter’s head and the Larks recovered on the A-C 25-yard line with 2 1/2 minutes left.
Eventually, Clinton Stejskal dived 1 yard for a touchdown with 34 seconds left. A-C returned the kickoff past midfield and was able to throw the ball near the goal line, but Grand Meadow intercepted.
The Larks took a knee twice, forcing A-C to use its two time-outs. A penalty pushed the ball back near the goal line, meaning the third-down kneel was in the end zone, giving the Knights a safety.
After the free kick, 2.6 seconds remained but A-C was not able to mount a threat.
Gehling carried 16 times for 109 yards. Andrew Hardecopf caught two passes for 55 yards for Grand Meadow (2-2). Kleinschrodt rushed 20 times for 102 yards for Alden-Conger (1-3).
Yardage was almost even, with G.M. leading 259-243 in total yardage and 191-188 in rushing.
Alden-Conger 0 0 0 10 — 10
Grand Meadow 6 0 0 6 — 12
