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| Mason Auge makes one of his team-high 15 tackles (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
The victory left the Storm (4-1) in sole possession of second place in the conference and dropped the Tigers (3-2) into a third place tie with Shakopee.
The soggy weather conditions didn't do any favors for the home team whose offense relies heavily on its short passing game.
"The wind was a factor for sure," Tiger coach Mark Froehling said, "especially on the side of the field by our bench. The ball was really sailing...But we threw the ball pretty well and our running backs found some holes.
"We knew going in they were big and strong up front. They split their offensive linemen and come right at you but I thought our defense really stepped up. They were on the field a long time."
Perhaps the biggest positive for Froehling to take away from the loss was his team's resilience after suffering a one-sided loss at Chaska last week.
"We talked all week about coming out with passion and effort," he said. "Those are the things you have to bring every night and I thought we did that tonight. That's what good football teams do."
The Tigers got on the board first late in the opening period when a 37-yard pass play from Tyler VanWinkle to Johnny Dittman set up VanWinkle's one-yard scoring run.
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| Godfrey Mpetey (52), Nick Workman (18) and Michael Thompson (37) get their man (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
Chanhassen countered early in the second period with a grinding 74-yard drive to send the teams to the halftime break tied at 7-7.
The turning point in the contest came three plays into the second half when the Storm's Ryan Licau found a seam and raced 66 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
Chanhassen dominated the third period, scoring again on their next possession for what looked to be a commanding 21-7 lead. The Storm, behind a big offensive line anchored by 300-pound Division I recruit Frank Ragnow ran for 156 yards in the third quarter.
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| Jordan DeCroock 7-yard TD pass (photo by J. Lindquist) |
A gritty goal line stand in the closing minutes gave the Tigers one last shot and VanWinkle made the most of it, moving his team from its own four-yard line to the Storm 32 on a 43-yard pass completion to Mac Bassett before a fumble ended the threat.
Considering the conditions, VanWinkle had a good night throwing the ball, completing 16 of 31 passes for 210 yards, a touchdown and one interception .DeCroock had four catches for 50 yards and Dittman four for 61. Noah Kary added three for 29 yards.
The Tiger running game continued to struggle with the trio of Derek Klotter, Kary and VanWinkle accounting for a net of just 74 yards.
Senior linebacker Mason Auge led a defense that spent a lot of time on the field with a season-high 15 tackles. Godfrey Mpetey, Eli Rockett and Kevin Clifton each had 6.5 stops. LeBlond finished with 5.5 with a quarterback sack and a fumble recovery.
Senior linebacker Nick Ruark suffered an knee injury late in the first half and watched the second half from the sidelines on crutches.
The Tigers travel to Richfield next Friday before closing out the regular season the following Wednesday at home against Shakopee.
"Those will be two more games against good teams," Froehling said. "It will give us a chance to show what kind of football team we are. Like every game, it will all come down to effort and execution."
Free downloadable, high resolution image files from this game compliments of photographers Jim and Ruth Lindquist are available at http://sidekick.smugmug.com
