East Buchanan ends Saint season
By Kristi Nixon
ST. ANSGAR — A quality East Buchanan team came into St. Ansgar and upset the top-ranked Saints, 30-16, in the Class A quarterfinal round on Friday, Nov. 3.
The Bucs took awhile to get going, as they were flagged four times in their first two possessions, including three false start penalties, but once they got going, East Buchanan (9-2) proved hard to stop.
“Give them credit – they showed up,” St. Ansgar coach Drew Clevenger said. “They shot themselves in the foot a little bit, but we knew they were going to be awfully good up front, and they were. A couple backs that ran hard and we didn’t do a whole lot offensively the first half, so kind of hung our defense out to dry a little bit.”
Indeed, the Saints’ first two possessions, though penalty-free, accumulated just five net yards while going three-and-out both times.
That set up the Bucs first score with a couple of big plays within their next drive, capped off by a 13-yard touchdown run by Tanner Thurn, who had all three of the offensive touchdowns for the visitors. Two were in the first half, and he added the two-point conversions while East Buchanan took a 16-0 lead into halftime.
“They did a nice job,” Clevenger said of the Bucs. “I’m awfully proud of our kids’ effort. Our kids battled all year long, including tonight. Unfortunately, we came up short.”
The full story and more photos will be found in the Nov. 8 print and e-editions of the Enterprise Journal.
