K-M Football Drops Season-Opener

The KoMets scored the first touchdown of the game, but after that it was all Mankato East as they scored 27 unanswered points to hand Kasson-Mantorville a 27-7 loss on Friday, Aug. 30.

However, the game was much closer than it seems.

Head Coach Broc Threinen said K-M had a good first possession until a turnover halted their momentum.

“We put a nice drive together on the first possession but fumbled the snap,” he said. 

The game was still tied 0-0 at the end of the first quarter. 

Kasson-Mantorville took a 7-0 lead when receiver Jakob Aarsvold took a pitch and ran it 38 yards for a touchdown.

“It was nice to see the option get carried out and finish with a score,” he said. 

The Mankato East Cougars responded with a 15-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7. That score held until halftime. 

Threinen said his team played well even though it was first half of the first game of the season. 

“The kids were real excited, and played hard. They made some mistakes because of being a little anxious and hyped up, but we'll take that,” he said. 

At halftime, Threinen said the KoMets focused on preventing those mistakes from happening again. 

“We simply talked about playing against one team a lot and eliminating our own mistakes,” he said. “Slight adjustments on some different looks on defense were made as well.”

In the second half, the Cougars got the scoring with a touchdown from seven yards out, but the extra point attempt was blocked so Mankato East led 13-7.

Unfortunately, the Cougars added to their lead with a 39-yard touchdown pass and successfully converted the extra point to take a 20-7 lead.

With just over two minutes left in the game, Mankato East extended their lead to 27-7 with a two-yard touchdown run.

Despite the loss, Threinen was happy with how his team competed even when the KoMets were trailing in the second half. 

“Our kids never quit and continued to battle throughout the game,” he said. “Their effort and energy was great all night.”

Threinen said the KoMets should score more points once they shore up some things on offense. 

Kasson-Mantorville will look to score more when they host Rochester John Marshall at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6.