Huskies score 77 en route to fourth win

Anyone three minutes late to Owatonna’s football game in Austin last Friday would have already missed a touchdown from each team. That would just be a taste of things to come as the two teams amassed a total of 118 points in Owatonna’s 77-41 win. 
“A lot of big plays from both teams,” said Huskies’ Coach Jeff Williams. “By and large our offense did some pretty good things. Obviously, they got some big plays on defense, which kept Austin a little bit closer than we would have liked them, but all in all, I thought we played pretty well.”
Williams’ offense marched down the field time after time, generating 77 points off 11 touchdowns. Senior running back Sam Hylle gave a performance to remember, scoring seven touchdowns and running for a school record with 320 yards off 39 carries. 
Senior quarterback Alex Emanuelson threw for three touchdowns, and sophomore backup running back Zach Mensink ran in the final touchdown in the fourth quarter. Aidan Buryska was perfect on all 11 extra points.
Williams had only good things to say about his offense considering it amassed 644 total yards, 470 rushing and 174 passing. Even the reserves were able to drive past Austin’s starting defense. 
“I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage well,” said Williams. “Hylle ran hard, and he had some nice creases often. We were able to make the big pass play when we really needed it. There were a couple of third and long kind of critical situations to keep drives going, and we were able to convert.”
Two of Owatonna’s touchdowns came with great field position following failed fourth down attempts by Austin deep in its own territory. 
Williams said fans may scrutinize the play calling, but he admitted that he would have done the same thing.
“It’s something we do too, and I kind of endorse it,” said Williams. “But obviously it hurt them not getting it. It gave us some pretty short fields and we were able to convert on it both times. I’m sure people will be critical of that decision-making process on their part, but from a statistical standpoint, it makes sense.”
Despite the 42-28 halftime lead, Owatonna also gave up big plays on defense. In the first quarter, Owatonna had given up four touchdowns to the Packers, including two runs of 46 and 52 yards, as well as a 70-yard pass play.
“They stretch you out laterally and create some pretty nice running lanes,” Williams said of the Austin team. “Obviously we’ll have to take a look at the video and see specifically what they did schematically. They did some pretty nice things, and they are a well-coached team. They’re going to get you every once in a while.”
Because of the big plays, Williams stated that there was still tension in the locker room at the midpoint.
“Our kids kind of walked into there like they were in a morgue. I had to remind them we were up two touchdowns ‘We’ll be fine. We’ll get some things solved on defense, we’ll be fine.’”
The statements proved more true, as Owatonna scored five more touchdowns in the second half, giving up no points in the third quarter and only two touchdowns in the final quarter, one of which was scored on the second team.
Fans may have been surprised to see starters still playing in the fourth quarter, with Emanuelson still under center midway through the final quarter. According to Williams, the decision had nothing to do with running up the score. Instead, it was out of respect for the Packers team. 
“They were still within three or four touchdowns,” said Williams. “They have big-play capabilities. We wanted to go one more series. We got Hylle out of there and Melsink in. Then, finally we got (Jacob) Gauthier in there. These guys never sub out. They never put their number two’s in. They keep coming at you. You’re kind of forced to play your starters longer than you would like.”
At last, junior quarterback Gauthier was able to take a knee to end the onslaught and begin the celebration, short-lived as it was. 
 “We’re going to enjoy this one for twelve hours or so,” said Williams after the game. The team has much to celebrate, winning four games in a row following their season-opening loss to Mankato West. They move to 4-1 with a tough battle on Friday at Rochester Mayo. Mayo is also 4-1 this season, with its only loss coming against Mankato West as well. 
Against Austin, Mayo won by a much closer score of 26-21, but Williams isn’t taking the game lightly. 
“They’re a good football - a much different football team, and it’s going to take a completely different week of practice. We’ll sit down with the tape and figure out what to do with those guys.”
Last season, the Huskies fell 42-12 against Mayo. The Huskies will end the season with two home games following this Friday, and there is no doubt they would like to do so with a 5-1 record. 
 
Owatonna 77
Austin       41
Friday, Sept. 18
At Austin
 
           1   2     3  4
OWA        21   21   14    21
AUS       13   14     0    14
 
Scoring
First quarter
OWA- Sam Hylle 1 run (Aidan Buryska kick is good), 10:00
AUS- Crouch 46 run (kick is good), 9:22
OWA- Dalton Kubista 10 pass from Alex Emanuelson (Buryska kick is good), 6:01
AUS- Edgar 52 run (kick fails), 5:35
OWA- Hylle 5 run (Buryska kick is good), 1:14
Second quarter
OWA- Kubista 26 pass from Emanuelson (Buryska kick is good), 10:49
OWA- Hylle 24 run (Buryska kick is good), 8:00
AUS- Gash 70 pass from Crouch (kick is good), 5:47
OWA- Hylle 56 run (Buryska kick is good), 4:42
AUS- Edgar 7 run (kick is good), 3:35
Third quarter
OWA- Hylle 10 run (Buryska kick is good), 9:12
OWA- Hylle 5 run (Buryska kick is good), 5:17
Fourth quarter
OWA- Hylle 7 run (Buryska kick is good), 10:31
AUS- Crouch 23 run (pass fails), 9:22
OWA- Noah Budach 45 pass from Emanuelson (Buryska kick)
OWA- Zach Mensink 14 run (Buryska kick), 0:51
AUS- Pass from Crouch (two-point conversion is good), 0:24
 
Statistics
TEAM: Total yards: OWA 644, AUS 410. Rushing: OWA 470, AUS 190. Passing: OWA 174, AUS 220. 
INDIVIDUALS
Owatonna
Rushing: Hylle 39-320-7, Wiese 3-13, Emanuelson 9-23, Westphal 2-3, Mensing 7-50-1, Williams 1-5, Gauthier 1-43, Thorn 1-13. Passing: Emanuelson 11-18-3 (1 int.). Receiving: Wiese 3-18, Kubista 3-69-2, Budach 3-61-1, Westphal 2-26.