It was an unusual situation for the Hutchinson football team last week. In most seasons, the only time players know for sure it will be their last game of the year is when they’re playing for a state title.
Although there were no state championships this year, the Tigers knew going into Friday’s home contest against the Mankato East Cougars that it would be their last after Gov. Tim Walz’s latest executive order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 put an end to all indoor and outdoor athletics.
Instead of being upset about a situation they couldn’t control, the Tigers went out controlled what they could, routing the Cougars for a dominant 52-16 win.
“It means a lot,” Hutch senior Matthew Olberg said. “It’s not often you can finish the season with a win, so this means a bunch to me. We just left it all out on the field. We told the guys before just to let it all out there, no regrets.”
Leave it all out on the field is exactly what the Tigers did, beginning with their first play of the game, a 75-yard touchdown run by junior Sam Rensch that set the tone for the rest of the night.
“I did it for our seniors, I can say that for sure,” Rensch said. “In the locker room, I knew it was the last game for the seniors, so I just said, ‘They’re not going out on a loss.’”
The Tigers dominated the Cougars from start to finish, but especially in the first half. Hutch allowed one first down on Mankato’s opening drive, but then forced three-and-outs in their next two possessions.
The offense, meanwhile, marched down the field, piling up more than 300 yards and a 36-0 lead before halftime. Rensch made an over-the-shoulder, one-handed 12-yard catch for Hutch’s second touchdown of the game, followed by a 15-yard TD run from senior Ty Glaser. The Tigers opened the second quarter the same way they did the first quarter, with a 74-yard TD scramble by quarterback Colin Nagel, and Mitchell Piehl finished the scoring in the half with a 6-yard run.
“As a group of guys, we wanted to go out with a win,” Glaser said. “We had a great group of seniors. I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”
The Tigers pulled the throttle back a little in the third quarter, scoring twice more on a 3-yard run by Rensch in the third quarter and an 18-yard catch by Rensch in the fourth quarter. The Cougars also managed to score twice in the second half, but Hutchinson’s win was never in doubt.
Although the Tigers were happy to go out on a win, the meaning of the game during a season full of adversity is what made it special for the players, as well as the coaches.
“The boys have been put through the wringer this year with all of the unknowns from day to day,” head coach Andy Rostberg said. “We didn’t know who was coming, who was quarantined, how things were going to go, and it was a year of just fly by the seat of your pants every day. The kids did a great job of just dealing with that, and so this was just another one of those deals.”
“They’re supposed to go to school, play football, hang out with their buddies and not have worries in the world, but there are a lot of worries for these kids this year,” Rostberg also said. “But they’ve handled it well. They’ve handled and they’ve had to lean on each other. They’ve handled it together.”
Well it’s not been the year they would have wanted, there will be plenty to remember the 2020 season by. From the workouts and practices, to the games and season finale Friday, they made plenty of memories and finished the year with a 5-2 record.
And for the players who will not graduate this spring, they’re already looking forward to getting back to normal in 2021 and building off this season.
“We’re just getting started,” Rensch said. “We’re going to go straight up from here, and it’s going to be a great season next year. And I really hope it gets back to normal so we can have the fans here, because that always helps too.”
Hutchinson 52, Mankato East 16 (Nov. 20)
Mankato E …. 0 0 8 8
Hutchinson … 20 16 8 8
First Quarter
H—Sam Rensch 77 run (Colin Nagel run) 11:54
H—Rensch 12 pass from Nagel (pass fail) 5:18
H—Ty Glaser 15 run (pass fail) 1:36
Second Quarter
H—Nagel 74 run (Rensch run) 11:47
H—Mitchell Piehl 6 run (Billy Marquardt pass from Nagel) 4:10
Third Quarter
H—Rensch 3 run (Marquardt pass from Nagel) 6:20
M—Sundermeyer 13 run (Borchardt pass from Eggert) 3:05
Fourth Quarter
M—Eggert 7 run (Grams pass from Eggert) 11:53
H—Rensch 18 pass from Nagel (Rensch run) 5:29
Team stats
Rushing — Hutch: 43-475
Passing yards — Hutch: 2-30
Total offense — Hutch: 505
Individual stats
Passing: Colin Nagel 2-5–30-2-0
Rushing: Mitchell Piehl 5-84, Ty Glaser 7-42, Nagel 7-171, Tristan Hoppe 1-2, AJ Ladwig 3-13, Riley Gill 2-9, Sam Rensch 15-150, Billy Marquardt 1-1, Gavin Hutchins 2-3
Receiving: Sam Rensch 2-30
Tackles: Tristan Hoppe 7, Aaron Elliott 7, Riley Anderson 4, Alex Elliott 4, Logan Hoppe 4, Devon Verhasselt 2, Zeke Cosby 2, Carson Pink 4, Levi Teetzel 3, Marquardt 6, Piehl 5, Matthew Olberg 4, Kyle Oestreich 1, Rensch 1, Jordan Titus 1, Carson Guggisberg 1, Griff Telecky 2
Sacks: Logan Hoppe 1, Aaron Elliott 1
Tigers 2020 Season Stats
Team stats
Rushing: 285-1,943
Passing yards: 17-318
Total offense: 2,261
Individual stats
Passing: Colin Nagel 17-45-318-4TD-3INT-8CONV
Rushing: Mitchell Piehl 93-737-7, Nagel 71-504-4TD-7CONV, Ty Glaser 55-292-6TD-1CONV, Sam Rensch 24-195-3TD-2CONV, Tristan Hoppe 16-108-2TD-1CONV, Riley Gill 9-39, Zeke Cosby 5-12, Alex Elliott 2-21-1TD-1CONV, AJ Ladwig 3-13, Nolan Prokosch 3-6, Levi Teetzel 1-3, Gavin Hutchins 2-3, Billy Marquardt 1-1
Receiving: Rensch 9-154-3TD-1CONV, Tristan Hoppe 4-84-1TD-3CONV, Aaron Elliott 2-41-2CONV, Cosby 1-20, Piehl 1-19, Marquardt 0-0-2CONV
Tackles: Tristan Hoppe 71, Aaron Elliott 45, Logan Hoppe 28, Alex Elliott 28, Riley Anderson 27, Carson Pink 23, Devon Verhasselt 21, Sam Rensch 20, Billy Marquardt 18, Zeke Cosby 15, Jordan Titus 13, Levi Teetzel 13, Piehl 13, Riley Gill 5, Matthew Olberg 5, Sam Starke 3, Alex Staples 3, Kyle Oestreich 3, Nolan Prokosch 2, Renning 1, Hartman 1, Schumann 1
Sacks: Tristan Hoppe 1, Logan Hoppe 3.5, Anderson 2, Pink 4.5, Rensch 1, Titus 1.5, Prokosch 0.5
Interceptions: Verhasselt 1, Marquardt 1, Piehl 1
Fumbles recovery: Tristan Hoppe 2, Pink 1, Cosby 1
Fumbles forced: Tristan Hoppe 2, Anderson 2, Marquardt 1
Blocked kick: Anderson 1, Pink 1
