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GSL downs short-handed Waconia

By Jim Paulsen, Star Tribune, 09/09/11, 6:45PM CDT

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U of M recruit Maxx Williams didn't play Friday

 Ryan Kuester knew he had to do something. After a forgettable first half in which the fleet Glencoe-Silver Lake halfback had fumbled deep in Waconia territory, a chance to atone was all he wanted.

Just one.

Kuester got that chance almost immediately and didn’t waste it, returning the opening kickoff of the second half 91 yards for a touchdown. It turned out to be the biggest play of the game for Glencoe-Silver Lake, which survived four turnovers to beat the host Wildcats 16-0.

“In the locker room, one of the coaches came up to me and said I had to make up for my first half,” Kuester said. “I wasn’t going to blow it. I just saw the blocking and ran through it.”

The game was billed as a battle between two of the top teams in the rugged Wright County Conference. It was more rough-around-the-edges than rugged as the two teams combined for eight turnovers and very little in terms of offensive efficiency.

“Kuester, he’s just got God-given speed. You can’t coach that,” said Glencoe-Silver Lake coach Scott Tschimperle. “But it was our defense that stepped up. They saved our offense.”

The first half was little more than a midfield tussle as neither team advanced inside the other’s 25-yard-line. The only score came on a safety when the Waconia center snapped the ball over the punter’s head.

Kuester’s big return made the score 9-0, and the game stayed that way until Glencoe-Silver Lake salted it away with a 65-yard drive in the fourth quarter, capped by Tony Mizuhata’s 9-yard touchdown run.

Before that, Glencoe was satisfied with playing its trademark physical defense. The Panthers held the Wildcats to less than 150 yards of total offense and forced three second-half turnovers.

Waconia played without do-everything star Maxx Williams. The University of Minnesota recruit was out because of an injured ankle.

“Any time you take a Division I athlete out of your lineup, it hurts,” Waconia coach Pat Foley said. “They don’t come along often.”

The Maxx Factor


Williams

Maxx Williams’ demeanor grew noticeably worse as he watched his Waconia teammates struggle to move the ball and eventually lose to Glencoe-Silver Lake.

By the time the game was over, Williams ­-- a 6-foot-4, 225-pound jack-of-all-positions who was sitting out with an ankle injury that required a cast early in the week – was reduced to a monosyllabic vocabulary.

“Helpless,” Williams replied when asked what he was feeling watching his Wildcats get shutout 16-0.

And how difficult was it to stand on the sidelines in such a big game? “Tough.”

A football player by breeding, Williams impressed University of Minnesota coaches enough in camps last summer that they offered him a scholarship. So missing a game, for whatever reason, did not sit well with him.

“He didn’t even talk to me for two days,” said father Brian, a former Gophers offensive lineman and longtime New York Giants center who is an assistant coach at Waconia. “That’s how bad he wanted to play.”

His absence made all the difference for Waconia, turning a top 10 team in Class 4A into a middle of the road bunch that had difficulties putting together a cohesive drive. Waconia had less than 150 yards of total offense in the game and never ventured into the Glencoe-Silver Lake red zone.

“He’s a weapon wherever he is,” Glencoe coach Scott Tschimperle said. “We practiced and prepared all week as is he was going to play. But whether he played or not, it made no difference to what we were trying to do.”

It did, however, have an effect on how successful Glencoe-Silver Lake’s defense was. Williams see plenty of time at quarterback for Waconia. His backup, quarterback Cody Clark, never backed down, but at barely more than six-feet tall and 155 pounds, he presented far less of a challenge. He completed just 7 of 16 passes for 94 yards and an interception. And Waconia’s longest play of the game, a 46-yard pass to Wyatt Held, ended in a fumble when held was chased down at the Glencoe-Silver Lake 30.

“We hoped Maxx would play tonight,” Waconia coach Pat Foley said. “He’s a quick healer. But he didn’t practice all week. What if he got hit again tonight and missed another week? We just thought it was best to hold him out. But it was hard. He’s a Division I athlete. They don’t come around very much.”

Williams was moving around on the ankle all evening, indicating that his time in the bench will be limited to one week.

“It’s a long season,” Brian Williams said. “There’s a lot of football to go.”

Maxx Williams did expand a bit when asked how long he expects the injury, which occurred in Waconia’s season-opening victory over Orono, to keep him off the field. “Next week,” he said. “I’ll be back next week.”

NAME HIGH SCHOOL YEAR POS. COLLEGE VERBAL
Duke Anyanwu Blaine Senior QB Minnesota Yes
Matt Arends Prior Lake Senior WR Princeton Yes
Tavaughn Blair Hopkins Senior SS Northern Iowa Yes
Cal Bloom Osseo Senior TE Central Florida Yes
Nick Carr Totino-Grace Senior OL South Dakota State Yes
Kevin Carroll Edina Senior OL Northern Iowa Yes
Paddy Clancy St. Thomas Academy Senior DB Dartmouth Yes
Breion Creer Benilde-St. Margaret's Senior DT Northern Iowa Yes
Nick Davidson Eden Prairie Senior OT Stanford Yes
Rob Diane Robbinsdale Cooper *RCC Junior DE South Dakota State Yes
Cedric Dicke Cannon Falls Senior LB Minnesota Yes
Karmichael Dunbar Prior Lake Senior DL Louisianna Yes
Isaac Fruechte Caledonia *RCTC Sophomore WR Minnesota Yes
Joel Fuxa Minnetonka Senior TE Drake Yes
Jonathan Harden Cretin-Derham Hall Senior DT Western Michigan Yes
Tyler Hartmann Andover Senior DE Minnesota Yes
Isaac Hayes St. Thomas Academy Senior OL/DL Minnesota Yes
Cody Hazelette Simley Senior LB/TE Northern Illinois Yes
Kyle Hughes Minneapolis Washburn Senior WR/DB Eastern Michigan Yes
D.J. Hebert Osseo Senior QB Northern Iowa Yes
Cavonte Johnson Edina Senior DB Minnesota Yes
Will Johnson Osseo Senior TE West Virginia Yes
Zack Johnson Eastview Senior OL North Dakota State Yes
Paul Kaczor St. Cloud Tech Senior OL Harvard Yes
Brian Labat Detroit Lakes Senior RB North Dakota Yes
Andrew Larson Eden Prairie Senior RB Harvard Yes
Brandon Larson Bemidji Senior LB North Dakota Yes
Ben Lauer Wayzata Senior OL Minnesota Yes
Mitch Leidner Lakeville South Senior QB Minnesota Yes
Andre McDonald Hopkins Senior WR Minnesota Yes
Nate Meixell Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial Senior LB South Dakota State Yes
Nate Meyer Rocori Senior QB South Dakota State Yes
Drake Michaelson Eden Prairie Senior LB Wofford Yes
Rossevelt Morisset Thief River Falls Senior WR Southeastern Louisiana Yes
Andy Moritko Totino-Grace Senior DB South Dakota State Yes
Philip Nelson Mankato West Senior QB Minnesota Yes
Brett Pierce Holy Angels Senior DL North Dakota State Yes
Jonah Pirsig Blue Earth Senior OL Minnesota Yes
Nick Rallis Edina Senior S Minnesota Yes
Taj Rich Robbinsdale Cooper Senior LB North Dakota Yes
Zach Riopelle Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Senior LB North Dakota State Yes
Kasey Robinson Breck Senior WR Drake Yes
Chase Roullier Burnsville Senior OL Wyoming Yes
E.J. Welch Mesabi East *MRCC Freshman DL North Dakota Yes
Lucas Wiborg DeLaSalle Senior OG Cornell Yes
Evan Williams DeLaSalle *IWCC Freshman RB Northern Iowa Yes
Maxx Williams Waconia Senior TE Minnesota Yes
Carey Woods Bemidji Senior WR North Dakota State Yes

Glencoe-Silver Lake at Waconia

Watch the entire game, courtesy of Webcast America.

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