Patrick Reusse: Now this is small-town football at its best

Clever fans found a way to watch the game in comfort from a pickup truck bed, and Eden Valley-Watkins found a way to end Pierz's conference winning streak.

By Patrick Reusse, Star Tribune

Last update: September 7, 2007 - 10:55 PM

EDEN VALLEY, MINN. The Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles play home football games on the grass of right and center fields at the community ballpark. There is room for a few hundred fans in aluminum bleachers, and plenty of area to stand.

Neither of these options appealed to a group of EV-W juniors. The students spent the first few days of the new school year arriving at a method to beat the system:

They would back a couple of pickups to the fence and place couches and lounge chairs in the truck beds.

"It was my plan," said Josh Schumacher, claiming credit that was immediately refuted by his friends Tara Thielen, Cory Christian and Brian Thies.

There were more pals in the adjoining truck, and then another couch stretched across the back of a truck 10 yards away. More friends?

"No, they heard us talking about it in school this week and stole our idea," Thies said.

There was a necessity to arrive early to claim this prime real estate. The Eagles' opponents for the home opener were the Pierz Pioneers, their rivals for football supremacy in the Central Minnesota Conference since the mid-1990s.

Pierz has had strong football during Leo Pohlkamp's two decades on the job. The Pioneers claimed the Class 2A state title in 2004 with a 38-14 victory over Eden Valley-Watkins.

A year later, Pierz completed an unbeaten regular season with a 48-0 victory in Eden Valley. It appeared the Pioneers were set to go back-to-back with state titles, but they ran into EV-W again in the state semifinals and were upset 26-7.

A week later, EV-W defeated Caledonia to win its first state title. There's a sign proclaiming that achievement as you enter Eden Valley on Highway 55.

Pierz was the Central Minnesota champion again in 2006 by virtue of a 6-0 victory over EV-W.

These Class 2A powerhouses had plenty of returnees and large expectations entering 2007. The nonconference openers last week impressive: EV-W defeated Long Prairie 42-6 and Pierz defeated Rice Lake (Wis.) 28-7.

That was extra-impressive, considering Rice Lake's substantial advantage in enrollment. This carried over through Friday night's first quarter, as Pierz dominated in all areas other than the scoreboard.

The Pioneers started on their 32-yard line and drove in 12 plays to EV-W's 1. The main weapon was running back Matt Woitalla, who carried five times for 29 yards.

Woittala's last carry put Pierz on the 1 and at third down. Aaron Schmidtbauer was stuffed on a plunge, and then the Pioneers dropped a TD pass on fourth down.

The Eagles defense was up against it a few minutes later. Again, Pierz was stopped on down, this time at EV-W's 25.

It was a strong but wasted start for the Pierz. And then the Eagles were able to find some offensive rhythm. First, quarterback Kiel Tschumperlin loosened up the Pierz defense with back-to-back completions for 43 yards, and then EV-W started to ride senior running back Jerrod Nohner.

He's listed at 5-8 and 160 pounds, but he will take the football inside the tackles as well as around the corners. He scored on runs of 36 and 9 yards in the first half. Tschumperlin also threw a touchdown pass to Dustin Kramer and it was 18-0 at the break.

Pierz had the only touchdown of the second half, but the final was 18-7 for the Eagles. This ended a 20-game conference winning streak for the Pioneers.

Nohner finished with 28 carries for 227 yards. Up close, it appeared that 5-8 and 160 were generous sizes for Nohner.

"The height might be, but the weight is legit," he said.

Nohner, Tschumperlin and Kramer have been inseparable friends with an ardor for football since grade school. This was the sixth time this senior class had played Pierz and only the second victory.

"We beat 'em once in the Dome, but this was our first win again them in the conference," Nohner said. "Our defense was great ... hanging in there long enough for us to get the offense going."

If tradition holds, the Eagles probably will see Pierz again in the 2A playoffs. "That would be great," Nohner said. "Both teams would like that a lot. It's a good, clean rivalry."

Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. • preusse@startribune.com

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