3A semis: Sturdy defense makes the difference

Told he and the defense allowed just 1 yard in the first half, New London-Spicer defensive end Justin Zylstra flashed a smile to fit his 6-6 frame.

"I did not know that," he said. "But it's nice to hear."

The Wildcats defense overwhelmed Kasson-Mantorville for the first three quarters of Saturday's Class 3A semifinal, leading to a 34-14 victory in a battle of unbeatens.

New London-Spicer (13-0) advances to face three-time defending Class 3A champion Glencoe-Silver Lake (13-0) in the title game scheduled to kick off at 3:15 p.m. Saturday.

Glencoe-Silver Lake earned a reputation for staunch defense with eight shutouts this season. But the Wildcats' performance Saturday is worth noting.

They made 10 tackles for 60 yards in losses, forced seven punts and allowed K-M to convert just once on third down.

Tom Duscher sacked K-M quarterback Bryan Ripley for a 17-yard loss on the KoMets' second possession to force a punt. Zylstra slipped through the line and blocked the attempt, which teammate Erik Tengwall returned for a 4-yard touchdown.

"It really helps to have a great defense, because it puts wood in the fire for the offense," quarterback Jayme Moten said.

The offense did not heat up until Moten's 37-yard touchdown pass to Jake Essler in the second quarter. The Wildcats then added another big play, a Moten 33-yard touchdown reception.

"They were thinking we were just a run-oriented team, so we came with a couple play-actions and they bit on our fakes real hard," Moten said.

Moten then ran for a 1-yard touchdown and hit Luke Peterson with a 4-yard touchdown pass as New London-Spicer built a 34-0 lead.

K-M's Ripley ran for two short touchdowns in the second half.