A shifty Jacob Reubish raced through the Tartan defense for his third touchdown of the game late in the third quarter.
A six play, 94 yard drive that epitomized the Zephyrs 39-6 win over the Titans. Mahtomedi’s defense suffocated the Titans and after claiming a first quarter lead they cruised to the victory Friday night.
Mahtomedi head coach Dave Muetzel said his offensive line leaned on Tartan.
“Guys up front is where it started,” Muetzel said. “They just continued to kind of wear them out a little bit and then our backs behind them were running hard.”
It was the Zephyrs first home game since Mahtomedi High School officials canceled its original homecoming game against Bloomington Kennedy on Sep. 19th. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office advised them to because of ongoing law enforcement activity in the area.
Tartan grabbed the lead early with a field goal on the games opening drive.
After two fumbles in the first quarter, one lost, the Zephyrs got on track. Senior quarterback Mark Graff rolled to his right and fired outside the numbers to junior wide receiver Gavin Bifulk for a 30 yard gain into Tartan territory.
Mahtomedi continued their march down the field and punched it in on a nine yard rushing touchdown by senior tailback Jacob Reubish. The Titans broke through and blocked senior kicker Harlow Berger’s extra point keeping it 6-3 Zephyrs.
Bifulk, also the Zephyrs kickoff specialist, took offense to the blocked kick and booted the ball off Tartan up-man John Wenker on the ensuing kickoff. Mahtomedi senior lineman Thomas Bengston pounced on giving the Zephyrs favorable field position at the Tartan 48 yard line.
Mahtomedi rode the momentum and without completing a pass crossed the goal line again. A Graff one yard quarterback sneak made it 12-3 as Mahtomedi failed to convert two-point conversion.
Tartan responded with a sustained drive of their own spearheaded by senior tailback Martin Kelly Brown. A drive that ended with kicker Damien Smith drilling 44-yard field goal to pull within six.
The Zephyrs mounted a six play, 65 yard drive in just 1:22 and Reubish scored for the second time on the night. Another failed two point try kept it 18-6 Mahtomedi with 42 seconds left in the half.
Tartan’s junior quarterback Isaac Ou strung together three straight completions to reach field goal range for Smith with 3 seconds to play. But, Zephyrs senior defensive back, Alex Haase, blocked Smith’s 49-yard attempt, aided by a no-call as he jumped offside before the snap.
Reubish was the engine for the Zephyrs producing 123 yards on 16 carries in the first half. He said the offense found its footing after its opening drive.
“I feel that we stayed composed,” Reubish said. “We knew that we had a plan going into it and that we just stuck with our plan and it worked out.”
That plan was on display during Mahtomedi’s methodical 10-play drive to start the second half that junior running back Gavin Kruse finished off with Mahtomedi’s fourth rushing touchdown. Harlow Berger knocked the extra point through making it 25-6 Zephyrs.
Tartan drove down inside Mahtomedi’s 10 but stalled out, and the Zephyrs punished the Titans for their inability to score. The Zephyrs going 94 yards on six plays, capped off by Reubish’s third rushing touchdown of the night.
Mahtomedi tacked on another touchdown late in a 39-6 win over Tartan, improving to a record of 6-0.
The Zephyrs will put their unbeaten record to the test next Friday against Cretin-Derham Hall at O’Shaughnessy Stadium on the campus of the University of St. Thomas.
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