St. Cloud Tech beats Sartell in battle for first football win of season
SAINT CLOUD – Before Friday, some seniors on the St. Cloud Tech Tiger football had never sung the school song at home after a varsity win.
The Tigers snapped an eight-game losing streak, beating Sartell-St. Stephen 33-7, their first time winning at home since senior night four years ago.
With the Sabres (0-7) failing to score until late in the fourth quarter and a cold rain falling the entirety of the game, the Tigers (1-6) warmed the hearts of the faithful Tech fans in attendance. The student section returned the favor with a shouted rendition of the school song after not having won a game since last Sept. 30, a 35-0 win at St. Cloud Apollo.
“There were plenty of chances to throw in the towel and kids kept showing up and working hard and practicing,” Tech coach Jon Benson said. “To get a chance to sing our alma mater here on the field with a win against a cross-town rivalry is a huge, huge bump of energy for this group.”
Tech controlled the game from the beginning, relying heavily on the rushing prowess of junior running backs Jackson Sheetz and Batuo Teboh whose sure hands meant quarterback Noah Theis didn’t have to be too concerned with throwing the ball in the rain. Teboh scored Tech's first touchdown of the night in the first quarter and Theis did connect with Harnes for a 14-yard touchdown pass to seal the win in the third.
“They came out pretty fired up and we weren’t,” Sabres coach Scott Hentges said. “We had talked about wanting to hold onto the ball hang onto the ball, control the line of scrimmage, tackle well and we did none of those things.”
Unlike Tech, Sartell struggled to move the ball - or even hold onto it. They lost two fumbles and an interception to the Tech defense, including one to Max Kiffmeyer, who scooped the slippery ball for a touchdown. Additionally, passes slipped right though receivers’ hands on several occasions. Luckily for the Sabres, Tech’s secondary didn’t fare better in the rain and none of the Sartell incompletions became interceptions. Junior Levi Frieler scored Sartell's only points on a 15-yard pass from Kaiden Garlock.
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Because of the Minnesota Educator Academy conference next week, both Sartell and Tech play Wednesday for their regular-season finale. Tech plays on the road at New Prague (5-2) and Sartell hosts Park Center (2-5). This week the Trojans just got beat out by Waconia (2-5) in two overtimes. Both teams have played Bloomington Jefferson, with Tech losing 24-13 and New Prague emerging victorious 17-0.
Benson said he hopes the Tigers enter the section playoffs with two straight wins and a 2-0 mentality.
“We are excited about what we can do -- we were excited about this group two months ago,” he said. “Hats off to our coaching staff for sticking with it and believing in our kids and continuing to work and get better and keep believing we can send these guys out on a high note.”
The Pirates this week lost 31-0 versus Rogers (7-0). The Royals are New Prague and Sartell’s only common opponents, with the Sabres losing 45-0 in the season opener.
“I want our guys to compete for 48 minutes,” Hentges said. “We haven’t put a full game together yet. I still think we can do it, I like my guys. I think they’re capable, but we got to do it.”
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud Tech football beat Sartell football on senior night
