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A Sibley East comeback fell a few points shy Friday. The Wolverines were upended by Le Sueur-Henderson 27-18 in Minnesota River Conference (MRC) football action at Arlington.

LSH quickly quieted a large Sibley East homecoming crowd by scoring the first three touchdowns of the game. The Wolverines bounced back with three straight scores over the second and third quarters but they could not complete the comeback.

“Being down 20-0, we could’ve hung our heads,” Sibley East head coach Chuck Hartman said. “I was proud of the way our kids battled back and we were just a few plays away from completing the comeback.”

LSH’s running game dominated play in the early going. Adam Pfarr, a senior, capped the Giants’ first scoring drive with an 8-yard touchdown run. LSH added the extra point to take a 7-0 advantage.

Powered by Jared Van Dorpe, the Giants ran their lead to 20-0. The senior running back scored on a pair of three yard runs in the second quarter.

Sibley East’s offense came to live just before halftime. Junior running back Justin Rettmann capped a long drive with a ten-yard run. SE’s extra-point kick failed but the TD would give the Wolverines a bit of momentum.

“Rettmann’s touchdown run right before the half was huge,” Hartman said. “It gave us some confidence and some momentum heading into the second half.”

The Rettmann run did appear to spark the Wolverines as they scored the first two touchdowns of the second half.

Sibley East made it a 20-12 contest when quarterback Ian Berg hit wide receiver Justin Luskey in the corner of the endzone for a 19-yard touchdown play. A two-point conversion attempt by the Wolverines failed.

Berg and Luskey would hook up again early in the fourth quarter. This time, a scrambling Berg threw a strike to Luskey for a 17-yard touchdown. The Wolverines nearly knotted the game with a two-point conversion but an LSH defender slapped the ball out of the hands of a Sibley East receiver.

Clinging to a 20-18 lead, LSH got a needed boost on the ensuing kickoff. A 40-yard kick return enabled the Giants to start in Sibley East territory and they took advantage. It took only a few plays before LSH’s Pfarr scampered into paydirt from 12 yards out, sealing the victory for the Giants.

Sibley East finished the night with 281 yards in total offense. LSH meanwhile rushed for 276 yards and passed for 31. Van Dorpe led the Giants with 176 yards on 29 carries.

Rettmann and Nate Pilacinski powered Sibley East’s running game with 57 and 54 yards respectively.

Berg rushed for 34 yards. He also completed 7 of 17 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Luskey again led all Wolverine receivers. The junior had three catches for 49 yards and a pair of scores. Sean Dietz caught two passes for Sibley East.

“Our passing game was much more efficient,” coach Hartman said. “The offensive line blocked better and Ian made some smart choices with the ball. The result was better passes to open receivers. Our offensive line also opened some big holes on our counter plays.”

Luskey and Lincoln Bjorklund led all Sibley East defenders on the night with 13 and ten tackles respectively. Brandon Bates chased down LSH ball carriers nine times. Other top tacklers for the Wolverines included Rettmann, Dietz and Tom Fenske.

Sibley East, 1-4 overall and 0-4 in the MRC, will play at Mayer Lutheran on Friday. According to coach Hartman, Mayer Lutheran is a very quick and athletic team. “They have some really nice players in their backfield that we will have to try to contain,” Hartman said.