By Mike Drooger –

When you hear the term “frozen tundra” you might think of Russia, Canada, Alaska, or Green Bay. But on Wednesday night, November 11, frozen tundra could be found right in Edgerton. The quartet of Brian Gilbertson, Eric Schultz, Dean Fransen, and Ross Kreun did its level best to get the field in playing shape but, as interim head coach Ron Zwart said after the game, “It’s November in Minnesota. Only so much can be done to the field.” Especially after Edgerton had just received about a half foot of snow the previous day.

As the final seconds ticked away and Edgerton was assured of victory, the frozen tundra they had played on didn’t seem so bad after all. The Dutchmen pulled off a hard fought 44-30 victory for their second win in a row. Edgerton finished the shortened regular season at 2-4. On Tuesday night, the 17th, they will travel to Lyle for playoff action.

Ross Kreun, the voice of Edgerton’s KDWC radio station, stated in his pregame show that the Dutchmen needed to eliminate the big plays by the opponent. That seemed like a tough task considering the Chargers of Westbrook-Walnut Grove like to spread their offense all over the field and run confusing gadget plays, but Edgerton did, for the most part, eliminate the big plays. As a matter of fact, when there were big plays it was Edgerton that had them.

After falling behind by eight points, the Dutchmen put together an 11-play drive that culminated in a Nolan Buckridge touchdown, his first of five on the night. WWG’s lone big play of the night was a 50-yard TD pass and Edgerton was down 8-14, but EHS countered with a big play to knot the score at 14-apiece. Quarterback Keegan Fey hit Chase Bootsma with a pass and the speedy freshman Bootsma scored from 35 yards out.

Tough Edgerton defense—led by Jacob Ockenga and Gabe Gilbertson—forced WWG to punt and Edgerton set up shop at the 27. Bootsma ran the ball clear down to the three and Buckridge took it the rest of the way for a 20-14 Edgerton advantage.

With 8:49 left in a slow moving first half, Edgerton trailed 20-22. Donald Bistline, who broke his hand in the game, fell on a Chargers’ fumble at the 34. Later, on fourth down, Fey would not be stopped on a rushing attempt until he had gained the first down. With 1:22 on the clock, Buckridge scored again, Bootsma added the two-point conversion, and the Dutchmen led 28-22, which was the halftime score.

The first 10:37 of the third quarter was a draw as neither team could put together a scoring drive. The Chargers changed that at the 1:23 mark and they also added the PAT to retake the lead at 30-28. The rest of the game belonged to Edgerton.