By: Shayla Terry

In a hard fought game until the end, the Luverne Tigers edged pass the Brantley Bulldogs last Friday night with a score of 40-33. The Tigers captured a win, and bragging rights for a year.

The Bulldogs started the night off with the first touchdown of the night. Yet, their field goal attempt was incomplete. Luverne responded with a 3-yard touchdown from sophomore quarterback Dionte (Tay) Brantley, followed by an unsuccessful field goal of their own.

The Tigers would see two more touchdowns before the end of the second half. Both touchdowns were connections with Brantley to junior wide receiver TJ Peagler. The first was 21-yard pass, and the second a 13-yard pass.

Luverne went into the half-time trailing Brantley 27-19.

“It was a really good game,” Luverne High School Head Coach Scott Rials said.

“We made a few mistakes early on in the first half. To our guys’ credit, we continued to fight and made adjustments.”

Lagging into the second half, the Tigers started off with a 20-yard pass from Brantley, completed to senior wide receiver Antavious Brown. Brantley tied the game with a successful two-point conversion.

In the fourth quarter, junior running back Marcus McGhee put the Tigers in the lead with an 82-yard run for a touchdown. Brantley answered with a touchdown of their own. Luverne senior running back Tyrus Jones blocked the extra point attempt for the Bulldogs behind 34-33.

With 3:30 left in the fourth quarter, McGhee rushed six yards for the winning Tiger touchdown.

“Brantley, I give those guys credit, they did a good job,” Rials said. “They have a sound and successful program, so it was a great win for us.”

Luverne senior defensive back Blake Meadows, who intercepted the ball during Friday night’s game, says the win is one for the whole Luverne community.

“This was a huge win not only for the team but for the Luverne community. It showed me how much support we have and it proved to our team that sticking together and persevering in the face of adversity, that we can still accomplish our goals,” Meadows said.

“In every game you look back and point out things that you could have done better. I made quite a few mistakes on the field but you just have to keep playing. Overall though, I’m pleased with my performance, the teams’ performance and most importantly the fans’ performance. During the fourth quarter for a second we all thought that we were playing at Glenn Daniel. I’m just really proud of our guys and the win.”

This week is Luverne High School’s homecoming, and they will go head to head with Calhoun.

“I have no doubt that our team will play hard, and represent Luverne at the highest level,” Rials said.