Annandale’s last regular season football game was at home on Wednesday, Oct. 20. The weather once again cooperated, except for a bit of a breeze that had calmed somewhat before game time. It was a beautiful night for football, but the result was not what the team and fans had hoped for as Litchfield defeated the Cards 16-3. Annandale won the coin toss, but elected to kick to Litchfield to start the game. Zach Schlicht kicked to Jordan Godejahn, who took it at the 10 and returned it to the Dragon 35. Godejahn ran the ball three times but could not get a first down and Litchfield set up to punt. On the play, however, the Cardinals were called for too many men on the field, which gave the Dragons first and 10 at their own 46. Litchfield drove for a first down at the Annandale 41 with a run, pass, run combination. Tyler Mies drilled Godejahn for a 1-yard loss and the Dragons called time out. Cole Gauldin tipped the pass on second and 11, but Godejahn caught it anyway for a completion to the 25. Godejahn ran three times to set up fourth and inches. Quarterback Zach Kinny snuck up the middle for a first down at the 14 of the Cardinals. After three runs it was fourth and 3 at the 8. Kinny dropped to pass, felt the pressure and tried to scramble, but Peter Kittok had him measured and dropped him to the turf to give Annandale the ball at their own 7. After an ineligible receiver penalty, a short Nick Anderson run and an incomplete pass, it was third and 7 at the Cardinal 9. Quarterback Danny Dougherty rolled out to the right and threw a pass that was intercepted by Mitch McGraw, and Litchfield had the ball at the Annandale 23. The Dragons ran the ball four times to give them fourth and goal at the 6. Litchfield brought in Mitch Wollin, who kicked it through the uprights for a field goal. With 39 seconds left in the first quarter, Litchfield had struck first and led 3-0. Cole Gauldin got the kick at the 30 and returned it to the Annandale 45. The Cardinals sent Anderson up the middle for no gain and the first quarter ended. Dougherty opened the second quarter with a pass over the middle to Dylan Nelson, who made some nifty moves and worked his way to the Litchfield 29. Cooper Gauldin gained 5 up the middle and Anderson scooted around left end to the 16. The teams traded holding and encroachment penalties. Anderson then went up the gut for 3 for a first and goal at the 6. Cooper Gauldin got stuffed up the middle for no gain and three incomplete passes gave Litchfield the ball on downs at the Cardinal 6-yard line. The Dragons could not move the ball and punted on fourth down from the 9. Nelson took the kick and was tackled at the Litchfield 36. Annandale went three and out and Nelson came in to punt. The Dragon return man waved for a fair catch but was interfered with. That brought out a penalty flag and Litchfield escaped bad field position and had first and 10 at their own 28. The Dragons could not muster up any offense and punted. Nelson called for a fair catch at the Cardinal 43. On third and 19 after Dougherty had taken a sack for a 9-yard loss, he dropped back and launched a long pass down the left sideline. Fantastic catch Brett Fobbe made a fantastic catch, but the official who called it good was overruled and it was called out of bounds. Litchfield, however, was called for interference, which gave the Cards first and 10 at their 40. Dougherty was then sacked two plays in a row. He scrambled for 6 on third and 30, but Nelson came in to punt on fourth and 24. Godejahn called a fair catch at the Litchfield 42. McGraw went up the middle for 13 yards, Kinny hit Jon Terning on a pass to the right side for a first down at the Cards 18. On the next play Kinny again threw to Terning, who made a diving catch in the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point was good and Litchfield had a 10-0 lead with 1:13 to go in the first half. Annandale’s Cooper Gauldin took the kick and was tackled at the Cardinal 6. The Cards ran Anderson off right tackle twice and the first half ended. To open the second half, Gauldin returned the kick 11 yards to the Cardinal 29. The Cards lost 4 yards on a Gauldin reverse attempt, and a swing pass to Anderson fell incomplete. On third and 14 Dougherty launched a long pass to Brett Fobbe, who fought his way through some defenders and got some good blocks, going all the way down to the Litchfield 17- yard line. Unfortunately, on the next play Anderson lost the handle on the ball and Litchfield recovered the fumble. The Dragons stayed between the tackles with 11 straight runs, seven of those by Godejahn. That set up a third and 9 at the Annandale 38, where Peter Kittok put Godejahn down for a 3-yard loss. Kinny lost the handle on the snap, but fell on it and Annandale called a time out to set up their defense on Litchfield’s fourth and 10 play. Kinny went back to pass, but Teddy Erickson was all over him, helped by Connor Froehlich and others, to record a big sack. The Cardinals took over at their own 44. Dougherty came out throwing as he hit Erik Spiegeler for 8 yards. Dougherty got the Dragons to jump for an encroachment penalty. On second and 10 from the Litchfield 42, the quarterback was pressured and scrambled around the left end to get to the Dragon 35. Litchfield was called for a facemask penalty to tack on 5 more yards. Dougherty hit Nelson on an out route for a 9-yard gain. He then threw a swing pass to Cooper Gauldin, who took it to the 1-yard line. Annandale was called for an ineligible man downfield, which brought the ball back to the Litchfield 27 where it was third and 7. Dougherty again got the Dragons to jump for an encroachment penalty to get 5 yards back. Dougherty then dropped back and threw a pass to Cooper Gauldin that was knocked away, but Litchfield was called for interference to set up first and 10 at the Litchfield 12-yard line. Dougherty rolled out to the left and kept going to the 6. After an incomplete pass, Schlicht came in and kicked a field goal and the Cardinals were on the board, trailing 10-3 with 2:25 to go in the third quarter. Litchfield had a bit of trouble fielding Schlicht’s kickoff but fell on it at their own 25. Again they stuck with the run with a combination of up the gut and off tackle plays. Kinny got the Cardinals to commit an encroachment penalty on a second and 5. The Dragons racked up four first downs and had the ball second and 7 at the Annandale 16 when the third quarter ended. John Weyer started the fourth quarter by stuffing Godejahn for no gain, and then Schlicht put him down after a 3-yard gain to set up fourth and 4. After a Litchfield timeout, Kinny threw a pass toward Terning. Cooper Gauldin batted the ball away to give it back to the Cardinals. Spiegeler gained 4 on a run up the middle, but Dougherty felt the pressure on second down when he was hit as he threw and the pass fell incomplete. Dougherty was sacked on the next play. Nelson came in to punt and Godejahn returned it to the Cardinal 12. That return was negated because of offsetting penalties and Nelson was forced to kick again. He got a better kick off this time and Godejahn called for a fair catch at the Cards’ 45. Weyer again stuffed Godejahn for no gain, but Annandale was called for pass interference on second down. On first and 10 the Dragons went back to the ground game. Godejahn ran for 15, 4 and 3 yards, McGraw took it up the middle for 2, setting up fourth and 1 at the Cardinal 5. Dragons increase lead Who else but Godejahn took it over right tackle and in the end zone for a 5-yard score. Wollin missed the extra point and Litchfield led 16-3 with 6:10 to go in the game. The Cards started at their own 43 after a line drive kickoff from Litchfield. John Kalthoff came in and took a handoff on what may have been a halfback pass play that did not materialize. He scrambled out of bounds and took a late hit that brought out a penalty flag. Anderson gained 6 up the middle, Cooper Gauldin caught a swing pass for a gain of 9 and a first down. Anderson broke some tackles on a catch over the middle to get down to the 17 and then ran it around the end to the 13. Dougherty was unable to connect on three passes and Litchfield took over on downs at their 13. The Dragons drove for one first down but punted to Annandale on fourth and 8 at their 28- yard line. Nelson called for a fair catch at the Cardinal 46. Annandale threw four incomplete passes, turning the ball over on downs to Litchfield with 1:31 to go in the game. Godejahn ran three times up the middle and time expired. "I thought our defense played pretty well," Annandale coach Matt Walter said. "We just made too many mistakes on offense. "Penalties, turnovers, dropped passes all hurt us. Injuries also hurt us with James Fort, James Musech and Pat Schwanke unable to play. "We also lost Cole Gauldin in the first half to an ankle injury. We were just a bit out of sync. The kids were pretty beat up from the Delano game. You can come up with excuses, but the bottom line: We just did not play well." – The Cardinals were scheduled to open the playoffs at Zimmerman as the No. 6 seed at 7 p.m. Tuesday Oct. 26. "We have had a couple of good practices and seem to be re-focused," Walter said. "Zimmerman is huge up front. They have a couple of good running backs, both with good speed. They don’t throw much, they are more of an option team," he said. "Defensively they really come after you. They gamble, which gives us the opportunity for some big plays if we hit it right. Schwanke will be back, it looks pretty good for Fort, and Cole Gauldin is about 50-50 right now. We scrimmaged Zimmerman before the season, so we are familiar with their scheme. It should be a good football game." Should Annandale win on Tuesday, they will play Saturday, Oct. 30 – the winner of the New London-Spicer vs. St. Cloud Cathedral game. Visit www.annandaleadvocate.com for updates. Stats Annandale Passing – Danny Dougherty 7 of 28, 143 yards Receiving – Brett Fobbe 1 reception, 59 yards; Dylan Nelson 2 receptions, 35 yards Rushing – Nick Anderson 10 attempts, 33 yards Defense – Peter Kittok 9 tackles; John Weyer 9 tackles; Matt Partridge 8 tackles; Connor Froehlich 7 tackles Litchfield Passing – Zach Kinny 5 of 11, 78 yards, 1 TD Receiving – Jon Terning 2 receptions, 45 yards, 1 TD; Jordan Godejahn 1 reception, 17 yards Rushing – Godejahn 38 attempts, 145 yards, 1 TD; Mitch McGraw 10 attempts, 37 yards Defense – Tyler Larson 12 tackles, 1 sack; Brandon DeWolf 8 tackles
