Fourth down was not kind to the Mayville football team on Friday night.
The Cardinals turned the ball over on downs four times and lost 10-3 to St. Mary's Springs at Fruth Field. It was Mayville's first loss of the season.
The Ledger defense bent, but didn't break. On three occasions, Mayville had fourth-and-3 or less and all three times Springs (7-1 overall, 5-1 in Flyway) held.
Cardinals quarterback Ryan Clark was stopped twice and running back Sawyer Hardesty once. Clark is 6-foot-5 and Hardesty is listed at 235 pounds, which make them difficult to stop in short yardage situations.
"That was the key," Hyland said. "We had to stop them. We brought in extra linemen and just buried it and got a stop. That's what they had to do and that's what they did.
"We begged the kids to get low and make tackles and they finally did."
A momentum shift came early in the third quarter when Springs forced Mayville into a fourth-and-5. The Cardinals faked the punt and came up less than a yard short, giving the Ledgers the ball at the Mayville 39-yard line.
A few plays later, Springs converted a third-and-13 with a 24-yard pass from Ben Anderson to Noah Moul. The Ledgers would settle for a 22-yard Bentley Kutz field goal.
Moul's timely catch was one of several on the night that went for more than 10 yards. Hyland said the offense is trying to get Moul more involved in the passing game.
"We've got to target him 10 times a game," Hyland said. "He's a great football player, he gives it everything he has and we've just got to get him the ball and let him work."
The Ledgers took the lead on their first drive of the fourth quarter. Anderson got loose on a pair of runs, the second a 28-yard rush to the 1-yard line. Junior Will Stellmacher plunged in for the go-ahead touchdown.
Anderson also sealed the game with his legs, for he had back-to-back runs of 17 and 13 yards inside the final two minutes after the Cardinals were out of timeouts.
Mayville (7-1, 5-1) was able to move the ball on the Ledgers, for it advanced the ball into Ledger territory five times, but were only able to score once, a field goal from Elijah Mlsna as time expired in the first half.
In addition to the stops on fourth down, Springs got an important interception from Kale Krusick, who snagged a Clark pass as the Cardinals drove near the Springs 30-yard line.
Hyland said he was proud of his team's determination and attitude to bounce back after the tough loss to Lomira last week.
"They sucked it up," Hyland said. "They sucked it up and did what they had to do to win this game. Like I told them, I was so proud of them. I had this picture that the greatest achievement is when you lie in the mud after a victory."
PHOTO GALLERY: Mayville at Springs football - Oct. 11, 2024
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