Longhorns fall to Gothenburg 25-7 Friday

    Longhorns Football Coach Dan Lenners said he’d like to have four to five plays back and Friday’s game with Gothenburg would have been nearly even.
    As it was, the Longhorns couldn’t overcome some big plays and turnovers in a 25-7 loss to the Gothenburg Swedes there Friday.
    Lenners said his team played well in both the first and third quarters.
    They held Gothenburg in check for the first quarter but gave up a 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter.
    Lenners said his defense missed numerous assignments on the play, leading to a 0-6 deficit.
    Game film showed it looked like Gothenburg got away with an illegal block late in the run. That would have nullified the touchdown run, Lenners noted.
    On a previous first-quarter possession, Lenners questioned officials when punter Parker Dillan was knocked to the ground. Officials told Lenners they believed Dillan faked the fall.
    After Gothenburg intercepted a Longhorn pass near midfield, they needed just six plays, scoring on a 30-yard reverse, to go up 12-0.
    Offensively, Lenners said quarterback Caleb Weiss was getting very little pass protection, pressuring his throws most of the night.
    On the reverse, Lenners said missed defensive assignments nipped the Longhorns again.
    The Longhorns followed by putting together a drive that started at their own 15. They moved out towards midfield before the drive stalled, forcing a punt downed inside the Gothenburg 20.
    On the next play, the Longhorns lost their field position advantage when the Swedes’ quarterback went 68 yards on a keeper to the Longhorn 16.         It looked like the Longhorns caught a break when a pair of penalties moved the Swedes back to the 31.     
    However on a 3rd-and-23, the Swedes completed a 26-yard halfback pass to the Longhorn 3. Two plays later, they went up 18-0.
    The Longhorn defense forced Gothenburg to punt away on their first two possessions of the second half.
    As the fourth quarter opened, the Longhorns had driven inside the Swede 20. Faced with a fourth down, Lenners sent the field goal team in but actually was planning a fake.
    The move backfired when holder Scott Wheeler’s pass was picked off by the Swedes and returned to the Longhorn 10.
    On a fourth-and-goal the Swedes scored their final touchdown for a 25-0 lead.
    The Longhorns got a late score on a pass from Weiss to Evan Fisher coming out of the backfield.
    Hayden Bahler added the extra point to make the final score 25-7.
Kimball Friday
    The Longhorns look to get back on the winning track when they play host to 0-3 Kimball.
    Lenners said the Longhorns have to take care of business this week and not overlook Kimball.
    Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. MT.

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