By Patrick Newell

Sun Sports Editor

SHERBURNE – Worn and weary, pushed around by strong rival, outgained significantly and playing on its heels for most of four quarters and overtime, Sherburne-Earlville second-year coach, Mickey James, had one question to ask: “What does the scoreboard say?”

The scoreboard read: Home-21, Guest-20.

The Marauders, who made up for a bending and sometimes breaking defense by making several big individual plays, summoned one final huge defensive play when its collective gas tanks were nearly on empty to prevail over A-P-W’s Rebels Friday night.

In the second overtime, the visiting Rebels elected to try for a two-point conversion and the win, and that try not only failed, but failed miserably. Matt Kolodzie, who rushed for 138 yards and touchdown to that point, swept around the left end only to find S-E defenders Billy Northey and Tyler Blinebry springing forward for a tackle at the five-yard line to end the game.

In a example of last effort spent and exhaustion settling in, Northey was helped off the field by a pair of teammates holding tightly onto each teammate’s shoulders. “We found a way to win,” James said after the win, set before a near-capacity homecoming weekend crowd. “The biggest difference between this year and last year is that people stepped up and made big plays when we needed them.”