Photo by Daniel Cohen
Written By: Ryan Baker, Journalist
Last night, the unstoppable force of the Atlanta Hustle’s offense was stopped in its tracks by the immovable object of the Minnesota Wind Chill’s defense.
The Wind Chill will be defending their title tonight after knocking of the Hustle 23-21 in an absolute nail-biter. It almost felt like a home game for Minnesota, as their fans filled an entire section of the stands at Breese Stevens Field.
Photo by Daniel Cohen
The game was a back-and-forth matchup. You could feel the tension and pressure the entire game as big play after big play was being made. Minnesota came right out swinging after Paul Krenik’s defensive pressure forced a turnover, resulting in a Justin Burnett to Noah Hanson break on the first point of the game.
The Wind Chill were making the Hustle’s top offense work and grind for every single throw. Minnesota made mistakes and Atlanta experienced miscommunications through the first quarter as both teams settled into the big stage.
As the first quarter was coming to a close, Krenik snatched an attempted swing throw by Atlanta right outside the end zone, allowing Krenik to toss in a goal to tie up the game at six with just seconds left on the clock.
The Hustle were making their money on the 30-50 yard shots, and looked like they were going to have that success all night. Right away in the second quarter, Atlanta was able to grab the lead, making it an uphill battle for Minnesota.
Photo by Daniel Cohen
To add on to the tension and pressure, at the end of the first half, Atlanta threw a huck in hopes to steal a score as time expired, which ended up hitting the ground. However, a scary collision between James Pollard and Dylan DeClerck, where DeClerck’s legs were taken out from underneath him mid-air, put him out for the rest of the game and ultimately ended his weekend with a suspected concussion.
Coming into the second half, the atmosphere around Minnesota was questionable, and it seeped into their play as they continued to get beaten to the deep space on those shots from Atlanta. A few execution errors by the Wind Chill put them down 14-10 halfway through the third.
Despite losing DeClerck and making mistakes, Minnesota refused to lie down. Head coach Ben Feldman decided to draw up a play out of a defensive set where Krenik was a snake in the grass. He stayed on the sideline, deeper than everyone else, hoping Atlanta would attempt a huck without seeing him. The play worked to perfection as Atlanta released the huck attempt, and it looked like a straight pass to Krenik. That led to a break score, cutting the deficit to two as the third quarter ended.
Photo by Daniel Cohen
“It’s something that this team has had in the bag for a few years now. We didn’t run it at all last year, and ran it once or twice the year before that. It’s just something to keep the other team on their toes. Feldman knew that we needed a big momentum shift, called that set, and we executed it pretty well,” said Krenik.
With 12 minutes remaining and their season hanging in the balance, the Wind Chill began to show why they belong at Championship Weekend. A Will Brandt dime to Gordon Larson kicked off the final quarter to push the game within one.
“I knew they were going to come in the double team zone set, and I was throwing that right away,” said Brandt.
Photo by Daniel Cohen
Then, Atlanta started to feel the pressure and started to crumble. A drop right outside their endzone gave Minnesota another break to tie the game at 17. Yet another Krenik block followed that up, leading to a Brandt to Kristian Johnson hammer to take their first lead of the game since the first point.
The run continued. A Kyle Suelflow layout block allowed Sam Berglund to punch in a score to Blake Krapfl. Within the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, Minnesota broke Atlanta three times in a row and held on that first point. The crowd was behind the Wind Chill. The energy was unmatched and overwhelmed the Hustle.
As these big plays kept coming, there was a repeated mantra on the sideline of Minnesota. “That moment is over. It’s about the next moment,” was being repeated.
“It’s about not getting too high or too low. Trying to stay level-headed and balanced. There is no question we’ve had our inconsistencies, but our ceiling is so high, and our guys play for the big moments,” said Feldman.
Photo by Daniel Cohen
That next moment kept coming when Justin Burnett had an insane layout block, followed by a perfect timeout call by Feldman. Coming off the break, Brandt dimed up Thomas Shope to give Minnesota their fourth break of the fourth quarter.
“We’ve all been here before. I’ve been there. The team has been there. I know how to prepare. The pressure is there, but at the end of the day, it’s just throws and catches,” said Shope.
Minnesota kept the momentum rolling with a beautiful hammer from Shope to Matthew Rehder, putting them up 22-19. With just over two minutes left, Kristian Johnson released a huck where Bryan Vohnoutka rose up over multiple defenders to snatch the goal, closing the door on Atlanta’s hopes.
Photo by Daniel Cohen
“I don’t often throw hammers, but Rehder was wide open and I knew I had it in me. Just throw the open throw,” said Shope.
It was a true war of attrition. Brandt led the team in assists with five, and that was followed by a team performance where five other guys had two assists. Vohnoutka led the team in goals with three, and again, a full team performance where six other guys had two goals.
“It’s a little bit of a blur. I’m proud of the team. For the struggle the offense had, they executed late in the game like they needed to. Everyone stepped up in the moment, and we’re dangerous when we go on runs,” said Feldman.
Photo by Daniel Cohen
“It was a huge second half. Our D-line was making plays, and our O-line finally figured it out. I’m just really happy to beat these guys again. They really wanted it, and we showed our resilience,” said Brandt.
On the defensive side, Krenik had a masterful performance with five blocks. After the game, being told he had five, he was beyond shocked.
“Wow. I did not know that,” said Krenik. “That’s a lot. Is that right?”
Now, the Wind Chill will hope to repeat against a Boston Glory team who will be their biggest test of the year, considering the talent on the other side.
Photo by Daniel Cohen
“They’re big and athletic. I’m excited to play a new team with that talent and athleticism. It’s going to be a battle, and we’re going to be ready for it. We’ve been there,” said Brandt.
“The whole team is pumped up, but we got a little bit to enjoy this, then we are back locked in. Getting ready for tomorrow, getting our rest, getting our fuel, and prepping for a big day,” said Shope.
“We got a lot of dudes that could’ve easily been on the roster tonight. They’re going to be fresh and ready to go. If there are new guys in the group, they’re going to be ready to run,” said Feldman.
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