BY Jeff Budlong, sports editor

ALDEN &045; Alden-Conger came into the game worried about the big things, but it was the little ones that ended up costing the Knights.

A-C held up well physically against

its

bigger foe in Westbrook-Walnut Grove in their Section 2 9-man football semifinal, but six turnovers proved to be a bigger obstacle to overcome than the opponent in a 21-6 loss.

&8220;It just wasn&8217;t our day, we had so many turnovers and every time we got a break it seemed like we just gave them the ball back,&8221; A-C head coach Chad Mattson said.

It was the second consecutive year the Knights&8217; season came to an end in the section semifinals at the hands of the Chargers in Alden.

Take away the turnovers and the Knights outplayed the Chargers in many areas even with two big contributors in Matt Bremseth and Mitchell Kleinschrodt sitting on the bench after suffering late-season injuries.

The turnovers started early for A-C when quarterback Alex Bute was picked off on the third play from scrimmage. WWG had a chance to score twice on its first drive but penalties negated both touchdown scores.

The Chargers would get on the board later in the quarter when Brian Theisen hooked up with Prestin Parker for a 25-yard scoring strike and a 6-0 lead.

A-C&8217;s next two possessions ended in an interception

and a turnover on downs while the Chargers increased their lead to 14-0 on an 8-yard TD run from Austin Quade.

A third first half interception had the Knights nearly down and out but E.J. Knight, who had a huge game with two interceptions and a fumble recovery, came through with a big pickoff of his own to set up A-C on its own 25 with 1:21 left in the half. That was more than enough time for senior Ryan Wach to inject life back into his team and bring the crowd back into the game when he ripped off a 71-yard touchdown run to send the Knights into the locker room trailing 14-6.

&8220;We thought we had them figured out there for a while then they changed up on us, but I thought we were the ones that took it to them physically,&8221; Mattson said.

The second half started well for the Knights with the Chargers fumbling away the opening possession. However, A-C was unable to capitalize on the opportunity which became the story of the team&8217;s second half.

Two fumbles, a pick and three failed fourth down conversion attempts accounted for the Knights&8217; six drives after halftime.

The Knights would drive inside the Charger 25 yard line twice in the second half

but came away empty on both occasions.

WWG&8217;s only scoring drive of the second half was set up by an A-C fumble giving the Chargers a short field to work with. Quade wouldn&8217;t waste much time darting 40 yards to the end zone for the 21-6 lead.

&8220;We played them strong and I give the kids a lot of credit,&8221; Mattson said. &8220;A lot of our mistakes came when they were trying to do that little bit extra.&8221;

Despite the loss Wach finished a stellar career with 187 yards on the ground and Bute played his last game under center going 9 of 28 for 106 yards.

A-C concluded its season with a 7-3 record and a Southern Confederacy West Division title.

&8220;That was real tough and none of them wanted to be done,&8221; Mattson said.

&8220;It is a hard way to go out especially against the same team in the same spot. It is harder this year than last year but at least we put up a better fight. We beat ourselves but I still think we were the better team despite what the score said.&8221;