MEMORIES & MOMENTS I Week 8

In Week 8 of the 2012 season, Owatonna scored exactly seven points in each quarter and took down Rochester Mayo at home, 28-7. The victory capped a perfect regular season at 8-0 and clinched the Huskies’ 11th Big Nine Conference championship in program history and their first since 2008. Owatonna trailed 7-0 in the middle of the first quarter, but tied the game on a 58-yard Luke Wanous run before taking the lead for good just before halftime on an Aaron Peterson 32-yard scamper.

MEMORIES & MOMENTS I Hosting Kasson-Mantorville

This is the first ever meeting between the teams.

MEMORIES & MOMENTS I 5 Years ago, after 7 games

Entering Week 8 of the 2016 season, Owatonna was 5-2 overall and in sole-possession of first place in the Red Division at 5-0. The Huskies were preparing to cap the regular season with the second of back-to-back road games at Rochester Century in hopes of securing the outright sub-district title.

MEMORIES & MOMENTS I 10 Years ago, after 7 games

Entering Week 8 of the 2011 season, Owatonna was tied atop the Big Nine Conference standings at 6-0 and steaming toward the end of the regular season. The Huskies capped an utterly dominant three-game stretch with a 45-0 rout of Austin the previous week to produce their third consecutive shutout. The remarkable 12-quarter streak started with a 54-0 win over Faribault in Week 5 and was followed by a 42-0 victory over Winona. Owatonna, which stood at 7-0 overall, was preparing to cap the regular season at Rochester Mayo in hopes of capturing its first conference title since 2008. Unfortunately, the Spartans had other ideas and stunned the red-hot Huskies, 22-21, in a game that wasn’t decided until late in the fourth quarter. Owatonna’s unexpected setback, coupled with Mankato West’s victory over Mankato East, gave the Scarlets their third consecutive conference title and fourth in team history.

MEMORIES & MOMENTS I Recent history tells us

In the last 15 years, Owatonna has not played Kasson-Mantorville, but has annually squared off against Class 4A programs. In the last 13 such outings, the Huskies are 12-1 against those teams and with the average score being 42-5. By MSHSL enrollment standards, the smallest opponent Owatonna has faced in the last 15 years is Winona, which has 819 students according to the most recent data. Kasson-Mantorville’s enrollment is 652.

*Note: The MSHSL calculates its numbers for competitive purposes by implementing a formula that takes into account the percentage of students in grades 9-12 on free-and-reduced lunch and subtracting a portion of that from the “actual” enrollment.

Article cover photo from The Albert Lea Tribune