The Chaska Hawks (3-3) were looking to carry the momentum from their exciting win over Chanhassen just five days earlier when they faced Waconia (5-1) in a Wednesday home matchup.

Waconia took the opening kickoff and drove 65 yards in six plays for a touchdown. The key play was a 41-yard completion.

Chaska got the ball back on its own 35-yard line with 9:35 left in the first quarter and moved 43 yards to the Waconia 21 yard line before kicking a 38-yard field goal to make the score 7-3.

The remainder of the first quarter saw both teams rely primarily on the running game for moderate gains while also connecting on some key passes. Waconia was somewhat more effective through the air and moved into the red zone before scoring on a five-yard run with 7:12 left in the first half. The extra point was no good, making the score 13-3 at halftime.

As verification of the depth and know-how of the Chaska coaching staff, their halftime review of the game motivated the team as it took the second-half kickoff and, starting with good field position, drove 66 yards in eight plays for a touchdown. Junior Andrew Olsen capped the drive with a 21-yard run at 8:21 in the third quarter, cutting Waconia’s lead to 13-10.

Waconia was moving the ball effectively downfield, helped by a 51-yard completion to the Chaska 19-yard line. However, junior Cooper Dauwalter intercepted the next pass and returned it 81 yards for a Chaska touchdown, giving the Hawks a 17-13 lead with 5:46 left in the third quarter. The Chaska defense kept Waconia off the scoreboard for the remainder of the quarter.

Thanks to a strong punt return and favorable field position at the end of the third quarter, Chaska began the fourth quarter on Waconia’s 11-yard line. After working its way closer with a strong running game, Chaska scored when junior Dylan Kasper ran four yards for a touchdown at 11:52 remaining in the game, extending the Hawks’ lead to 24-13.

Chaska regained possession after a Waconia fumble, recovered by senior Max Epple, with 9:28 left in the quarter. However, the Hawks were unable to make significant gains and punted, giving Waconia the ball with 6:10 remaining.

Waconia came out throwing and, starting on its own 10-yard line, drove 90 yards in nine plays for a touchdown. The score stood at 24-20 with 4:03 left in the game.

Chaska got the ball back, hoping to put together a long possession, but the Hawks went four-and-out and punted the ball back to Waconia. The punt came up a bit short and gave Waconia excellent field position.

With 2:30 remaining, Waconia took possession and drove 59 yards in six plays for the go-ahead touchdown with just 47 seconds left on the clock, handing Chaska a heartbreaking 27-24 loss.

Offensively, Kasper completed 6 of 11 passes for 72 yards. Senior Sully Schrandt led the team in receiving with 32 yards. Chaska totaled 193 rushing yards on 40 carries, with Olsen leading the way with 94 yards and Kasper adding 72.

On defense, Epple and seniors Lenny Sanders and Kyle Downie led the team with three solo tackles each. Junior Brekin Brink led in total tackles with nine, while seniors Jace Sandvold, Carter Powers and Jemaryn Smith recorded seven apiece. The defense also contributed one sack by Smith, two interceptions by Downie and Dauwalter, and three tackles for loss.

Coach Dahl shared “a short week to prepare is tough, just to get the guts health. There is just so much we can do to prep in that short time frame. Guys played hard, always proud of their effort. We had our chances in the fourth quarter yet couldn’t quite finish against a quality opponent. We’ll learn and move forward. Looking forward to honoring our seniors on senior night.”

Player comments after the game reflected both disappointment and optimism. As players spoke with family and friends while leaving the field and heading back to the locker room, their comments were typical of a team determined to move forward: “We’ll bounce back. This hurts, but we’ll get it done next game. We’ll go out strong” were most in their thoughts.

Conference games on Wednesday included Mankato East defeating Apple Valley 27-10 and Mankato West overtaking Chanhassen 42-20. Conference standings with one week in the regular season left are as follows:

Chaska closes out the regular season with a home game (Senior Night) against the New Prague Trojans on Oct. 21.