By Gary Thomas

Coach Bobby Hudson and his 4-5 Luverne Tigers were looking to even out their 2024 regular season record as they traveled 88 miles south to face the 1-and-8 4A Daleville Warhawks. And they achieved just that, with a 37-21 thrashing of the hometown Warhawks.

The defense showed its dominant force in the first half, shutting down the Hawks spread offense in building a 30-point halftime lead. The Luverne offense was hitting on all cylinders behind quarterback Kane Smith, running back freshman Elliot Harris and Alijah Hurst in taking a 30 to 0 halftime lead.

Hurst closed out Tiger scoring for the game on a 52-yard gallop to put the Tigers up 37-0 midway through the third quarter. The Warhawks scored three late touchdowns for the final score to read Luverne 37, Daleville 21.

Coaching Luverne for the first year, Hudson has done a masterful job in guiding the tigers to a 5-and-5 overall record and a No. 3 seed in the region 2A play where they stand at 4-and-2. There are not many teams that would face five Top 10 ranked teams and come out with five wins. 

Luverne will hit the road again this week to Uriah, where they will face the Blacksher Bulldogs in the first round of the AHSAA 2A 2024 playoffs.