AMHERST- The fourth-ranked team in Division 5, Amherst Falcons (2-0), hosted the ninth-ranked Winnebago Lutheran Vikings (1-1) on Aug. 28 in their 2026 home opener.
On Amherst’s opening drive, it didn’t take long to get on the scoreboard as running back Ayden Nerdahl wove through the Vikings’ defense to find daylight and took off for a 67-yard touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead.
The Falcons once again found pay dirt as they went on an 82-yard scoring drive capped off by quarterback Tyler Loken, who found Jackson Lutz for a 12-yard touchdown pass to put Amherst up 14-0.
The Vikings built momentum at the end of the first quarter, driving down inside the 10-yard line, and at the start of the second quarter gave up the scoring opportunity with a fumble that Amherst’s Antonio Vaquera recovered, giving the Falcons possession.
Amherst looked like they were going to march down the field and make it a three-score lead. The Vikings squelched the Falcons drive and stopped them on the goal line on fourth down to regain possession.
Winnebago Lutheran took the ball down to the Amherst 22-yard line and with four seconds left in the second quarter, quarterback Evan Cole lofted a pass into the end zone as the pass rush closed in on him and found his tight end Cooper Schwalbe for a touchdown, cutting the Falcons’ lead to 14-7 going into halftime.
The Vikings started the third quarter where they left off as they drove down the field to the Falcons’ six-yard line, and the connection of Cole-to-Schwalbe once again put points on the board and tied the game at 14-14.
Amherst was quick to respond on the next series as they drove down to the Vikings 10 yard line as Nerdahl took a handoff and went around the right side of the opposing defense to score and put the Falcons up 21-14.
“We knew we had to come back, as coach puts it comeback and answer the bell; everyone came together, everyone was working as a team and communicating, we hit them hard coming out,” said Falcons offensive lineman Jesse Blenker of Amherst, responding to adversity.
It became a 28-14 game after another emphatic drive by Amherst resulted in a five-yard touchdown run by Nerdahl.
Amherst would finish off the Vikings with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter as the Falcons got down to the Winnebago Lutheran three yard line and Nerdahl punched it in from three yards out for his fourth touchdown run of the game and made the final score 35-14 and bringing his team’s record to 2-0.
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