The Crookston Pirates used a big first quarter to pick up their first win of the season on Homecoming Night over the Frazee Hornets 28-18. The Pirates scored 22 points in the first 12 minutes and added one more touchdown late to secure the first victory this season and the first victory for Head Coach Nate Lubarski.
FIRST-QUARTER-
The first quarter was filled with fireworks as the teams combined for 34 points. Crookston won the toss and elected to defer giving the Hornets the opening possession of the game. The Pirates forced a quick three and out, and on the Hornets punt, Ethan Boll came bursting through the line and blocked the punt, giving the Pirates great field position on the Hornets 27. Crookston took advantage of the short field, as on a fourth and nine, Jack Doda found Ethan Boll on a screen pass for a 15-yard touchdown to give the Pirates the early lead. “At times we like to run the ball, but it comes down to what the defense gives you,” said Crookston Head Coach Nate Lubarski. “Everyone knows about Ethan Boll, so when they pack the box like they did tonight you have to be able to take those opportunities passing the football.” Boll would also run in the two-point conversion making it 8-0 Pirates with 7:27 remaining in the first quarter. George Flynn would take the ensuing kickoff and return it all the way into Pirates territory, and with a Pirates facemask tacked on to the end of the run, the Hornets would start on the Pirates 31. Frazee pounded the ball on the ground converting two third-down conversions on a seven-play 31-yard drive for a touchdown. Dylan Selly capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion would fail, making it 8-6 Crookston. On the second play of the Pirate’s next drive, Doda found Boll again, this time for a 66-yard touchdown strike. “George Widman did a great job blocking down-field on that play,” said Crookston running back Ethan Boll. “I don’t think I got touched on that play so great job on his part.” Doda would then find Cade DeLeon on the two-point conversion giving Crookston a two-score lead at 16-6 with 2:39 remaining in the opening quarter. The big plays continued, as this time George Flynn took the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion would once again fail giving Crookston a 16-12 lead. The Pirates offense didn’t slow down. After a couple of good runs from Ethan Boll, Doda rolled out to his left and found a different Ethan this time, as Ethan Bowman hauled in a 13-yard touchdown reception. “We worked on a lot passing leading up to this week,” said Crookston quarterback Jack Doda. “Ethan (Bowman) did a great job getting open on that play and all my wide-receivers did a great job all night long making it easy for me.” The two-point conversion would fail giving the Pirates a 22-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
SECOND-QUARTER-
The Hornets would get another good kickoff return giving them possession on their own 48 yard-line with 11:54 to go in the half trailing by 10. The defenses highlighted the second quarter after 34 points were scored in the first 12 minutes of play. Neither team could add to their total before halftime. The Pirates defense forced their second three-and-out on the night on the Hornets opening possession of the quarter, forcing the Hornets to punt it away. The Pirates took over on their own 25 and went on a long drive into Frazee territory thanks to a 30-yard scramble from Jack Doda. However, the Pirates would turn the ball over on downs after back-to-back sacks by the Hornets defense. The Crookston defense came up with another stop and after a short punt from the Hornets, Crookston would gain possession on their own 47 with 3:44 remaining in the half. The Pirates would get one first down before being faced with a fourth down and one on the Hornets 45. Crookston would elect to punt the ball away, and after a 33-yard punt from Brooks Butt, Frazee decided to run the rest of the time out in the first half.
Crookston outgained the Hornets 209-46 in Total Offense in the opening half taking a 22-12 lead into the break. The Hornets biggest play was a 77-yard kickoff return touchdown from George Flynn, and the Pirates biggest play was the 66-yard touchdown pass from Jack Doda to Ethan Boll.
THIRD-QUARTER-
Crookston got the ball to begin the second half and took over on their own 30 after a block in the back penalty negated a big return from Ethan Boll. The Pirates would gain 1 first down before having to punt back to the Hornets. Butt would get off another great punt, this time a 45-yarder, forcing the Hornets to take over at their own 21. “I like to get out and practice my punts before practice starts and just really work on kicking the ball,” said Crookston Punter Brooks Butt. “It worked out well tonight and all that repetition from being the punter the last five-years has made it feel really easy for me to punt now.” The Hornets were able to go on the longest drive of the night, as they went 13 plays 79 yards in over 6 minutes to get back within one score at 22-18. 12 of the 13 plays were runs, and on fourth down and goal, Dylan Selly would get his second touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run. For the third time on the night, the Hornets two-point conversion would fail keeping the score at 22-18 Crookston with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter. The Pirates would go three and out on their next possession, but thanks to another great punt from Brooks Butt of 47-yards, the Hornets would be backed up to their own 28 late in the third quarter.
FOURTH-QUARTER-
The Hornets offense once again couldn’t get anything going, and the Pirates forced a quick punt getting the football back. The Pirates offense put together a few first downs before being forced into a fourth and four on the Hornets 37. Crookston would once again elect to punt with Brooks Butt. The decision paid off, as the Hornets would muff the punt and Layton Fuentes was able to get down the field for the Pirates and fall on the football giving Crookston excellent field position on the Hornets 12-yard-line. “Layton is the energizer bunny for us,” said Lubarski. “He’s always jumping around, and he always goes 100% and it pays off in the games.” A few plays later, Jack Doda threw his fourth touchdown of the night, this time a six-yard pass to Cade DeLeon. The two-point conversion would fail giving Crookston a 28-18 lead with 6:45 remaining in the game. Frazee would work the ball into Crookston territory on their next possession after converting two fourth downs, but the third time they faced fourth down, the Pirates were able to get a stop thanks in part to a huge sack from Ethan Boll on third down forcing the Hornets into a fourth and twenty. The Pirates would take over on their own 39 with 1:46 remaining and run the rest of the time out securing their first win of the season 28-18. The Pirates were able to outgain the Hornets 267-171 in total offense on the night
For Lubarski, it was his first win as the team’s head coach. “It felt great, a lot of good things to take away from this game and it feels good to get a win,” said Lubarski. “We ask the kids to do a lot of work and they put a lot of work in every week at practice, so all the credit goes to the kids for the hard work they’ve put in.”
The Pirates improve to 1-3 on the season and will travel to West Central Area on Friday night. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. and you can hear the game on KROX Radio. Frazee falls to 1-3 with the loss.
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
Frazee | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 18 |
CROOKSTON | 22 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 28 |
1st Quarter
7:27 – Crookston – Jack Doda 15-yard pass to Ethan Boll (Boll run)
3:51 – Frazee – Dylan Selly 5-yard run (run failed)
2:39 – Crookston – Jack Doda 66-yard pass to Ethan Boll (Doda pass to DeLeon)
2:25 – Frazee – George Flynn 77-yard Kick Return (run failed)
0:00 – Crookston – Jack Doda 13-yard pass to Ethan Bowman (run failed)
2nd Quarter
No scoring
3rd Quarter
2:47 – Frazee – Dylan Selly 4-yard run (run failed)
4th Quarter
6:45 – Crookston – Jack Doda 6-yard pass to Cade DeLeon (pass failed)
TEAM STATS | CROOKSTON | Frazee |
Rushing Yards | 157 | 140 |
Passing Yards | 110 | 31 |
Total Yards | 267 | 171 |
Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 1-1 |
First Downs | 14 | 10 |
Penalties-Yards | 4-40 | 3-15 |
Punts | 4-154 | 3-61 |
INDIVIDUAL STATS
CROOKSTON | Frazee | |
Rushing | Rushing | |
Jacob Hesby 15-63 | Dylan Selly 23-98 | |
Ethan Boll 7-53 | Tyler Moe 7-21 | |
Jack Doda 3-36 | Jake Nagel 4-17 | |
Spencer Ness 2-5 | Zachary Longfors 1-4 | |
Passing |
Passing |
|
Jack Doda 5-9-110 yds | Zachary Longfors 7-11-31 yds | |
Receiving | Receiving | |
Ethan Boll 3-91 | Jake Nagel 3-22 | |
Ethan Bowman 1-13 | Dylan Selly 2-8 | |
Cade DeLeon 1-6 | Mark Jaroszewski 2-1 |
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