CROOKSTON PIRATE FOOTBALL FALLS TO PARK RAPIDS

The Crookston Pirate Football team struggled offensively and couldn’t move the ball, and the Park Rapids Panthers capitalized on their way to a 35-7 victory in a Section 8AA game played in Crookston.

1st Quarter –
Crookston received the opening kickoff and had a great return to near midfield. Their first drive did not go according to plan, as an incomplete pass and a run that lost four yards brought up a third and 14, where Carter Hirt got an interception and returned it to the Crookston 37. Park Rapids would start with a run from Noah Morris for four yards. Jaydon Waylen would get a carry for 3 yards, but a loss on 3rd down brought up fourth down that the Panthers could not convert.
Crookston took over but still couldn’t get anything going, totaling a yard loss on three plays before they punted. Park Rapids immediately tried to capitalize on the lack of momentum from the Pirates by throwing it deep, but it was intercepted by Teagen Lubinski.
Crookston began the next drive with Lubinski running for four yards, but the drive quickly stalled, and Crookston punted again. Park Rapids would also find no luck on their drive as a run for no gain, an incomplete pass, and Crookston’s Angel Gutierrez sack forced a Panther punt.
Crookston would begin their next drive with a pair of Antonio Romero carries for nine yards. A gain of no yards brought up a fourth and one, which Lubinski would convert on a pass to Tate Hamre.

2nd Quarter –
Crookston started off the second quarter with a 10-yard run from Lubinski called back for holding. A couple of incompletions brought up fourth and 22, forcing Crookston to punt. Park Rapids took over and immediately hit a deep pass for 40 yards to receiver Ryan Carroll. The Panthers kept up the momentum by handing the ball off to Walen for two carries that went 17 yards and then handing it to Matt Johanning for three yards to set up first and goal. Noah Morris would keep it himself and find the end zone from four yards out to score the touchdown, giving Park Rapids a 7-0 lead after the extra point.
Crookston would get the ball back and hand it off to Romero, who gained three yards. Lubinski kept it for two yards before an incompletion brought up a fourth down, forcing Crookston to punt.
Park Rapids took over and began a long drive that took almost the rest of the half. It began with a holding penalty. On first and 20, Carroll caught a five-yard pass, and after an incompletion, Noah Morris found Blake Morris for a 14-yard completion. That brought up fourth and one, and Park Rapids would go for it, and Noah Morris would convert on a four-yard run. After a four-yard run, Crookston’s Riley Helgeson would get a sack, but there was a defensive facemask penalty. After a one-yard gain and an incompletion, Park Rapids faced another 4th down, and they would again convert on a Noah Morris two-yard run. After a three-yard run, a second down fumble brought up a third and 12, which became a fouth and 12 after an incompletion. Park Rapids again went for it, and it was a Noah Morris scramble that featured several broken tackles, which gave Park Rapids another 4th down conversion. The next couple of plays would see tackles for loss and an incompletion, bringing up another fourth down with 22 seconds remaining. On fourth and 15, Noah Morris would drop back and hit an open Johanning for the touchdown, giving Park Rapids a 14-0 lead after the extra point.

3rd Quarter –
Crookston was set to kick it off to the Panthers, but they tried an onside kick. Park Rapids recovered, and they started their drive with excellent field position. After a couple of runs gained two yards, Noah Morris would complete a pass to Johanning for 11 yards and a first down. After a Waylen run for 3 yards, Noah Morris would hit Landon Strasburg for a 22-yard gain before Noah Morris would keep it for a four-yard touchdown to put the Panthers up 21-0.
Crookston got the ball back and attempted to get some momentum, but they quickly went three and out and had to punt. On the punt, Park Rapids fumbled it, and Crookston recovered, giving the Pirates excellent field position. The drive began with a Lubinski scramble that he would turn into a completion to a leaping Carter Coauette for a big gain. Lubinski then kept it himself for a two-yard gain, before the next four carries went to Jake Erickson, which totaled 21 yards and ended with a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 21-7 after the extra point.
Park Rapids received the ball, and after a pair of four-yard runs from Noah Morris and Waylen, a false start would bring up third and seven. Noah Morris completed a pass to Blake Morris, but it was short of the first down, and the Panthers had to punt.
Crookston took over and immediately went to the ground with a three-yard carry from Romero and an eight-yard run from Coauette. After an incompletion, Lubinski would keep it for a three-yard carry, which ended the quarter.

4th Quarter –
Crookston began the 4th quarter with a chance to make a comeback, only down two scores. Lubinski would get a carry for seven yards, giving the Pirates a first down. A false start brought up a first and 15, which turned into a 3rd and 18 after a loss and an incompletion. Another incompletion would force a Pirate punt, which went over the head of Erickson, forcing an errant kick, which the Panthers recovered at the Crookston 20. Park Rapids immediately capitalized with a 19-yard passing touchdown from Noah Morris to Carroll, furthering the Panther lead to 28-7 after the extra point.
Crookston needed to get something going, and they started their next drive with a completion to Coauette for six yards, followed by a 14-yard Lubinski keeper that got an extra 15 yards after a late hit penalty. The great start to the drive was stopped in its tracks after the defensive lineman Kaleb Weaver found a ball right in his belly for an interception.
Park Rapids then began to milk the clock on a drive that lasted almost six minutes. Noah Morris had five carries for 45 yards, Carroll had a catch for 5 yards, Johanning had a carry for nine yards, and Walen had two carries that ended with a 20-yard touchdown to put the game away.
Crookston had one more drive, and Teagen Lubinski would make some nice plays. He had a run that gained 7 yards, three completions to Coauette for 23 yards, and a completion to Erickson for 7 yards. The game ended a play later, with the Panthers winning by a score of 35-7.

Crookston falls to 0-2 and takes on Frazee at Moorhead High School field next Friday. Park Rapids improves to 1-1.

FOR COACH NATE LUBARSKI’S COMMENTS, CLICK BELOW-

SCORING
1st Quarter –
No Scoring

2nd Quarter –
9:41-PR-Noah Morris 4-yard run (Jaydon Waylen kick)
0:15-PR- Noah Morris 29-yard pass to Matt Johanning (Waylen kick)

3rd Quarter –
9:13-PR-Noah Morris 4-yard run (Waylen kick)
4:32-Crox-Jake Erickson 3-yard run (Erickson kick)

4th Quarter –
10:32-PR-Noah Morris 19-yard pass to Ryan Carroll (Waylen kick)
3:23-PR-Jaden Waylen 20 run (Waylen kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

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