CROOKSTON PIRATE FOOTBALL FINISHES AS SECTION 8AA RUNNERS-UP

The Crookston Pirate Football team scored first, but the Barnesville Trojans showed why they were the number one seed in the Section, rattling off 56 unanswered points to end the Pirates season in the Section 8AA Championship with a score of 56-3 on a Friday night at the Fargodome. 

1st Quarter
Barnesville started with the ball at their own six-yard line after a Jake Erickson kickoff deep was caught by Zach Bredman and as he went back to catch the ball and make a cut, he slipped on the turf and was down.  Two plays later, John Roller ran to the right side, and Crookston’s Ethan Boll knocked the ball loose, and Hunter Knutson jumped on the loose ball to get the ball on the Trojans’ 12-yard line 45-seconds into the quarter. On the first offensive play of the game, Jack Doda completed a pass to Carter Coauette to the right side of the field for a gain of two yards. Ethan Boll followed with a run of two yards to make it third and six. After a play for no gain, Crookston elected to kick a field goal.   The snap and hold were good, and Jake Erickson’s kick split the uprights for a 26-yard field goal to make it 3-0 Crookston with 8:56 left in the quarter.
Erickson was fired up, and it showed on the kickoff as he kicked it into the endzone for a touchback. The Trojans Roller busted through the line of scrimmage to break off a 33-yard run to the Pirates’ 47-yard line. A few plays later, Barnesville’s Bredman would take a huge hit but managed to find Peterson for a 29-yard touchdown pass, and after an Isaac Maneval extra point kick, Barnesville led 7-3 with 5:06 left in the quarter.
The Pirates would start their next offensive drive on their 26-yard line and were forced to punt after a three-and-out.   Erickson’s punt would be blocked, and the Pirates would down the ball on their 30-yard line. After a few plays, Braden Bredman would win the sprint to the left pylon and find the endzone to make it 13-3 after the extra point kick went off the upright, and the Trojans led 13-3 with 59 seconds left in the opening quarter.
It looked like Crookston might have another three-and-out on third and 12, but Doda would pump fake as he scrambled out of the pocket, and he found Widman streaking across the middle of the field for a 23-yard pass completion down to their 43-yard line to end the quarter with Barnesville leading 13-3.

2nd Quarter
On the first play of the quarter, Ethan Boll and Jack Doda would have a miscommunication on the handoff, and the ball would hit the turf before Johnny Robahdo scooped it up for a 40-yard fumble recovery touchdown. After the two-point conversion, Barnesville led 21-3 10-seconds into the quarter. The Pirates would start their next offensive series on their 39-yard line. Crookston was forced into another three-and-out.  The Jake Erickson punt was high in the air, and Barnesville called for a fair catch but didn’t catch the ball as it went off the returner’s hands onto the turf.   George Widman pounced on the ball, and the Pirates had the ball on the Trojans’ 34-yard line with 9:20 left in the half. After two plays for two yards, Carter Coauette caught a pass and dove past the first down marker for a gain of eight yards for a first down. Geise caught a pass in the middle of the field for another first down. Three plays later, the Pirates would go for it on 4th down, and the Trojans tipped a pass and fell incomplete. Barnesville will take over on their 27-yard line. Andrew Peterson would run to the left but would be met by Gavyn Hlucny and Carter Coauette for a loss of one yard. John Roller ran for eight yards up the middle to make it 3rd and three with 5:20 minutes left in the half. On the option play, a late pitch would go to Braden Bredman for a considerable gain down to the Pirates’ 28-yard line. A handful of plays later, Zach Bredman faked a handoff and hid the ball perfectly as he went into the endzone from six yards out, and after an extra point kick, the Trojans led 28-3.
The Pirates start their drive on their 23-yard line. A hard count would draw the Trojans offside, and three plays later, Doda dropped back to pass and fired a deep pass toward Giese, and a defensive pass interference would be called to give the Pirates a first down on their 45-yard line. Crookston fumbled the ball on the next play with a strip by Logan Yeske, and Braden Bredman recovered the ball to kill the Pirates’ drive.
A few plays later, Zach Bredman found Braden Bredman for a 26-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-3 after the extra point kick.
Crookston had another three-and-out and punted the ball down to the Trojans’ 33-yard line. Barnesville would go to the screen with a 14-yard gain from John Roller with 1:00 minute left in the half. A few plays later and after a spiked ball to stop the clock, Zach Bredman would find Braden Bredman wide open again in the middle of the field for a 40-yard touchdown pass to make it 42-3 after the extra point, and that was the score going into halftime. 

3rd Quarter
The Pirates started the half with the ball on their 30-yard line. Crookston was forced to punt, and Barnesville tried to pass again, but this time the Pirate’s George Widman picked off the pass, and the Pirates had the ball back.
After a couple of plays and a penalty, Tanner Giese gained 18 yards to make it third and 14. Doda would drop back to pass again, scrambling upfield for seven yards to make it fourth and seven. Crookston was stopped short of the first down, and Barnesville would get the ball back.  Barnesville’s Gannon Bolgrean found the endzone on a 13-yard run for a 49-3 lead going into the fourth quarter.

4th Quarter
Barnesville added another touchdown in the fourth quarter when Andrew Peterson ran up the middle for a touchdown to make it 56-3 after the extra point kick.
Three Trojans would meet Geise at the line of scrimmage for no gain. On second and 10, Antonio Romero would gain three yards to make it third and seven. An incomplete pass by Teagan Lubinski would force the Pirates to punt, and the Trojans take over on their 48-yard line with 8:30 left in the game. Neither team scored the rest of the way, and the Trojans would take a knee twice late and won the game 56-3.

With the loss, the Crookston Pirates wrap up the season with a 5-6 record. The Barnesville Trojans improve to 10-0 and will play in the first round of the State Class A Football tournament against Moose Lake/Willow River on November 10 in St. Cloud.

COACH NATE LUBARSKI’S POST-GAME COMMENTS ARE BELOW

SCORING – 

1st Quarter
8:56 – Crookston – Jake Erickson 26-yard field goal
5:06 – Barnesville – Zach Bredman 29-yard pass to Andrew Peterson (Maneval kick)
0:59 – Barnesville – Braden Bredman 4-yard run (Kick failed)

2nd Quarter
11:50 – Barnesville – Johnny Robahdo 40-yard fumble recovery – (Zach Bredman run)
3:15 – Barnesville – Zach Bredman – 6-yard run – (Maneval kick)
1:56 – Barnesville – Zach Bredman – 26-yard pass to Braden Bredman (Maneval kick)
0:13 – Barnesville – Zach Bredman – 40-yard pass to Braden Bredman (Maneval kick)

3rd Quarter
3:53 – Barnesville – Gannon Bolgrean – 13-yard run (Maneval kick)

4th Quarter
11:50 – Barnesville – Andrew Peterson – 8-yard run (Andrew Peterson kick) 

INDIVIDUAL STATS